LIBERO (ITALY, 2006). Wednesday, 16th January 2008Italy, 2006. Directed by Kim Rossi Stuart from a screenplay by
Linda Ferri, Federico Starnone, Francesco Giammusso and himself.
Photography (Technicolor): Stefano Falivene. Music: Banda Osiris.
Certificate: 12A (tbc). Length: 108 minutes.
Leading Players: ALESSANDRO MORACE (Tommi), BARBORA BOBULOVA
(Stefania), KIM ROSSI STUART (Renato), MARTA NOBILI (Viola),
PIETRO DE SILVA (Domenico), ROBERTA PALADINI (Letizia).
This fine film from Italy, a work that can be thought of as echoing that great period of Italian cinema when neo-realism came to the fore in the 1940s, has proved something of a triumph. Yet, paradoxically, that does not mean that it has not encountered problems. Indeed at the very outset it appeared that the project had been overtaken by catastrophe. Having carefully planned to make his directorial debut with this work and having co-written it, the actor Kim Rossi Stuart found at the last minute that the player cast in the leading adult male role was unable to appear. Regardless of his own acting credentials, Rossi Stuart had intended to remain off-screen here and, given the number of actors who have encountered difficulties when turning to direction while also acting in their film, his decision had been eminently sensible. However, in view of the circumstances that had unexpectedly arisen, Rossi Stuart felt so committed to the project that he himself stepped forward to replace the lost actor since otherwise it might have been necessary to abandon the project. It has been part of his triumph that in this unplanned situation he has actually succeeded where so many have failed and has been acclaimed for both his direction and his acting.
As I write this the film is still awaiting its London run but, having seen an early screening of it, I am delighted that we can bring this film to Eastbourne, not least because in the past our audiences have appreciated classic films by Vittorio De Sica and Libero brings those films to mind. Like Bicycle Thieves this is a work with an emphasis on everyday folk in which a child plays a central role but the Rome in which it is set is the Rome of today. What it shows us is in essence a slice of ordinary life. The key figure, the one whose viewpoint is adopted, is the eleven year old Tommi (Alessandro Morace). He lives with his father, Renato (this being the role that Rossi Stuart took over), and with his slightly older sister, Viola (Marta Nobili). If the mother, Stefania (Barbora Bobulova) is the missing figure that’s because she has gone off with another man, somebody better off than Renato, the latter being a freelance cameraman who sometimes finds it difficult to make ends meet. When the story starts, he has already fully realised the extent of his misfortune in having married an unreliable woman with a roving eye. Consequently, when Stefania returns and asks to be taken back he is reluctant to agree. We gather that this is not the first time she has left him only to come back and he now knows her well enough to believe that if he did accept her back into the household she would not remain. Seeing things this clearly, he believes that in the long run it would be against the children’s interests if he were to do anything other than refuse her request. This is made difficult, however, by the fact that Viola is so happy to embrace her mother again. Ironically, it is the boy, Tommi, who, despite being the younger child, is the one more sensitive to the issue of Stefania’s reliability. Just what should Renato do and what will the outcome be?
All of the characters here are splendidly rounded even if it is Tommi who is placed screen centre thus becoming the one through whose eyes we follow events. Other children also appear and, regardless of the difficult situation he faces at home, we can regard Tommi as being better off than the new boy at school who, being mute, is scorned by most of the other pupils. On the other hand he is clearly less lucky than another child who enters the story, a boy who becomes Tommi’s friend when his considerate and well-off parents move into a neighbouring property. If all three child players are admirably persuasive, it is Alessandro Morace in the key role of Tommi who is exceptional. Rossi Stuart has spoken of seeing hundreds of children before making his final choice because he recognised the need to find a youngster who, rather than being keen to appear on screen, had something special within him that was right for the role. He found in Alessandro a child who was shy and introverted yet with an inner luminosity and in that he could see what he had been looking for. There is indeed a lack of self-awareness in his performance that confirms just how right the casting was and among the many awards won by Libero one went to Alessandro Morace as Best Actor.
Without ever resorting to familiar tourist images, Stefano Falivene’s colour photography effectively fills in the sense of Rome being the background to the story and even more importantly Rossi Stuart avoids the trap of sentimentality. Indeed, one of the many virtues of this film lies in the fact that the characterisations of both parents is such that the father is never allowed to become the saint set up to be the polar opposite of the mother seen simply as a villainess on account of her being so selfish and self-centred. Instead, both are presented as complex figures and are admirably played as such. Renato is certainly devoted to his children but the way in which he has been treated by Stefania has undermined his confidence. By way of compensating, he tends to assert himself too much both in being too heavy-handed and angry when the children misbehave and by succumbing to violent outbursts. There are also occasions when his pride makes him act stupidly and irresponsibly. Rossi Stuart proves to be very well cast here despite his last minute assumption of the role but Barbora Bobulova as Stefania is equally fine. The actress is clever enough to suggest both Stefania’s genuine fondness for her children and also the disturbing fact that she enjoys playing the role of mother and throws herself into it. She is probably not conscious of the fact but something in her nature makes this akin to a game that engages her for a time but of which he soon finds herself tiring. It’s typical of the film’s subtlety that Stefania is more drawn to Tommi than to his sister although it is Viola who is far warmer to her. The reality to be found in all of the characters adds weight to a film that in its modest way really does reflect life as it is lived today. Libero is immensely engaging and very rewarding.
“A very promising debut… brilliant acting… a heart-rending story” – Sight & Sound.
“A well directed, intelligent, moving film about a very contemporary family”
– La Stampa.
“Distinguishes itself by the force of emotions that it shows and elicits” – Le Monde.
“Simple, profound, touching” – Il Giornale.
WINNER OF SEVEN INTERNATIONAL AWARDS including three for Best Director.
Programme notes by Mansel Stimpson.
