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VENICE 2010 Horizons / Italy

Fishing, rap and immigration in Scimeca’s Malavoglia

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The epic of the defeated par excellence, portrayed in literature by Giovanni Verga and then recreated in film by Luchino Visconti, has been updated for the third millennium in Pasquale Scimeca’s Malavoglia [+see also:
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, shown in the Horizons section at the Mostra.

The names are the same and the circumstances are similar to Verga’s great novel, but the faces and contexts are different in this story of a modern-day family who are desperately looking for a way out of dire poverty and for redemption from a God whom they can’t count on.

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Like in the book, Scimeca’s Malavoglia family are fishermen at the mercy of the sea. But they take in and help an illegal immigrant who has landed ashore (Alfio/Naceur Ben Hammouda), offering him a job and lodging. 'Ntoni (Antonio Ciurca) is the eldest son. After the father’s death out at sea, he finds refuge in his love of music, particularly rap, and this will also be the family’s salvation.

“From Verga, I’ve borrowed the tragic existential condition of the South”, said the director, who previously explored life in the South in Placido Rizzotto, “not only in Southern Italy, but in the Southern regions of the world where young people and families lead desperate lives. Whilst working on this film, I saw first-hand the reality of life for these immigrants who consider work as a conquest, unlike our youngsters”.

Malavoglia is produced by Arbash, Classic Srl, Cinecittà Luce (who are also distributing) and Cinesicilia in collaboration with Rai Cinema. In neorealist tradition, Scimeca’s film features only non-professional actors and is set in Porto Palo, in the province of Ragusa, a fishing village with nearby tomato plantations which employ seasonal immigrant workers.

Malavoglia’s intentions and references are noble, as it attempts to portray the desperation of modern society’s destitute, drawing inspiration from a great saga of yesteryear. It’s a shame that the acting (perhaps inevitably) lacks force and the adaptation is often overly naive.

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