Writer, directors and twin brothers Damiano and Fabio D’Innocenzo are taking part in this year’s Valletta Film Festival with their debut film Boys Cry (La Terra dell’Abbastanza) in the Competition – Feature Films section.
Mirko (Matteo Olivetti) and Manolo (Andrea Carpenzano) are best friends who live in the suburbs of Rome. They both come from very poor backgrounds, live with their single parents, and work odd jobs to make ends meet. Like most in their situation, they dream of better lives. They are given the chance to improve their lot after a horrific road accident, where they run over a man, killing him.
The incident leads them to becoming foot soldiers to the local mafia boss, and their lives change dramatically as they resort to violence and murder, spiralling into a situation which is impossible to back away from.
This gritty Italian noir proves to be a highly accomplished debut for the brothers. They tell a no-holds barred, hard-hitting story, about two young men whose abject lives offer no chance of betterment.
The choices Mirko and Manolo make are reprehensible, and the ease with which they succumb to the dark side is shocking. And, while they invite no sympathy from the audience, the incisive way their background is portrayed leads to some level of understanding of the choices they make, even if we cannot condone those choices.
The D’Innocenzos’s focus is purely on the boys and their odyssey, with the two actors providing an authentic study of disaffected youth – Mirko with his shaved head, piercing blue eyes and easy swagger, Manolo with his shock of curly hair and more introverted behaviour.
The violence they witness – and inflict – is subtly shown but effective. The arrogance of the mafia bosses is realistically portrayed, down to their sense of invulnerability, their lack of moral compass, and ghastly treatment of women – in the main seen-but-not heard wives and daughters, and a bevy of prostitutes.
A far cry from the myriad magnificent landmarks of la Città Eterna
Born in 1988, Damiano and Fabio D’Innocenzo spent their childhood on the outskirts of Rome, painting, writing poems, and shooting pictures, and had no formal training in filmmaking to speak of when they made Boys Cry. This is a fact which belies the quiet confidence they display both in their narrative and character development, and their roles behind the camera. The intimate way in which they tell their story displays a familiarity with that world, leading one to wonder whether it is based on experiences they ever witnessed in their own lives.
“The background against which the story is set is from our own lives,” confirms Damiano D’Innocenzo. “We grew up there, and we easily could capture the rhythm of that zone. However, the rest of the story is purely fiction and straight from our imagination.”
Boys Cry’s original title is La Terra dell’Abbastanza (The Land of Just Enough). The English title is a direct contradiction of Mirko’s girlfriend Ambra’s accusation that he never cries, hinting that beneath his veneer of aloofness and newfound swagger lies some moral compunction, even if it is hard to see below the surface.
Yet, the original title seems to imply that Mirko and Manolo become involved with the mafia simply because they do not have enough. Because they long for better things which will never materialise. Fabio D’Innocenzo describes it as a ‘democratic’ title. “Because it lets audiences interpret it as they want,” he explains. “It opens up the imagination, provokes questions. What is ‘enough’? And how do we relate to the concept of ‘enough’. Is ‘enough’ really what we want? Or is there more?”
In the film, we see parts of Rome that are rarely seen in movies, a far cry from the myriad magnificent landmarks of ‘la Città Eterna’ we are used to seeing on film. Do the brothers believe it is important to show the dark underbelly of cities that are so beloved, places that tourists would never dream of visiting?
Damiano concurs. “There is a part of us which always wants to focus on the ethical and moral aspects of life, and this depiction of this area of the city is important. Some outskirts of Rome are hidden by the media, it’s almost like a fear of ghosts! Rome is a magical city but it is managed by hysterical ego-maniacs looking for money and power and ignoring the bad side. Rome doesn’t deserve them. And people need to know that these hidden areas exist as well. It’s like a relationship with a friend – you need to know the good and the bad things about them.”
What do the brothers hope audiences at the Valletta Film Festival will take away from the movie? “We hope the Valletta Film Festival can engage with our poetic story as a universal and archetypal one,” says Damiano. We hope audience get involved with our characters and love them, laugh with them empathise with them, and suffer with them. We are really happy and honoured to be with you there.”
www.vallettafilmfestival.com