I, Harlequin
Description
Paolo Milesi has a successful talk show about to move into prime time when he finds out that his father, Giovanni, has cancer. Giovanni is a well-known commedia dell’arte performer from Bergamo whose troupe has fallen on hard financial times. Encouraging the group toward a final command performance, Paolo is forced to take the stage himself when his dad’s health takes a turn for the worse. Forced to rely on performative and physical talent over his telegenic good looks, the TV star gains a new respect for his father’s life and work. Giorgio Pasotti, who co-wrote, co-directed and also plays Paolo, demonstrates a palpable affection for this very particular theatrical tradition that incorporates an overall improvisatory style underlain with broad humor and stock characters such as the mischievous servant Harlequin and the miserly merchant Pantalone. Representing a theatrical history that began in the 16th century, this heartwarming, rich film charmingly reinvents commedia dell’arte for the 21st.
Matteo Bini graduated from film school in Milan in 2004 and worked as an editor for Italian television and on several documentaries. He made the prize-winning short film Morning in 2013; I, Harlequin is his first feature film as co-director.
Giorgio Pasotti was born in Bergamo and began studying martial arts at the age of six, eventually reaching the highest rank in the art of wushu and performing in several Chinese films including Drunken Master Killer (1994) and Dragon Fury II (1996). He returned to Italy to focus more on acting, starring in many well-known films including The Great Beauty (NIC 2014) and The Last Kiss (2001). I, Harlequin is his first feature film as co-director.
Trailer
//www.youtube.com/embed/alCS0aCgTxcFilm Details
Language Italian
Original Language Title Io, Arlecchino
Year 2014
Runtime 90
Country Italy
Director Matteo Bini, Giorgio Pasotti
Producer Nicola Salvi, Elisabetta Sola
Writer Maurice Caldera, Matteo Bini
Editor Michele Chiappa
Cinematographer Charlie Goodger
Music Matthew James Kelly
Cast Giorgio Pasotti, Roberto Herlitzka, Valeria Bilello
Print Source Rai Cinema