Io Capitano (2023)

Direction: Matteo Garrone
Country: Italy / Belgium/ France

Io Capitano is a breathtaking migrant odyssey directed and co-written by Matteo Garrone, renowned for works such as Gomorrah (2008) and Dogman (2018). The film, devoid of cynicism and cheap sentimentality, follows the perilous journey of two 16-year-old Senegalese boys who decide to leave Dakar for Europe. Their journey, full of surprises and strong emotions, exposes the harsh realities of racism, exploitation, and inhumanity, while also providing a lesson in courage, humility, and humanism. 

Garrone navigates new territory with a firm hand, shedding light on the tenebrous predicaments associated with migration and raising awareness of human rights violations. Beyond its value as a fictional tale, Io Capitano serves as a profound statement on the challenges faced by migrants. 

The cinematography by Paolo Carnera captures vast expanses of desert and ocean, adding to the film's visual appeal, while newcomer actor Seydou Sarr, who is like a shinning beam of light in a dark place, delivers a credible performance, conveying innocence and affability. Even though the script may not reach great majesty, Io Capitano remains an indispensable movie about a disturbing global issue with no immediate solution at sight. Its path evokes both touching and shocking emotions simultaneously.

Pinocchio (2020)

Direction: Matteo Garrone
Country: Italy

Crammed with fantastic creatures and characters, Pinocchio has here its most eccentric version in the hand of Rome-born director Matteo Garrone, whose quirky style is on full display. The endless possibilities within the imaginative plot is synonym of an expansive creative mind already identified in films like Gomorrah (2008), Reality (2012), and Dogman (2018). Garrone co-wrote this darkly magical adventure with Massimo Ceccherini, taking advantage of the acting skills of actors Roberto Benigni (Life is Beautiful; Down By Law) and the young Federico Ielapi, in his first major role. By the way, as a curiosity, Benigni directed himself a poor version of Pinocchio in 2002, in which he stars as the title character.

After skipping school to attend a local puppet theater, Pinocchio (Ielapi) gets lost from his beloved father and creator, Gepetto (Benigni). While the latter sets foot in the world outside to search for his wooden child, Pinocchio gets tricked twice by the opportunistic and grotesquely famished Fox (Ceccherini) and Cat (Rocco Papaleo). He keeps involved in a series of perilous episodes while trying to learn his way back home. 

Besides offering life lessons and providing tremendous fun with unceremonious sophistication, Pinocchio also benefits from an incredible mise en scène, a well-versed costume design and an inviting photography.

Dogman (2018)

Directed by Matteo Garrone
Country: Italy

Matteo Garrone is a compelling Italian director who always brings an authentic ‘mafiosi’ flavor to his thoughtful films, exception made to Tale Of Tales, an incursion into fantasy/adventure, which deviates from his habitually native topics. His bleak, lowlife crime drama Dogman is an excellent addition to a worthy filmography that also includes Gomorrah and Reality.

Co-written by Garrone and his frequent collaborators Ugo Chiti and Massimo Gaudioso, the story has Marcello (Marcello Fonte) at its center, a gentle and patient dog groomer whom everyone in the neighborhood is fond of. However, by looking at his smiling face and maladroit expression, you wouldn’t say he hides a dark secret. Marcello sells cocaine on the side in order to support his beloved daughter Alida (Alida Baldari Calabria).

Despite the worries of his closest friends - bar owner Francesco (Francesco Acquaroli) and gold jewelry proprietor Franco (Adamo Dionisi) - regarding Simone (Edoardo Pesce), an unruly, violent, addictive former boxer who terrorizes the neighborhood, he still wants to be his friend. Even when forced to join the thug in robberies without being paid. This sort of fascination for an ungrateful criminal who constantly takes advantage of his fragile posture and good nature is the film’s most difficult part to cope with.

When Simone engenders a plan to rob Francesco’s gold from the inside of Dogman, Marcello’s store, the things change radically. The robbery is sloppily executed and Marcello is left in a very delicate position: he whether takes the responsibility for the infraction or denounces Simone to the police. The option of spending one year in prison for his ‘friend’ wasn’t surprising at all. Yet, it will make him tougher and resolute in his future decisions, which include demanding the respect of the beast he covered up.

Fonte gives a blistering central performance and is deservedly rewarded in Cannes, winning in the Best Actor category. Beautifully shot, this character study fascinates in an almost perverse way, building up adequate levels of tension throughout and bursting with disturbing scenes of violence. It is also a tale of solitude, equally tragic and funny, heavy and whimsical.

While the Italian cinema gives signs to come back to life, Dogman is a great choice if you’re sick of showy crime trifles that arrive from Hollywood on a regular basis.