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The last Italian film in competition is the protagonist of the day at the Lido: “Lubo” by Giorgio Diritti is the sixth Italian film in the running for the Golden Lion, after “Comandante” by Edoardo De Angelis, alba” by Saverio Costanzo, “Adagio” by Stefano Sollima, “Enea” by Pietro Castellitto and “Io Capitano” by Matteo Garrone.
The protagonist is the excellent Franz Rogowski in the role of the street artist Lubo, a nomad, who in 1939 is called into the Swiss army to defend the national borders from the risk of a German invasion. A short time later he discovers that his wife has died trying to prevent the gendarmes from taking away their three young children, who, as Jenisch, were taken from the family under the national re-education program for street children. Lubo knows that he will no longer have peace until he finds his children and obtains justice.
“Lubo” is a torrential film, a film that lasts three hours and in which we experience different emotions during the viewing: from suffering to joy, from hope to pain, this feature film takes us on a carousel full of various sensations. At the same time Mode is also a fluctuating product, with some moments of very high cinema followed by passages (especially in the central part) that are long-winded and which could undoubtedly have been done without.
A great incipit
The incipit, however, is very noteworthy, where the protagonist slowly reveals himself during a beautiful public performance among many people. Three years after the good work created with “Volevo hidermi”, centered on the life of the painter Antonio Ligabue, Diritti confirms himself as a good director and returns to the themes of the Second World War that he had already addressed in “The Man Who Will Come”, a touching story of the Marzabotto massacre. In “Lubo”, inspired by the novel “The Sower” by Mario Cavatore, he also feels very strong the political vocation in wanting to tell the injustice suffered by those nomadic families whose children were taken away with the excuse of the national re-education program. In fact, Diritti is also a film of denunciation, capable of shaking despite a certain general redundancy which partly weakens the overall involvement. The real added value of the operation, however, is undoubtedly the intense performance of Franz Rogowski, director who had already worked with Italian directors such as Gabriele Mainetti (“Freaks Out”) and Giovanni Abbruzzese (“Disco Boy”): the German actor, who we also admired this summer in “Passages”, gives yet another great performance of his career and he could be one of the main candidates for the Volpi Cup as best actor.
Holly
“Holly” by Belgian director Fien Troch also found space in the competition. At the center is the story of a teenager victim of bullying and gifted with decidedly unconventional powers. One day Holly calls her school saying that she wouldn’t leave home that day and a few hours later a fire breaks out in the institute killing several students. Anna, one of her teachers, is fascinated by Holly’s strange premonition and invites her to join her group of volunteers. Holly’s mere presence conveys serenity, warmth and hope. Soon, however, everyone wants to meet her and benefit from her extraordinary powers. This small feature film shot in an elegant way by her author is a film about adolescence and bullying. If the start promises a lot, unfortunately as the minutes pass the film deflates and ends up disappointing the high expectations created with the first sequences. Especially in the final part it seems that Fien Troch has lost the reins of the film a bit and what remains is a a film capable of stimulating, but too confused and crude to be truly successful.