Sydney Sibilia
L'incredibile Storia dell'isola delle Rose

Bologna, 1967, inside a brewery: Giorgio (Elio Germano speaking with a believable Bolognese accent) is a young engineer celebrating with some friends, in a jovial manner, for having passed the state exam. Among them is Maurizio (Leonardo Lidi), who seems to be the closest friend: he also just passed the exam, has been drunk for a while, and is moving from one mug to another.

After losing a bet, Giorgio is about to try to kiss a girl to pay his penalty when he sees Gabriella, his ex. After the party, the two linger to drink another beer and chat a little. They parted ways for a strange reason: their relationship ended due to a television set that exploded in Gabriella's family home (Matilda De Angelis) because of a faulty cathode ray tube. This is who Giorgio is, a mad inventor.

In fact, this is just one of Giorgio's adventures with technology. In recent years, Giorgio has indeed created a car with which he is finally getting around Bologna. He gives Giulia a ride home, but since the car lacks a number plate and registration, they are taken to the police station.

This makes Giulia furious, and being a perfect law expert, she clashes with Giorgio and his creative idea of absolute freedom. The two leave the precinct and part ways once more.

Giorgio tries to engage in a "normal" job, but dreams and thoughts lead him to miserably fail.

What are his dreams? To create a totally independent society, taking a ride in his car shouldn't depend on a sheet of paper. Where to create it? In the middle of the Adriatic, outside of national waters. How to create it? Simple, he and Maurizio are two ingenious engineers and decide to give it a try. After all, a few calculations are all they need.

They bring empty tubes, submerge them vertically, and put a platform on top of them.

The life of the island will be as brief and dazzling as a rock star's life.

The stories of our dreamers are accompanied by the original music of Michele Braga, evoking the hopeful tunes of the late years of Italy's economic miracle.

And full of hope is Sidney Sibilia's film, "L'isola delle rose," which is not a masterpiece, but it has the merit of telling a beautiful story, a story unjustly forgotten by most: the story of love, the story of a dream, and the story of victory in defeat.