On February 19th Massimo Troisi would have turned seventy. To celebrate this important anniversary, on Friday February 17th Rai Documentari will premiere at 21.25:3 pm on Rai XNUMX the documentary film “Buon compleanno Massimo” by Marco Spagnoli.
A Samarcanda Film production, in collaboration with Rai Documentari, with Regione Campania Film Commission and with Ufficio Cinema del Comune di Napoli, which will then be available on RaiPlay starting from 19 February 2023.
The film features: Renzo Arbore, Eugenio Bennato, Jerry Calà, Maurizio Casagrande, Enrico Casarosa, Vittorio Cecchi Gori, Nino D'Angelo, Enzo De Caro, Maurizio De Giovanni Lello Esposito, Fabio Fazio, Francesco Frigeri, Massimiliano Gallo, Frank Matano, Pietra Montecorvino, Francesca Neri, Franco Oppini, Ferzan Özpetek, Iris Peynado, Roberto Perpignani, Nini Salerno, Umberto Smaila, Cinzia TH Torrini, Rosaria Troisi, Roberto Vecchioni.
“Buon compleanno Massimo” tells the life, work, genius and vision of Massimo Troisi through unpublished and engaging testimonies and retraces the most important moments of a “unique” life and career.
Massimo Troisi's life is remembered by his own family, friends, collaborators and those who had the opportunity to know him in the many aspects of his personality. The rich archive materials, mixed with an intense and emotional story, will lead the viewer on a journey to discover the artist beyond the unforgettable, profound man, with great irony and humanity.
A story about the physical, but also metaphorical heart of one of the greatest Italian artists of the twentieth century, about his relationship with Naples, about his calm and sincere look on life and the world, but also on the injustices and pettiness of existence, which he completely repudiated.
Massimo Troisi is remembered by many direct witnesses, some probably unexpected, who talk about his work and his personal commitment as a man and as an artist: the anecdotes of his friends and colleagues (I Gatti di Vicolo Miracoli, Nino D'Angelo, Francesca Neri, etc.) mix with the memories of all those who worked systematically with the artist from San Giorgio a Cremano in different contexts, such as Renzo Arbore.
Finally, there will be interviews with contemporary artists who are more or less directly inspired by Troisi, such as Frank Matano. In this story, guiding the viewer to the discovery of Massimo Troisi's life and his importance in the collective imagination of Naples and Italy is Maurizio De Giovanni, one of the main Italian writers and also one of the most influential Neapolitan authors of his generation.
De Giovanni, a great admirer of Massimo Troisi, belongs to the same generation as the late director, from whom he was separated by just under five years: born in 1958 in Naples, De Giovanni remembers very well the impact of Massimo Troisi's cinema (1953) and his charismatic figure, not to mention the beneficial influence on the Neapolitan city of which he himself is a narrator, albeit from a different point of view.
“Remembering Massimo Troisi on the days when he would have turned seventy – says Fabrizio Zappi, Director of Rai Documentari – is for me and for Rai a source of great satisfaction, combined with a sincere affection for an extraordinary character, who, by leaving us too soon, left us with the feeling of having lost a friend even before one of the greatest actors and directors of the post-war period.
This documentary, which manages to portray his most authentic humanity as well as his extraordinary artistic talent, was also born with the ambition of soothing this collective wound, giving us back a memory of Massimo that is more alive than ever”.
Article published on 16 February 2023 - 15:30
A beautiful tribute to Massimo Troisi, an unforgettable artist who left an indelible mark on the history of Italian cinema.