There’s a pastoral scene about halfway through Mario Martone’s indulgent portrait of Italian theatrical legend Eduardo Scarpetta which throws everything else into sharp relief. In it, we see one of the playwright’s youngest children, Peppino (Salvatore Battista) running through the farmyard at the place where he is being temporarily fostered, chasing a playful young lamb. Here there are soft green hills, the sun is warm, the buildings are humble but welcoming. Later, Peppino will ask for permission to share his bed with the lamb. he doesn’t want to leave. He doesn’t want to go back to that ugly house in the city.
That ugly house is known as the Scarpetta palace, a lavishly furnished, expansive mansion where the playwright (played by Toni Servillo) lives with his wife and mistresses and some of his numerous offspring. it’s a place where the women and girls are...
That ugly house is known as the Scarpetta palace, a lavishly furnished, expansive mansion where the playwright (played by Toni Servillo) lives with his wife and mistresses and some of his numerous offspring. it’s a place where the women and girls are...
- 11/25/2022
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The Great Beauty and The Hand Of God star Toni Servillo plays Neopolitan actor and playwright Eduardo Scarpetta in The King Of Laughter (Qui Rido Io), Mario Martone’s latest Venice Film Festival competition premiere. An affectionate, theatrical portrait set in the early 20th century, it culminates in an historic court case, but the build-up is leisurely to a fault.
We first meet Scarpetta when he’s preparing to go on stage. It’s a place where he seems the happiest, if you discount the beds of various female family members. That pretty much sums up the characterization that takes over two hours to repeat. We see that Scarpetta craves the adulation and laughter of the audience, and is having affairs with both his wife’s sister and his wife’s niece. Everyone knows that the resulting children are his, but it’s barely spoken of: he’s known as “Uncle” to the kids.
We first meet Scarpetta when he’s preparing to go on stage. It’s a place where he seems the happiest, if you discount the beds of various female family members. That pretty much sums up the characterization that takes over two hours to repeat. We see that Scarpetta craves the adulation and laughter of the audience, and is having affairs with both his wife’s sister and his wife’s niece. Everyone knows that the resulting children are his, but it’s barely spoken of: he’s known as “Uncle” to the kids.
- 9/11/2021
- by Anna Smith
- Deadline Film + TV
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