Ladies from high society and the demimonde, intellectuals, politicians and monuments, all observed by the knowing eye of Jep Gambardella, journalist and author of just one novel. An aging rake played by Toni Servillo knows many a secret in Rome but can’t seem to navigate his own life. Rome, as it appears to Paolo Sorrentino a half-century after La dolce vita, is so enchanting it almost breaks your heart.
Journalist Jep Gambardella, author of a single novel, cool king of fashionable soirees, caustically ironic commentator and tireless Casanova, is celebrating his 65th birthday. The aging playboy, who lives within sight of the Colosseum, seems to be one of the few people to know the secrets of Rome – the Eternal City, submerged in the shadows of its grand past. But the blinding yet empty metropolis he strolls through with such elegance also seems to reflect the emptiness and futility of Jep’s actions and the antics of his friends, who carouse until sunrise. He begins to ask himself questions that he had previously ignored, and through his mask of irony we begin to see his disgust with others and himself. Waiting for the next film by Paolo Sorrentino, one of the most intriguing filmmakers around today, is a little like waiting for a drug whose effects provide an irresistible and vibrant combination of beauty and sorrow. Reminiscent of the work of Federico Fellini, this intoxicating existentialist oeuvre with hints of the grotesque was one of the biggest attractions at the recent festival in Cannes. Toni Servillo, always excellent and always innovative, plays the main protagonist.
142 min / Color, DCP
Director Paolo Sorrentino
/ Screenplay Paolo Sorrentino, Umberto Contarello
/ Dir. of Photography Luca Bigazzi
/ Music Lele Marchitelli
/ Editor Cristiano Travaglioli
/ Producer Nicola Giuliano, Francesca Cima
/ Production Indigo Film
/ Cast Toni Servillo, Carlo Verdone, Sabrina Ferilli, Carlo Buccirosso
/ Contact Pathé International, Film Europe s.r.o.
/ Distributor Film Europe s.r.o.
Paolo Sorrentino (b. 1970, Naples, Italy) is recognized at home and abroad. At the start of his career, he worked as a writer for filmmakers and various theaters in Naples. His 1998 short film Love Knows No Bounds (L’amore non ha confini) earned him numerous awards. His debut feature One Man Up (L’uomo in più) was shown in competition at the 2001 Venice IFF and the following year at KVIFF. Since The Consequences of Love (Le conseguenze dell’ amore) screened at Cannes in 2004, his films have appeared regularly at the world’s most renowned film festival: The Family Friend (2005), The Divine (2008; Jury Prize), This Must Be the Place (2011) and this year’s The Great Beauty. Sorrentino is also a respected author: in 2010 he published his first novel, Everybody’s Right, followed two years later by another book with the same protagonist, Tony Pagoda and His Friends.
Pathé International
6 Ramillies St., W1F 7TY, London
United Kingdom
Phone: +44 207 323 5151
Fax: +44 207 631 3568
E-mail: [email protected]
Film Europe s.r.o.
Matuškova 10, 831 01, Bratislava
Slovakia
E-mail: [email protected]
Paolo Sorrentino
Film Director
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