Paolo Strippoli’s dark, disquieting new film, La valle dei sorrisi, has been given the English title, The Holy Boy. The actual translation is, “the valley of smiles,’ which is far more potent, and accurate.
This creepy, bone-chilling, yet clever and incisive film disturbed the crap out of me but also left me with this oddly giddy feeling—probably because it is one of the best, most assuredly crafted, horror films I’ve seen in quite a while.
The film opens with the radio broadcast of a train accident that has killed 46 people. A mother is trying to feed her infant son in a kitchen, after dad has left for a trip. All of a sudden, mom freezes, spoon in hand, then falls to the floor. She is soon crawling to the open window in the distance, where she jumps out—all the while a blurred Virgin Mary statue appears in the corner right frame. WTF, just happened?
The film then flashes forward a dozen years or so to the town of Remis, where the welcome sign states we’ve entered The Valley of Smiles. Sergio (Michele Riondino), a troubled and angry former Judo champion, haunted by his past, arrives to substitute teach Phys Ed to a bunch of high schoolers. To say he doesn’t want to be there—or anywhere–is an understatement.
One night, one of his fits frightens Michela (Romana Maggiora Vergano), the local bartender, and she realizes how damaged he is and that the cure is a hug from Matteo (Giulio Feltri), the shy teen boy who the entire town seems to simultaneously revere and fear. These townsfolk line up for hours for one embrace, which takes away all their pain, anguish and sorrow. And it seems to work for Sergio, who begins to get the know the boy. But Sergio soon discovers a host of disturbing things about the villagers, who see Matteo as a saint not to be messed with. He also becomes privy to the frightening secrets involving Matteo’s true powers.
As Matteo is coaxed from his introverted shell, we realize he has crush on Lorenzo (Diego Nardini), the cute, curly-mopped boy who bullies him–adding a fascinating queer-layer to the already dense story.
Riondino does a fine job as Sergio. The character is on a quest for some kind of redemption, but Riondino imbues him with great depth of feeling, especially when it comes to wanting to understand the seemingly trapped and emotionally-arrested Matteo.
Feltri is an absolute revelation in his first film role. Matteo is about as enigmatic a figure as they cinematically come. He’s a boy given the kind of gifts only the gods should have. With his expressions, body movement and spots of white hair, Feltri is riveting to watch.
Paolo Pierobon has some fine moments as Mauro, Matteo’s father.
Strippoli and his DP, Cristiano Di Nicola, expertly use the camera to give us a warped and skewed perception of life in this strange town, often from the POV of Matteo.
The Holy Boy explores the dark side of human nature, especially in a community entrenched in extreme religious beliefs (in this case Catholicism) and people’s desperate, debilitating need to belong. It also makes a case for how much we need our pain in order to move on with our lives. The film also delves into sexual identity in a unique manner. It does all of this and much more, while, also, scaring the bejesus out of you!
The Holy Boy is part of the Venice Film Festival Midnight — Out of Competition Series
https://www.labiennale.org
