•
Rating: The golden moment of Italian cinema continues. Italian Race marks a very good result in a genre that is not easy at all, like car racing cinema. There are some imperfections, but there are also several memorable and decidedly powerful moments. If we want to identify a characteristic trait, we can say that Rovere's work lives on moments, flashes, and accelerations that nail you to the seat; it struggles more to build wide spans, coherent and deep characterizations.
In this way, there are great moments of cinema, great lines always balanced between irony and a nihilistic abyss on one side, and somewhat rough and not properly polished narrative structures on the other. One cannot deny that the overall result is definitely good, but greater expertise could have avoided certain less convincing passages. Let's start then with the latter: if Accorsi's character is really good (I'll say more about this), the same cannot be said for the others. Giulia De Martino is a somewhat undefined figure because she is not consistent in her hardness and juxtaposes too alternating moods; she does not have her own number. The little brother Tonino and Loris' woman are just sketched; even though they have a certain evolution, they do not blend well into the story. They only serve as tools of the diegesis, they are pretexts to make the two brothers react. Even the supporting characters are a bit too stereotypical.
The protagonist and leading actor Loris is outlined quite well, thanks also to an excellent Accorsi, but it often risks the caricature, for example by repeating ad nauseam "Holy cow!" or with some overly exaggerated gestures. However, the choice to have him reconnect with his sister for mere economic reasons is good. In general, it avoids the easy trap of depicting a rotten and cursed man and then having him perform the noblest actions gratuitously. No, Loris has an impeccable, well-refined character development; his actions follow cause and effect dynamics without hyperbolic acts of heroism.
The errors are therefore venial and even understandable given the difficulty of making a car racing film that does not turn out too technical and cold, yet not amateurish in the action sequences. Italian Race is fully convincing in this sense: the development of automotive dynamics between the two brothers is excellent. It goes into the specifics of driving issues but without becoming incomprehensible: Loris thoroughly explains to his sister how to drive, but even the most inexperienced viewer understands everything well, because Giulia's evolution still follows a fairly clear direction, well summed up by the phrase: "You have to take some risks."
The training path therefore works and is appreciated for the freshness of the sequences that narrate it, especially when Loris uses unconventional methods to toughen up his sister. So the premises are good, but at a certain point, the autopilot is somewhat engaged: especially when Giulia regains points in the standings.
However, when the ending seemed ready to be tackled with great ease and banality, the right variation arrives that makes everything even harder and more vicious, everything more risky and bitter. The final race is one of the most exciting things because it is really on the edge; both victory and defeat are possible outcomes, thanks to the great premises set by the film. Success cannot be taken for granted because Rovere has been able to tell us before that things can also go wrong. It's not a minor detail.
If the management of the competitive aspects of the story is indeed very good, narratively speaking we are faced with a film with some imperfections. If certain junctions are introduced without emphasis, with elegance, others turn out a bit overdone to build a very strong emotional friction from the start. Above all, the issue of the mortgage on the house; it is unclear how a cautious father like Giulia's, all fearful, could have made such a risky choice. This passage could certainly have been explained better, which is nonetheless fundamental to give the whole thing an existential dimension.
The realization of the racing sequences is masterful also because many were extracted from real races; this helps to overcome the usual provincialism of Italian cinema that doesn't know how to make action sequences, etc. The international flair of the film is evident and at times excessive: with the umpteenth electronic song during high-speed sequences, it becomes a bit annoying. But also in general, Italian Race is a very clever work, sly when necessary, that wants to please at all costs. In some moments, it manages to captivate with excellent writing, staging, and acting; in others, the result is a bit more forced, but overall the defects are well hidden by the many, sparkling qualities.
3.5/5
Loading comments slowly
