The film opens on the plains stretching out before Vesuvius when we see an 18th-century carriage enter the scene and draw to a halt in the square in front of a villa. There’s a wedding going on at the Grand Hotel La Sonrisa in Sant’Antonio Abate (NA), which is being attended by a local pseudo celebrity who was a contestant on Big Brother. When the party’s over, Luciano and his many family members return home to a decrepit house, with peeling walls and crumbling rooms, like a gloomy stage once the footlights have been turned off.
Luciano divides his time between home, actually Villa Pignatelli di Montecalvo in San Giorgio a Cremano, and the fishmonger’s, which was recreated in the large circular courtyard of Villa Pignatelli di Monteleone, in the Neapolitan district of Barra. There is a 4m tall statue of Christ with his arms open in the centre of the piazza, which is surrounded by shops, bottegas, street vendors and a bar, bustling with a group of people who, all together, make up the market. The fishmonger’s is also where the illegal trading of food processors takes place, with Luciano chasing after clients right into the church (one such scene in the film was shot in the Church of Santi Marcellino e Festo, in the historic centre of Naples).
Luciano’s big moment comes with two auditions for Big Brother, the first held briefly at the Vulcano Buono shopping centre in Nola (NA), and the second directly at Cinecittà. In the gardens surrounding the studios, Luciano gazes in amazement at the ‘dream factory’ around him and ends up convincing himself he’s made it. And from then on his life changes as he waits for the call from the production team. He sells the fishmonger’s, plans a few outings, like a trip to the Ditellandia water park in the municipalities of Castel Volturno and Mondragone (CE), and spends hours in front of the TV watching the movements of the most famous housemates in Italy. He even moulds his own life around the Big Brother format, paranoid that he’s being watched wherever he goes, even to the Poggioreale Cemetery.
His relatives try to distract his; his friend Michele takes him to Rome to walk the Way of the Cross at the Colosseum, but from there the road to the Big Brother house is a short one.
The film opens on the plains stretching out before Vesuvius when we see an 18th-century carriage enter the scene and draw to a halt in the square in front of a villa. There’s a wedding going on at the Grand Hotel La Sonrisa in Sant’Antonio Abate (NA), which is being attended by a local pseudo celebrity who was a contestant on Big Brother. When the party’s over, Luciano and his many family members return home to a decrepit house, with peeling walls and crumbling rooms, like a gloomy stage once the footlights have been turned off.
Luciano divides his time between home, actually Villa Pignatelli di Montecalvo in San Giorgio a Cremano, and the fishmonger’s, which was recreated in the large circular courtyard of Villa Pignatelli di Monteleone, in the Neapolitan district of Barra. There is a 4m tall statue of Christ with his arms open in the centre of the piazza, which is surrounded by shops, bottegas, street vendors and a bar, bustling with a group of people who, all together, make up the market. The fishmonger’s is also where the illegal trading of food processors takes place, with Luciano chasing after clients right into the church (one such scene in the film was shot in the Church of Santi Marcellino e Festo, in the historic centre of Naples).
Luciano’s big moment comes with two auditions for Big Brother, the first held briefly at the Vulcano Buono shopping centre in Nola (NA), and the second directly at Cinecittà. In the gardens surrounding the studios, Luciano gazes in amazement at the ‘dream factory’ around him and ends up convincing himself he’s made it. And from then on his life changes as he waits for the call from the production team. He sells the fishmonger’s, plans a few outings, like a trip to the Ditellandia water park in the municipalities of Castel Volturno and Mondragone (CE), and spends hours in front of the TV watching the movements of the most famous housemates in Italy. He even moulds his own life around the Big Brother format, paranoid that he’s being watched wherever he goes, even to the Poggioreale Cemetery.
His relatives try to distract his; his friend Michele takes him to Rome to walk the Way of the Cross at the Colosseum, but from there the road to the Big Brother house is a short one.
Luciano’s family, true Neapolitans, eats no shortage of local dishes at mealtimes: sausages with friarielli, aubergines, and maccheroni omelette.
Maria takes Luciano zeppoline as a peace offering when she decides to make amends with him.
Copyright: Eduardo Castaldo
Grand Hotel La Sonrisa, Sant’Antonio Abate (NA)
Copyright: Eduardo Castaldo
Grand Hotel La Sonrisa, Sant’Antonio Abate (NA)
Copyright: 01 Distribution
Nando Paone, Aniello Arena – Colosseum, Rome
Copyright: 01 Distribution
Aniello Arena – Luce Cinecittà Studios, Rome
Copyright: 01 Distribution
Nando Paone – Church of Santi Marcellino e Festo, Naples
Luciano is a Neapolitan fishmonger who sells food processors on the black market. Gifted with a unique sense of humour, his big moment comes when he participates in an audition to go into the Big Brother house. From then on he obsessively waits for the outcome, which ends up distorting his perception of reality.
