Paolo Virzí has always given us some very good films, with his 2013 feature Il Capitale Umano (The Human Capital in English) being an excellent thought-provoking piece of cinema (read more about it here). Virzí 's most recent creation, however, La Pazza Gioia (Like Crazy in English, even though a more accurate translation would be Crazy Joy) may be one of the best films I've ever seen in all my years covering the AIFF.
It is funny, it is enjoyable, it is moving and as Valeria Bruni Tedeschi said before the beginning of the film "it may be a somewhat bitter story, but I hope you find some hope at the end of it'." La Pazza Gioia is a combination of films that we have really loved in the past, like Thelma & Louise (1991), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and Girl, Interrupted (1999) but it also is so much more than those.
Bruni Tedeschi plays Beatrice, a woman who has been admitted to a psychiatric facility and who at first seems to be a chronic liar, claiming that her family has donated the building of the clinic or that she knows a lot of famous people including actors and the Italian President. For all we know, she could be making everything up, as she is a really dynamic, innovative and extremely talkative character who has learned to get things her way. Valeria Bruni Tedeschi is exceptional in playing crazy, with this being one of her best performances to date.
When a new depressed and lonely patient named Donatella (Micaela Ramazzotti), arrives in the clinic, Beatrice sees a potential friend and companion in her. Also, by being intrusively curious she tries to learn all of Donatella's secrets. They soon escape the institution in a rather innocent and unplanned way and end up either wanting to experience a normal day outside (for Beatrice) or in Donatella's case trying to reconnect with some missing family members.
All in all, Virzí has managed to create an excellent and pretty touching film with characters who in spite of their mental instabilities are quite easy to identify with. The story is laugh-out-loud funny at lots of times and it has many rather emotional moments as well. The spotless performances by both protagonists and the really interesting tale of the two patients who by going on a roadtrip learn things not only about each other but also about themselves excited the audience who as the ending credits were rolling clapped and cheered enthusiastically. And that, my friends, is a sign of a good movie.
La Pazza Gioia was shown on the 22nd of September as part of the Italian Film Nights section of the AIFF.
Bruni Tedeschi plays Beatrice, a woman who has been admitted to a psychiatric facility and who at first seems to be a chronic liar, claiming that her family has donated the building of the clinic or that she knows a lot of famous people including actors and the Italian President. For all we know, she could be making everything up, as she is a really dynamic, innovative and extremely talkative character who has learned to get things her way. Valeria Bruni Tedeschi is exceptional in playing crazy, with this being one of her best performances to date.
When a new depressed and lonely patient named Donatella (Micaela Ramazzotti), arrives in the clinic, Beatrice sees a potential friend and companion in her. Also, by being intrusively curious she tries to learn all of Donatella's secrets. They soon escape the institution in a rather innocent and unplanned way and end up either wanting to experience a normal day outside (for Beatrice) or in Donatella's case trying to reconnect with some missing family members.All in all, Virzí has managed to create an excellent and pretty touching film with characters who in spite of their mental instabilities are quite easy to identify with. The story is laugh-out-loud funny at lots of times and it has many rather emotional moments as well. The spotless performances by both protagonists and the really interesting tale of the two patients who by going on a roadtrip learn things not only about each other but also about themselves excited the audience who as the ending credits were rolling clapped and cheered enthusiastically. And that, my friends, is a sign of a good movie.
La Pazza Gioia was shown on the 22nd of September as part of the Italian Film Nights section of the AIFF.
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