I love it when a film appears to be moving along in a predictable fashion as a standard genre entry, and then, takes a jarring left turn down its own spectacular, messy, unexpected route towards a satisfying yet surprising destination. That’s the course that Andrea Di Stefano’s delightful yet layered buddy/sports movie takes.
Set in the summer of the late 1980s, Il maestro (My Tennis Master) focuses on 13-year-old, wide-eyed Felice (extraordinary newcomer Tiziano Menichelli), who has been training uber-hard with his father, Pietro (Giovanni Ludeno), in preparation to compete in the national tennis tournaments. Pietro has very rigid, strict ways he expects Felice to play. And as good as the boy is at the game, he’s naïve to most other things. To best prep him, Pietro enlists the coaching of former champion Raul Gatti (Pierfrancesco Favino) who, unbeknownst to most, has fallen on hard time and may be suffering from mental illness.
Raul takes Felice under his tutelage, and the boy loses one match after the next. Yet despite the defeats, this odd duo forge a strange but deeply affecting bond, both learning from each other and appreciating one another.
Favino is one of Italy’s most celebrated actors, but also internationally renowned. His credits include Pablo Larrain’s Maria, Marco Bellocchio’s The Traitor and Ron Howard’s Rush. I first became aware of him in Michele Placido’s highly underrated crime drama, Romanzo Criminale, in 2005. He’s a wonder of an actor excelling in all genres and constantly challenging himself. Here he is given one of his most vulnerable characters and does an exceptional job opposite the beguiling Menichelli.
The charming screenplay by Di Stefano and Ludovica Rampoldi, refreshingly keeps us guessing as to where the narrative is going, while continuing to flesh out our central characters.
Di Stefano began his career in film as an actor working with Marco Bellocchio, Dario Argento, Julian Schnabel and Ang Lee. His first directorial features wereEscobar: Paradise Lost and The Informer, starring Joel Kinnaman, Rosamund Pike and Ana de Armas. And his first film in Italian was L’ultima notte di Amore (Last Night of Amore), starring Favino. This is his best work yet.
Il Maestro is a portrait of a damaged but well-intentioned mentor and a young man who hasn’t been allowed to let loose. Raul may start out as a burnt-out mercenary, but he grows to care for his mentee. And Felice slowly realizes that life can be a lot more fun if you decide to break some rules.
In Italian with English Subtitles.
Il Maestro is being presented Out of Competition.
https://www.labiennale.org
