Steam that wins cannot be changed. In the movie You dazzle heror (at the cinema from today) the director Roberto Andò calls the trio of actors to his court which brought him luck and success with The strangeness. That is to say Toni Servillo, Salvo Ficarra and Valentino Picone. An anomalous trio that was liked by critics and the public.
In the wake of that film he told with llightness and passion are the creative spark of Luigi Pirandellohere Roberto Andò intertwines comedy and drama by dealing with a crucial period in our history such as the Risorgimento and Garibaldi’s exploit of the Thousand. A journey, fueled by two opposing languages, reminiscent of that of The great war by Mario Monicelli
The blunder: the plot of the film
May 1860. Garibaldi’s troops leave Quarto to land in Sicilyin Marsala. Giuseppe Garibaldi’s (Tommaso Ragno) feat could change the face of Italy forever. The commander’s followers dream of liberation from the Bourbons and the unity of the country. Leading the troops is Colonel Orsini (Toni Servillo), one of the followers of revolutionary ideas. During the various stages that take him and his men almost to Palermo, the Colonel asks himself questions about how right that revolution is. «He is a man torn between action and doubt about what he does» says Servillo.
The stops are Salemi, Calatafimi, Piana degli Albanesi and Sambucathe Sicilian town where his troops are forced to hide to throw off the Bourbons and allow Garibaldi to enter Palermo. A suicidal idea that could bring Orsini’s menoutnumbered by the enemy, to die. A sacrifice for the country. But those revolutionary principles that pushed Garibaldi to fight and hope for a new and better future will they be respected? It is the question that the film asks and reflects on.
The cast: Toni Servillo, Ficarra and Picone
Parallel to the stages of Orsini’s soldiers, Andò follows two “false” Garibaldinis, Domenico (Ficarra) and Rosario (Picone), which start from Quarto and then disappear to Marsala. Their intent is to take a ride and desert the revolution, which they don’t believe in. Domenico wants to return to his beloved girlfriendwhile Rosario is fleeing from those who are looking for him for a gambling debt. Cards are his passion and his prerogative is cheating.
The director follows their stages, first in a nunnery, where some good things will happen between lies, cheating at the gaming table and the mysteries of the abbess. Then they will find themselves again among the Garibaldini, right in Sambuca, and become heroes, despite themselves, saving a blocked column of soldiers with theatrical stratagems and lies.
Toni Servillo, Ficarra and Picone in “L’abbaglio”. (Courtesy press office)
Toni Servillo plays Colonel Orsinispokesperson for the uncertainties and contradictions that accompany great historical changes. While Tommaso Ragno plays the part of Giuseppe Garibaldi.
The blunder: the review
With The blunder Roberto Andò signs a work that goes beyond simple historical narration to explore the profound contradictions of a crucial moment for Italy, questioning who really paid the price for the Risorgimento revolution. The film mixes history and imaginationdrawing from the story The silence by Leonardo Sciasciaand reflects on our past and today’s Italy.
Through the characters Of Dominic and Rosariofunny and shrewd opportuniststhe director builds a bridge between Risorgimento Italy and today’s Italy, and questions himself about mediocrity of a nation that often wins more thanks to subterfuge than to its own value. His is a subtle and refined criticism which unfolds along the stages of the film and reaches the climax in the unexpected and provocative ending.
Toni Servillo. (Courtesy press office)
The blunder: where it was filmed
He went back to film in Palermo afterwards The strangeness and in other places in Sicily. The city centre, via Maqueda and piazza Pretoria, have gone back to 1860. Also involved in the filming were the entrance to Palazzo delle Aquile, piazza Bellini, Palazzo Alliata di Villafranca, piazza Bolognini, the Bellolampo hill, transformed into a battlefield .
Among the municipalities involved in the set also Trapani and the village of Ericethe municipality of Contessa Entellina, Ficuzza, Caltabellotta and Palazzo Adriano. Furthermore, the director has the soldiers cross, on foot and on horsebackwoods, rivers and inaccessible places. «This is a new Sicily, very different from what we are used to seeing represented», declared the director. The film is colossal and cost 18 million euros.
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