Nostalgia

• Pierfrancesco Favino receives a true gift with Felice. The role allows him to anchor the focus of a story where introspection is fundamental. Had the lead gone to a less skilled or seasoned actor, this state of mind could easily have been mistaken for apathy. It is not that Felice is timid—quite the contrary, since his interactions with the other characters are devoid of hesitation or ceremony.

• The film’s lovely, laconic first half is especially effective in capturing the sense of discovery that comes with returning to one’s place of birth. Felice, played by the stoic Pierfrancesco Favino, wanders the streets of his childhood neighbourhood, willing himself to feel more at home. The longer he stays, the less able he finds himself to leave these simultaneously intimate and alien streets.

• The encounter between the two characters easily provides the film's finest interaction, a climax that amounts to an acting duel featuring the work's sharpest dialogue; it was the long-awaited moment and does not disappoint, turning Lasco into such an endearing figure that the film's ending leaves a poignant aftertaste.

• While Mario Martone’s latest film Nostalgia is rather on-the-nose with its title, why beat around the bush with a film this emotionally direct, with a heartbeat that gloriously bridges the past and the present. Crafted with sensitivity, care, and candour, this nostalgic excursion proved surprisingly modern, being one of the strongest films at Cannes.

• Perhaps my rating owes much to the fact that I know Naples well and have visited that rione or district of Sanità, which is like a microcosm of the city: motley, old and new, human and tragic. It is no wonder that the protagonist, Felice, after 40 years of forced absence, wishes out of nostalgia to live in his neighborhood once again.

1 / 5