Archive of films Sweet Dreams / Fai bei sogni

Italy / France
2016, 134 min

Section: Horizons
Year: 2016

Turin 1969. After the mysterious death of his mother, nine-year-old Massimo’s world came tumbling down. Now a successful adult, he plans to sell the family apartment but intensely painful wounds start opening up from the past. The latest film by Marco Bellocchio was screened during Directors’ Fortnight at this year’s Cannes IFF.

Synopsis

Turin 1969. Nine-year-old Massimo’s idyllic childhood is suddenly shattered by the mysterious death of his beloved mother. The sensitive boy refuses to accept what has happened, but he discovers a love of football which goes a little way to help fill the empty space left by his mum. When, years later, as a successful journalist he is forced to sell his parent’s flat, memories come flooding back, along with the anguish of a past that remains unresolved. How long will Massimo be able to elude the painful experience before it is finally over? Does he get on with a life of nursing a deeply wounded soul or does he simply live from day to day? With humour and profound understanding for the sheer breadth of the human psyche, Marco Bellocchio follows Massimo’s struggle to attain quality of life and ensure his self-preservation. His story, told through several interwoven time planes, is also a philosophical meditation on the values upheld by contemporary Western society. In this masterfully shot picture, the director draws on superb, authentic performances from Valerio Mastandrea and Bérénice Bejo.

Ivana Novotná

About the director

Marco Bellocchio (b. 1939, Piacenza, Italy) studied film at Rome’s Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia and London’s Slade School of Fine Arts. He is one of Italy’s most productive filmmakers. His feature debut Fists in the Pocket (I pugni in tasca, 1965) betrayed a socio-critical tone, and many of his subsequent works also showed his commitment to the social problems of the time: China Is Near (La Cina e vicina, 1967), Strike the Monster on Page One (Sbatti il mostro in prima pagina, 1972), Victory March (Marcia trionfale, 1975), The Eyes, the Mouth (Gli occhi, la bocca, 1982). His filmography also includes Henry IV (Enrico IV, 1984), Good Morning, Night (Buongiorno, notte, 2003 – Horizons, KVIFF 2004), The Wedding Director (Il regista di matrimoni, 2006 – Horizons, KVIFF 2006), Vincere (2009), Dormant Beauty (Bella addormentata, 2012), Blood of My Blood (Sangue del mio sangue, 2015) and Sweet Dreams (2016).

Contacts

The Match Factory
Domstrasse 60, 50668, Cologne
Germany
Tel: +49 221 539 7090
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.the-match-factory.com

Film Europe s.r.o.
V Jámě 1, 110 00, Praha 1
Czech Republic
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.filmeurope.cz

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About the film

Color, DCP

Section:	Horizons

Director:	Marco Bellocchio
Screenplay:	Valia Santella, Edoardo Albinati, Marco Bellocchio podle autobiografie / based on the autobiographical novel by Massimo Gramellini
Dir. of Photography:	Daniele Ciprì
Music:	Carlo Crivelli
Editor:	Francesca Calvelli
Art Director:	Marco Dentici
Producer:	Beppe Caschetto
Production:	IBC Movie, Kavac Film, Rai Cinema
Coproduction:	AD VITAM
Cast:	Valerio Mastandrea, Bérénice Bejo, Guido Caprino, Nicolò Cabras, Dario Dal Pero
Sales:	The Match Factory
Distributor:	Film Europe s.r.o.

Guests

Valerio Mastandrea

Actor