[#InEnglish] Don’t hide away, watch this movie!
Hidden Away (2020)
Cast: Elio Germano, Leonardo Carrozzo, Oliver Ewy
Director: Giorgio Diritti
Synopsis: Toni, the son of an emigrant Italian mother, deported back to Italy from Switzerland where he spent his childhood, lived for years in a shack by the river without ever succumbing to loneliness, the cold or hunger. Meeting the sculptor Renato Marino Mazzacurati was his chance to return to painting, the beginning of a redemption story in which he feels art is the only way to form his identity, a real opportunity to make his name known and loved by the world. “El Tudesc,” as people called him, was a lonely, scrawny, ugly and often mocked and humiliated man. He became an imaginative artist who painted a fantasy world of tigers, gorillas and jaguars on the banks of the Po. Ligabue’s art is a “fairy tale” from which a wealth of diversity emerges and his work over time has proved to be a gift to collective humanity.
Length: 120’
Review :
Driven by curiosity, I walked through the doors of the cinema theater this morning, to discover the painter and sculptor, Antonio Ligabue. Riveted to beautiful colorful paintings – where animals seem to come alive – and puzzled by the ring of a name unknown to me, curiosity didn’t need to push me any further, I had to discover this personality! And I wasn’t disappointed.
In his film, Giorgio Diritti tries to depict the hard life of Antonio Ligabue in the most realistic way. Suffering from bipolar disorder, he was rejected by his family and all the population. Thinking that he was possessed by the devil, he enjoys animals’ lone company. Not a moment goes by without the impression of being the artist himself and feeling his uneasiness. Although we may feel intrusive at times, we can’t help being fascinated by Antonio Ligabue. Elio Germano’s incredible performance of the artist’s interpretation leaves us speechless. His performance earned him the award for best actor, during the Berlinale. He landed the role in a masterful way. One could almost think that he appropriated Antonio’s troubles, and that says a lot!
To immerse even more the spectator, Giorgio Diritti decided to change the colorimetry of the images according to Antonio’s psychological states. The cold colors of the first half of the film, devoted to the presentation of the character and his rough childhood, gradually give way to warm and vivid colors, similar to those in Antonio’s paintings.
After having seen the film, you must discover the original exhibition on Antonio Ligabue! The Festival proposed it in collaboration with the Espace d’Art Contemporain de La Roche-sur-Yon and the Fondazione Museo Antonio Ligabue (Gualtieri, Italy).
So don’t hide away and come take a look until November 14!
Sadek Alma
