A Quiet Life

Colour, 35 mm
Italy, Germany, France, 2010, 100 min
Section: Variety’s Ten Euro Directors to Watch

Synopsis

A psychological thriller of unusual depth, A Quiet Life represents a significant leap forward for sophomore helmer Claudio Cupellini, revealing a level of stylistic control and narrative force that should catapult him onto the list of Italian directors to watch. A rare international co-production that feels organically right, the pic boasts the considerable thesping talent of Toni Servillo as a marked man hiding from his mob past. In the quiet forests near Wiesbaden, Germany, Rosario  runs a restaurant-hotel with his German wife, Renate. Then out of the blue, two young Italians show up.... The choice of Hungarian d.p. Gergely Pohárnok (Hukkle, Taxidermia) was inspired, as the talented lenser provides elegant yet chilly (and chilling) visuals that expertly play with setting characters together and apart.

About the director

Claudio Cupellini (b. 1973, Camposampiero, Italy) studied with Paolo Virzì and Daniele Luchetti at Rome’s Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia. From 1999 to 2005 he made several short films including Le diable au vélo and Chi ci ferma più. His first feature was the Donatello-nominated comedy Lessons in Chocolate (2008). A psychological thriller of unusual depth, A Quiet Life (2010) premiered at the Rome Film Festival where it earned a Best Actor kudo for star Toni Servillo who plays a marked man hiding from his mob past. Cupellini notes, "Filming in Germany was an important step towards constructing stories that are not only Italian, but also European.”