The interpretive duel between two great veterans of Italian cinema turns into an acclaimed prison drama with a successful atmosphere, which aspires to eleven David di Donatello awards
Movies whose story is usually set within prison walls are a genre in their own right. There are many capital prison dramas in the history of cinema, from ‘Escape or Victory’ to ‘Life in prison’, through ‘The Green Mile’, ‘The Great Escape’, ‘The Midnight Express’ or ‘A Prophet’ . ‘, just to name a few well-known titles. Far from running out of raw material, the prison as a backdrop continues to bear fruit in fiction, with original stories such as the one in hand, ‘Ariaferma’, one of the weekend’s most interesting premieres, whose biggest claim is the interpretive duel between two greats of contemporary Italian cinema, veterans Toni Servillo and Silvio Orlando, featured in must-see movies, “The Great Beauty” or “The Alligator,” respectively.
Led by Leonardo di Costanzo (‘The Bridges of Sarajevo’), they play two hostile roles that eventually meet, because although the first is a security guard and the second a convict, they survive under the same roof. The film aspires to eleven David di Donatello Awards, the Italian Goyas.
‘Ariaferma’ had its international premiere in the official section of the Venice Film Festival and opened the Mostra de Cine Italiano de Barcelona. He visits the billboard looking for his place, the author’s film circuit and the original version, with several points in his favor apart from the excellent author work. The action, mainly structured by the dialogue between the prisoners and the guards, takes place in a prison whose days are numbered. Before it closes, there are only a handful of inmates left and several officials who reluctantly stay at the base of the gorge for several days before the prison’s final closure, doing their job.
The atmosphere of the penitentiary, which dates back to the 19th century, is exceptional, as is the atmosphere between the incarcerated criminals and the guards. Sometimes they behave just as cruelly, or show unexpected emotions. Bureaucratic issues that everyone has to deal with make it difficult to leave the place and conflict arises. The interesting thing is that there is a continuous tension, it can be cut with a knife, but as a viewer we can’t imagine what can happen as the protocols are softened and the rules of the game change in a strange environment of coexistence.
The recording of ‘Ariaferma’ took place in a real prison, with everything that goes with it. The pulse between Servillo and Orlando grows in favor of the tension. Power relations are on the table. Highly recommended, far from clichés, with a nice calm rhyme that offers a different view on a complex subject. It will particularly appeal to gourmets of Italian cinema, whose characters have the ability to penetrate deeply if described well.
Source: La Verdad
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