Focus on New Italian Directors 2007 / In memoria di me / Italy 2007
The Bressonesque ascetic and focused direction of this film takes us, together with the young protagonist, behind the walls of an imposing monastery located on a small island near Venice. Andrea undergoes spiritual instruction in order to prepare him for the priesthood, while the perceptive viewer may also be swayed by its purifying effects...
With its unlimited possibilities, the world is a fascinating place yet, for the same reason, it can also be a source of anxiety. And this is the realisation of young Andrea, who is hesitantly contemplating his future. Partly because he is at a loss, and partly out of curiosity, he registers at a large monastery where young men are trained and brought up to become priests. The noviciate is extensive and demanding, the men have to undergo difficult spiritual exercises: application, mental concentration and profound self-reflection are attained through weeks of training in absolute silence. Andrea continues to immerse himself more and more in this strange exalted and ascetic environment, although he discovers that many of his fundamental doubts about life have not remained outside the walls of the monastery. He starts thinking of his escape, particularly when some of the novices, in moments of weakness, express their various misgivings… The film takes the form of a kind of revelation, an invitation for spiritual liberation and meditation.
118 min / Color, 35 mm
Director Saverio Costanzo
/ Screenplay Saverio Costanzo podle románu Furia Monicelliho Lacrime impure / based on the book Lacrime impure by Furio Monicelli
/ Dir. of Photography Mario Amura
/ Music Alter Ego
/ Editor Francesca Calvelli
/ Producer Mario Gianani
/ Production Medusa Film
/ Cast Christo Jivkov, Filippo Timi, Marco Baliani, Andre Hennicke, Fausto Russo Alesi
/ Contact Momento!
Saverio Costanzo (b. 1975, Rome) studied sociology and communication theory at La Sapienza university in Rome. He graduated in 1998 with a dissertation on American Italians in Brooklyn. Before this he spent two years in New York where, among other things, he worked as a cinematographer and also made the documentary Caffe Mille Luci, Brooklyn, New York (1999). His feature film debut Private (2004) won the Golden Leopard at Locarno and the David di Donatello award, presented in Italy to the best new director. The spiritual film In Memory of Myself, a loose adaptation of the novel Lacrime impure by Furio Monicelli, is his second film.
Momento!
38, rue de la Chine, 75020, Paris
France
Phone: +33 1 436 625 24
E-mail: [email protected]
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