20/10/2022 - Gianluca Mangiasciutti’s debut film tells an engaging story about two destroyed lives, which mainly explores the themes of overcoming significant loss and the weight of our own mistakes

Gianluca Mangiasciutti’s debut feature film, The Man on the Road [+see also:
trailer
film profile], which was presented within this year’s Alice nella Città section of Rome Film Fest, kicks off with an intriguing opening sequence, decisively setting the dark and ambiguous tone which permeates the entire work. Little Irene is roughly eight years old when she witnesses her father’s death at the hands of a hit and run driver during a walk through the woods looking for mushrooms. The child and the man lock eyes for a matter of seconds, but Irene’s life will be marked by this tragedy forever. Ten years later, Irene (played by Aurora Giovinazzo, recently seen in Freaks Out [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Gabriele Mainetti
film profile]) is a young professional swimmer tormented by the fact that her father’s killer is still on the loose. She’s a ticking time bomb, ready to explode against everything and everyone.

After punching an adversary in a very important gala, she leaves school, heads to her aunt’s house 30 kilometres away from her home and quickly finds herself a job in a factory. Things seem to be on the up for Irene, but the film’s first twist is just around the corner: it turns out that the owner of the business, Michele (Lorenzo Richelmy), is the very kid who knocked her father down ten years earlier.

Overall, the film’s writing by Serena Cervoni and Mariano Di Nardo (Regina [+see also:
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interview: Alessandro Grande
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trailer
interview: Andrea De Sica
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It’s a plot device that’s as old as the hills, but it works fairly well here, because it’s carried by two brilliant protagonists and a team of supporting faces who are, generally-speaking, credible in their roles, namely Astrid Casali, Jozef Gjura, Giancarlo Judica Cordiglia and Marit Nissen. For her part, Giovinazzo once again breathes life into a determined and courageous young woman, much like Matilde in Freaks Out. In this instance, however, her character can sometimes feel sharp and irritating, unperturbed by others’ judgements yet capable of feeling misunderstood by society.

The end of the movie will no doubt stir up debate, and viewers will either question whether it’s plausible or remain pleasantly surprised and enjoy it. Either way, it’s a courageous narrative choice which leaves a mark, thanks to the extent of its character development and emotional impact.

The Man on the Road is produced and distributed in Italian cinemas by Eagle Pictures.

(Translated from Italian)