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Rating: My relationship with TV shows was rather fluctuating, at least during high school. I remember that in class, copies—strictly pirated—of episodes of "Lost," "24," and "Dr. House" circulated because we couldn't wait for them to be dubbed (and months could pass), falling behind the rest of the world. I remember classmates who spent sleepless nights trying to download the latest episode of "Scrubs" just to comment on it. From there, a search began, albeit at my lazy pace, for the series that would suit me (then I discovered it already existed, "Twin Peaks," and my cinephile friends adored it), also trying to trust others' recommendations (curse the day I dared to watch "Chuck"). Amidst all this bustling, I wondered why Italy only had those little things we're capable of, or at least, I wondered until I saw "Boris."
It was a flash, a coup de foudre. Grotesque and brilliant at the same time, well-made and intelligent. The characters are well-defined. It has its funny sides but is above all a magnificent slice of our country's life, of how things go in the television environment and in life's settings. Portraying reality well: a rare gift we needed, at least in my opinion. Naturally, the movie immediately captured my attention, starved as I was for the DVDs and continuous viewings of the episodes (accompanied, of course, by the usual reflections with my cinephile and boozy friends). I went to the cinema eager and determined to answer three questions:
1) Is the film self-referential concerning the series?
2) Did the film manage to include reflective elements, satirical cues, and critical segments towards the current reality? Did it maintain the series' sharpness despite the time difference?
3) Is it worth watching?
The plot is this: René Ferretti, a director with a volatile career, is experiencing a moment of work calm after refusing to shoot a scene. To his surprise, Sergio, an old friend of René in trouble after some health issues, manages (probably through some fraudulent means) to obtain the rights to "La Casta" by Sergio Rizzo and Gian Antonio Stella. The timeframe is quite tight: the script must be written, and the film shot in two months. The project is rather ambitious, the actors have been recruited, and the team under René's command includes big names, but setbacks are constant, and compromises hard. Surrounding the production is a plethora of characters, many of whom are old acquaintances of the director, trying to carve out their own space both in front of and behind the camera. On the surface, it seems like an uneven battle, but the solution will be unexpected, grotesque, and brilliant like the series.
Now the answers to the three questions: starting with the second. The plot itself doesn't seem to contain great moments of satire but the film contains little gems that show us the paradoxes of cinema (magnificent irony on screenwriters, their style, how certain actresses always get the same roles, and other nuances) and of life. Those expecting to watch it lightly are better off staying home because these are small things that risk getting lost within bouts of robust and rustic humor (a similar reasoning was proposed for "Qualunquemente" in the recent past). It's not a comedy film: it has its funny sides, so it makes serious content more digestible, but it's still a dark-colored film. It is indeed self-referential, it's worth admitting. Is it a fault? Only to an extent, it's understandable for those who have never seen the series, but creating a film that strayed too far would have been a complicated (and risky) endeavor. It would have risked contradicting everything, and there are times you bless the compromise.
Is it worth watching? Yes, for all the things I've seen above. Yes, for another reason: it's a beautiful film, well-made. Many directors are losing the joy of doing their job, of valuing a shot or the cinematography. Films should also be pleasant to watch, and too often we forget this. "Boris - The Film" falls into this category, without needing to be a masterpiece.
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