TF9
Sogni D'Amore

A masterpiece lost in the depths of recent history, an inhumane offspring of unheard-of dementia, an astonishing creation that in its brevity has proven to have a comedic charge at least twenty times greater than any holiday comedy, brilliant comedy, or sketch conceived to make you laugh. We are faced with "Sogni d'Amore," the Turin telenovela that featured prominently on the schedule of Mai Dire TV in the early 90s. Broadcast by private channels Rete 3 Manila and the much more famous TF9 (renowned for hosting another genius like Mago Gabriel), produced by an unknown imaginative and unruly screenwriter, performed by indescribable "actors," inept, very ugly, and hilarious, directed by an unknown operator almost certainly afflicted with syphilis, this ignoble masterpiece is a must for all lovers of trash and for anyone who truly wants to laugh with a genuine autarchic product. Unfortunately, for viewing, we have to settle for the brief yet memorable clips aired by Italia Uno and marvelously commented on by the Gialappa's Band (all miraculously available on the Tube); I imagine the original tapes still exist well guarded by some lucky junk dealer, but this cannot be known for certain. A possible re-publication, perhaps on DVD and in the U-series home video market, remains a sadly utopian prospect.

Let's get to the content; it deals with the tragic-love-romantic stories of two newlyweds variously identified: from the initial pair Anna and Carlomaria, it transitions to the more famous and solid duo Marta and Mario, nymphomaniacs on the brink of their thirties, hairy and brutalized inhabitants of the Turin outskirts and a couple tormented by every kind of family disruption: betrayals, abortions, curses, homosexual designers, and various types of floozies. A catalog of situations well beyond the limit of the absurd, built on a script unworthy of that name; anything here makes you laugh: the expressions of the protagonists, the lines, the impressive collection of scene blunders and dead times that would embarrass any modern soap opera. Mythological are the two sidekicks of the young protagonists, namely her parents: Silvana, a toothless, deformed, and filthy housewife with greasy hair, and her husband, also variously identified during the soap as Mr. Amedeo, Rosario, or Sergio, a worthy shabby and smoky companion with a mustache full of wisdom. We underline the spectacular indecency of the soundtrack, made of stinky pseudo-fusion tunes, but it also includes the masterpiece "A Remark You Made" by Weather Report, the undisputed star of a lacerating and terrifying seduction scene that ends in an argument (episode 7), and also features an exceptional appearance by the Great Mago Gabriel, spiritualist and seer, who makes a cameo in a few episodes (10, 11, and 14) to reveal to the poor Mario that his tender wife is cheating on him with an old dandruffy man. Also memorable is the figure of Simonetta, a horribly ugly and slutty ex-schoolmate (her phone number would be 696969) who becomes Mario's lover, and her brother, Valentino, a gay and bearded designer dressed like a Roma who is hinted to have had an affair with Mario himself. Undrinkable and hilarious.

The series' pretensions of originality soon reduce to a shapeless conglomeration of scabrous situations revolving around sex: Marta tries to seduce a priest, Mario can’t hold back and goes to touch himself in the bathroom while his wife is pregnant, and then he goes to have sex with his lover after Marta just had an abortion and so on grandly.  Among the episodes that leave you most stunned with laughter, aside from the ones mentioned, are the third, with an anthology-worthy assault scene, the fifth, with Mr. Sergio/Amedeo accompanying Mario on a hooker tour, the thirteenth, with a formidable play of close-ups and an immense display of acting, and the twentieth, with the ailing father on a cot thrown on the floor (he should be in the hospital) with two straws in his nose after an undefined trauma.

"Sogni d'Amore" sucks from any technical point of view: the sets and locations, immersed in a desolate Turin suburb, with petty-bourgeois interiors probably arranged by a trash collector serve as the backdrop for boorish and senseless acting, aided by editing done with a machete and the absolute lack of professionalism of anyone involved. But in terms of comedic power, there are no saints; it is a true masterpiece of nonsense and charlatanism, one of the ugliest and most hilarious television products of all time, in short, a true milestone. Take an hour of your life and go watch all thirty short videos posted online: you certainly won't regret it.

Thank you TF9 and thanks to Gialappa's, who, with one of the most intelligent and entertaining shows ever, brought this monstrous marvel into the limelight. And thanks to all the crew and the powerful stable of actors from all the amused Italians.