THEn air tonight at 9.30pm on first TV on Rai 3, The Land of Dreams is the directorial debut of the young director Nicola Abbatangelo. It is an ambitious and spectacular musical, focused on‘love between a young Italian immigrant and a pianist American capable of making dreams come true.
The Land of Dreams: tonight 6 January on Rai 3 the musical film, the plot
Set in 1922 New York, the film tells the love story between two young people, Eva (Caterina Shulha) and Armie (George Blagden). He is an exceptional pianist, veteran of the Great War, instead she is an Italian immigrant who works as a dishwasher in the Choo Choo Train Chinese restaurant and locked it in a drawer his dream: to become a singer.
Despite Eva being courted by an important mafia boss (Edoardo Pesce), she ends up falling in love with Armie. The boy has the power to make people’s dreams seemingly realbut it is a power that brings with it great responsibilities. In fact, the risk is that of being trapped and no longer being able to distinguish reality from the imagination. Eva thus finds herself between two suitors, one the opposite of the other: he will have to quickly decide whether to follow the shortcut to the much-needed limelight or whether to surrender to true love.
Caterina Shulha in a scene from the film “The Land of Dreams”. (Lotus Productions)
A courageous Italian musical not rewarded by takings
Ambitious and courageous, The Land of Dreams is convincing in some respects, but it is also marked by obvious flaws. Directed by Nicola Abbatangelo, it is visually appealing: period sets and costumes effectively recreate the atmosphere of 1920s New York while the choreographies convey energy and passion for the genre.
The problems are essentially scriptural: the characters are in fact poorly developed and some narrative turns are predictable. The rhythm also alternates brilliant sequences with more boring moments and the fusion between dream and reality does not always work, creating too much confusion.
Furthermore, despite the commitment of the cast, some interpretations are rigid and unconvincing, while the soundtrack shifts from emotional moments to less impactful sections. Despite the flaws, The Land of Dreams ha the merit of proposing an Italian musical that is finally ambitious and entertaining and visually fascinatingand for this he is to be praised. However, perhaps due to too much ambition, failed to hit the box office.
The cast of The Land of Dreams: from Caterina Shulha to Edoardo Pesce
The female protagonist of the film is the Belarusian-naturalized Italian actress Caterina Shulha. She arrived in Italy as a young girl with her mother, she began her career as a model at 15posing for important magazines and advertising campaigns. His first roles included dramas such as I Cesaroni, One step from heaven And May God help usas well as films like Immature – The journey. Ha also starred in I stop whenever I wantHotel Gagarin and the series Black Out – Suspended Lives on Rai 1.
At his side Geroge Bladgen, English actor and singer famous for series such as Vikings And Versailles who, at the cinema, has participated in important productions such as Les Misérables. The villain of the film is Edoardo Pesce while completing the cast there are also Stefano Fresi, Paolo Calabresi and Marina Rocco.