Nostalgia
Mario Martone’s latest drama Nostalgia sees sees the director returning to Naples, and taking the audience with him on a gritty journey through the past and present. Based on Neapolitan author Ermanno Rea’s 2016 novel of the same name, the film is a slow burn with a gut-wrenching finale – one that had us sitting in silence moments later. As the only Italian film to screen in competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, we caught a preview screening of Nostalgia as part of the ST. ALi Italian Film Festival 2022, which is being highlighted as the festival’s ‘Centrepiece’ film.
After living abroad since his childhood, Felice Lasco returns four decades later to his hometown in Naples. After visiting his elderly mother and becoming overwhelmed by memories of his adolescence and the state of his town, Felice struggles to accept being back. At first feeling like a stranger in his home country, Felice soon feels at peace with his return and begins to put his roots down, which unknowingly angers his childhood friend Oreste Spasiano, who has climbed the ranks over the years as a crime boss known as the ‘Badman’. While finding solace in the friendship of a local priest, Felice is advised by those around him to only look forward and not dwell on the past. Unfortunately, Felice’s nostalgia gets the best of him, and he finds himself battling ghosts of the past.
The incredible Pierfrancesco Favino (Padrenostro IFF21, The Traitor IFF20) stars as the stoic Felice, whose calm and collected demeanour perfectly plays off Tommaso Ragno’s quiet and unpredictable portrayal of Felice’s old friend, Oreste. The tension between the two is palpable and uneasy – which provides the main source of an overlying and intense feeling of suspense throughout the film. Playing Felice’s mother is Aurora Quattrocchi, whose portrayal is the cause of many heartbreaking moments between mother and son. Francesco Di Leva rounds out the main cast as Father Luigi Rega, a local priest with an undying passion for helping his community, and a personal vendetta against Oreste. Di Leva is calculating in his role as Don Luigi, in a way that you find yourself constantly questioning his motives – and whether Felice is getting played from all angles.
Martone’s camera work showcases the beauty of the Neapolitan neighbourhood of Rione Sanità, with all its chaos and charm intact. What starts out as Felice viewing his old neighbourhood through nostalgia-tinted glasses swiftly takes a turn, with Martone challenging that nostalgia is not always a good thing. This is evident throughout; with Felice’s flashback sequences progressively getting darker as the movie goes on. Despite its jarring jumping back and forth, and initial slow pace, Nostalgia is a firm reminder that the future is always ahead of us – until it is not. Catch ST. ALi’s centrepiece film Nostalgia at a Palace Cinema near you – screening until 12 October.
Catch Nostalgia at the upcoming ST. ALi Italian Film Festival 2022.