Nostos - Il ritorno
Franco Piavoli / Italy / 1989 / 85 min / Colour
At the end of a bloody war, in a distant and undefined past, a ruthless and cruel hero undertakes the journey back across the Mediterranean. An itinerary that turns out to be long and difficult, fraught with obstacles that come between him and the goal: storms at sea, memories of his past and regret for what he did not do, the desire for oblivion and a meeting of love. A very personal reinterpretation of the myth of Ulysses, where the few characters speak an incomprehensible language, made up of verses and sounds that echo the ancient Mediterranean dialects. The great and silent sea, the threatening rocks with pure water welling up from them, the animals and the mountains, the flowers and the plants seem to welcome the wanderer, like a caring mother.
Franco Piavoli
A leading figure in Italian documentary cinema, born in 1933. After early shorts such as Domenica Sera (1962) and Emigranti (1963), he made his feature debut Il Pianeta Azzurro (1982), which was in competition at the Venice Film Festival. His later works include Nostos – Il Ritorno (1989), Voci nel tempo (1996), and Al Primo Soffio di Vento (2002). In 2016, he presented his short Festa at the Locarno Film Festival.
Credits
Screenplay Franco PiavoliCinematography Franco PiavoliEditing Franco PiavoliMusic Luca Tessadrelli, Giuseppe MazzuccaMain cast Luigi Mezzanotte, Branca De Camargo, Alex Carozzo, Paola Agosti, Giuseppe Marcoli, Mariella FabbrisProducer Franco Piavoli, Giannandrea PecorelliProduction company Zefiro Film, Immagininazione
