“The pain you are feeling inside is not real, it just seems like that…take this place for example, it just looks like an Irish pub...” We are in Rimini, Italy, the Never-Ever Land of the declining bourgeoisie where all things fall in place only when the elderly father waves the magic golf-bat, whilst anything that his (or not entirely his) middle-aged offspring might try to do proves to be completely pointless and futile. Playing in a punk-rock band, nursing dolphins, continuing the family business or running for Parliament are games for should-be adults still daydreaming of the things they will do when they grow up. Starting with the title (if you - “do not think about it” – someone else will) the movie is a wonderfully amusing funeral oration to responsibility. The lead character, Stefano, gets fed up with being a punk precisely in the moment of realizing what this means (no fun, loathing of the audience, standing alone etc.) and - of course - quits. He runs for cover to his rich parents and family that are, however, facing bankruptcy. Stefano’s transformation into an unwilling co-administrator of the family business is, fortunately, only a minor part of the plot. The three siblings (Stefano the rocker, Alberto the manager and Michaela the dolphin trainer) are all bruised by quitting, and Stefano’s influence within the family is based on the fact that no one really suspects he gave up as well. By contrast, the three firm characters in the general mayhem are: Nadine the hooker, Francesco the banker and Walter, the father. While Nadine’s episode is mostly a farcical bracket within the drama, Francesco seemingly provides for the Italian context. In the bank meeting he accuses Alberto (the manager-brother) of not being attentive enough in constructing a network of social relations that could have saved him from failure. In other words, what you do matters much less than who you know. It is in this context that the father, Walter, becomes much more interesting. Throughout the movie he is presented as a wonderful old man, peace loving and comprehensive with his children. Yet he ultimately resolves the family crisis by tapping on his social network. Furthermore, Francesco the banker names Walter as someone who, by contrast to Alberto, “sa come muoversi” (knows how to exploit his friendships). Among the questions the open ended final leaves us with, probably the most important is the one concerning Walter. How much is this elderly gentleman actually responsible for creating a mafia-like environment among the local entrepreneurs, the same environment that pushed his quality-searching son Alberto to the brink of failure?
Again fortunately, Zanasi does not seem to be an explicitly engaged director. The true mastery of the movie lies in wrapping the critique of the Italian mafia gerontocracy in the bitter-sweet coat of family relationships, communication problems and small-town social dynamics. The end result is that, above all, the movie is fun. Much more than this review.
Again fortunately, Zanasi does not seem to be an explicitly engaged director. The true mastery of the movie lies in wrapping the critique of the Italian mafia gerontocracy in the bitter-sweet coat of family relationships, communication problems and small-town social dynamics. The end result is that, above all, the movie is fun. Much more than this review.