19/10/2009

With his second film (and second time in competition at the Rome Film Festival), after the superb The Salty Air [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alessandro Angelini
film profile], Alessandro Angelini confirms his talent and sincere, original perspective with which depicts his stories. In Keep Up Your Head [+see also:
trailer
interview: Alessandro Angelini
film profile] he returns to look at a difficult relationship between father and son – played respectively by Sergio Castellitto and newcomer Gabriele Campanelli – and more.

“The subject of a difficult father was just one of the starting points from which we wanted to explore other things,” says Angelini. “The true heart of the film is the story of a man, of his fall and his attempt at resurrection through a not very linear path, as happens in real life”.

The story of Mero, a failed ex-boxer who teaches his son life lessons through boxing, in fact undergoes several sudden changes. After his 17-year-old son Lorenzo dies in an accident about halfway through the film, Mero sets off on a solitary path that will force him to face organ donations, sexual identity, racism and illegal immigration.

A personal and emotional directing style, a superb performance by Castellitto and several particularly touching scenes save Keep Up Your Head from the script’s too many plot changes. However, while the first part is genuine and moving, the film ultimately throws too many elements into the mix.

Received with some reserve by critics, Keep Up Your Head – produced by Bianca Film, RAI Cinema and Alien – can nevertheless aim for one of the festival’s prizes. Perhaps for the extraordinary turn by Castellitto, who was proud to have worked on a film that “contrary to the usual self-referential Italian cinema…it is an open window onto the world”.

Local audiences will be able to judge for themselves as of November 6, when it will be released theatrically by 01 Distribution.