Review of Intrepido: A Lonely Hero

"L'intrepido" has been a real disappointment. Touted as a delicate movie about the economic crisis, it is really a not-so-good movie with a great star - Antonio Albanese - whose constant presence and skill cover the many defects of a ill-written screenplay. Antonio, the main character, is a contemporary version of Charlot, someone who lives his honourable life without a job and a family (but with an ex-wife and a son), while not accepting any compromises with "evil". The idea may be good, but the actual story is badly built: what is the purpose of the exam? Is it only a pretext to introduce Lucia? In the first minutes, it would seem that this is the only reason of life for Antonio, who is enraged just once in the movie, when some kids start ripping his exercise book. But this element, like so many others, is left unresolved: the only thing that goes on is Antonio's smile. Many people have praised the good sentiments in the movie, but Chaplin and Capra had another kind of stamina. You need to be much more rational if you really want to encourage the expression of good sentiments on screen and among the public. All in all, the movie remains disappointing to the end, even if Albanese keeps giving us his warm, rich humanity, but this is perhaps the biggest regret. It is a pity to waste the talent of Antonio Albanese on such a half-baked story.