Leopardi (film)

2014 Italian drama film

Leopardi

Film poster

Directed by| Mario Martone
Written by| Mario Martone
Ippolita Di Majo
Produced by| Carlo Degli Esposti
Nicola Serra
Starring|

* Elio Germano
* Michele Riondino
* Massimo Popolizio
* Anna Mouglalis
* Valerio Binasco
* Paolo Graziosi
* Iaia Forte
* Isabella Ragonese

Cinematography| Renato Berta
Edited by| Jacopo Quadri
Music by| Apparat
Distributed by| 01 Distribution

Release dates

* 1 September 2014 (2014-09-01) (Venice)
* 16 October 2014 (2014-10-16) (Italy)

Running time

| 137 minutes
Country| Italy
Languages| Italian
Neapolitan

Leopardi (Italian: Il giovane favoloso) is a 2014 Italian biographical drama film directed by Mario Martone. It was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 71st Venice International Film Festival.[1][2] It was also screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.[3]

## Plot

[edit]

The film tells the story of the short life of the great Italian poet Giacomo Leopardi. He was a noble, born in Recanati, and soon began to study Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic and English in the rich library of his palace that his father built. Giacomo, however, possessing an inquisitive, restless spirit, would like to travel abroad to widen his views and enrich his knowledge, as was usual for European landed gentry in the 19th century, though this desire is at odds with his parents (even if his father had a sensibility akin to his, he is too bound by the social conventions and the expectations tied to his role as pater familias; his mother, on the other hand, is too busy shoring up the household declining fortunes to even care about intellectual aspirations). So the poet begins to write his first works, reflecting on the human condition, coming to the conclusion that unhappiness is a constant factor of human existence, and that in life there is no remedy for this problem. In the 1820s, Leopardi can finally leave his native Recanati, and begin to travel to Rome and Florence where, however, his high expectations of intellectual rewards and public recognition are not achieved. He suffered from repeated instances of unrequited love: that he chiefly felt towards the Countess Fanny Targioni Tozzetti, contributing to Leopardi's negative view of life and human experience. He finally moves to Naples, where a physical affliction results in his premature death.

## Cast

[edit]

* Elio Germano as Giacomo Leopardi
* Isabella Ragonese as Paolina Leopardi
* Anna Mouglalis as Fanny Targioni Tozzetti
* Michele Riondino as Antonio Ranieri
* Massimo Popolizio as Monaldo Leopardi
* Valerio Binasco as Pietro Giordani
* Paolo Graziosi as Carlo Antici
* Iaia Forte as Miss Rosa

## Awards and nominations

[edit]

Awards

Award  | Category  | Recipients and nominees  | Result
71st Venice International Film Festival[4][5] | Golden Lion | Mario Martone | Nominated
Pasinetti Award for Best Actor  | Elio Germano | Won
Young Jury Members of the Vittorio Veneto Film Festival Award for Best Actor  | Elio Germano | Won
Piccioni Award  | Sascha Ring  | Won
Akai Award for Best Actress  | Iaia Forte | Won
60th David di Donatello Awards[6] | Best Film | Palomar and Rai Cinema | Nominated
Best Director | Mario Martone | Nominated
Best Script | Mario Martone and Ippolita Di Majo | Nominated
Best Producer | Palomar and Rai Cinema  | Nominated
Best Actor | Elio Germano | Won
Best Cinematography | Renato Berta | Nominated
Best Production Design | Giancarlo Muselli | Won
Best Costumes | Ursula Patzak | Won
Best Make-up | Maurizio Silvi | Won
Best Hairstyling | Aldo Signoretti and Alberta Giuliani | Won
Best Editing | Jacopo Quadri | Nominated
Best Score | Sacha Ring | Nominated
Best Visual Effects  | Chromatica  | Nominated
Youngs' David | Mario Martone  | Nominated

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "International competition of feature films". Venice. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
2. ^ "Venice Film Festival Lineup Announced". Deadline. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
3. ^ "TIFF Adds 'Clouds of Sils Maria' and 'Two Days, One Night,' Reveals 5 More Lineups". Indiewire. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
4. ^ "Festival di Venezia 2014: ecco tutti i premi della 71ma Mostra del Cinema". ComingSoon.it. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
5. ^ "Venezia71, Anime Nere vince il Premio Akai, migliori attori Antonori e Forte". la Nuova di Venezia. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
6. ^ "David di Donatello 2015, le cinquine: 16 nomination per "Anime nere", 14 per Martone". Retrieved 11 May 2015.

## External links

[edit]

* Leopardi at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Mario Martone

* Death of a Neapolitan Mathematician (1992)
* Rasoi (1993)
* Nasty Love (1995)
* The Vesuvians (segment "La salita", 1997)
* Rehearsals for War (1998)
* The Scent of Blood (2004)
* We Believed (2010)
* Leopardi (2014)
* Capri-Revolution (2018)
* The Mayor of Rione Sanità (2019)
* The King of Laughter (2021)
* Nostalgia (2022)
* Massimo Troisi: Somebody Down There Likes Me (2023)
* Fuori (2025)

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