04/09/2008

Milanese director Mirko Locatelli – who attracted attention with several medium-length films (in particular the documentary Crisalidi) – makes his feature debut with Il primo giorno d’inverno (“The First Day of Winter”), which had its international premiere today in the Horizons section at the Venice Film Festival.

The film’s protagonist, Valerio (Mattia De Gasperis, seen in Locatelli’s Come prima), is an introverted teenager who endures daily bullying from his classmates, and swimming companions, Daniele and Matteo (Alberto Gerundo and Andrea Semeghini). But the latter two have a secret to hide, one which threatens to undermine their false machismo. When the victim discovers this secret, the roles are reversed.

“I wanted to look at the loneliness of a youngster who doesn’t manage to integrate in a group”, explained the director, who tackles “the very widespread problem of homophobia. I was interested in disproving the stereotype that associates juvenile bullying with the reinforced concrete of city suburbs”. The film is set amidst the rural landscapes of Lombardy, lensed in digital (with frequent long takes) by Ugo Carlevaro.

“I adore the Dardenne brothers’ films: especially Rosetta, which is a modern-day Mouchette”, commented Locatelli, in reference to Robert Bresson’s masterpiece, which could have served as inspiration for the dramatic ending. The filmmaker continued: “But I like many French directors: Techiné, Assayas, Ozon”.

Despite the discontinuity of the actors’ performances and a script which is at times naive (shame about the misjudged representation of Valerio’s obsession with the physical form, which is nonetheless one of the most useful clues for understanding the character’s psychology), Il primo giorno d’inverno succeeds in portraying the atmosphere of repressed sensuality at the swimming pool and is rather moving in its depiction of the relationship between the protagonist and his younger sister.

Although certain scenes lack plausibility (for instance the moped chases), De Gasperis is often very believable. With his intentionally imperfect diction – which is blended with the film’s live sound to the point of merging with the background noise – he gives a performance marked by studied spontaneity.

Produced by Locatelli via his company Officina Film (co-founded with his pugnacious wife and co-screenwriter, Giuditta Tarantelli), Il primo giorno d’inverno took three years to be completed, thanks also to backing from Piero De Vecchi’s Deneb Media. As is often the case in Italy, the film has yet to find a distributor.

(Translated from Italian)