Directed by:
Roberto AndòCinematography:
Maurizio CalvesiCast:
Toni Servillo, Salvatore Ficarra, Valentino Picone, Renato Carpentieri, Donatella Finocchiaro, Luigi Lo Cascio, Galatea Ranzi, Tiziana Lodato (more)Plots(1)
In this fictionalised biopic of Luigi Pirandello, Roberto Andò explores the addictive fascination that can lead a writer out of a creative crisis. It opens with the journey made by Pirandello – elegantly played by Toni Servillo – to Sicily. He’s attending the celebration of his mentor’s 80th birthday; however, the return trip is delayed when he has to deal with the funeral of his beloved nanny. Sebastiano and Onofrio, two gravediggers, happen to have an amateur theatre company that provides the comical counterpoint to the serious situations faced by the writer. Watching the work of this unlikely group of actors, Pirandello lets his imagination loose and is visited by ideas, fantasies and apparitions. Little by little, he comes to find the inspiration for what will become a radical reinvention of the theatre: his magnum opus "Six Characters in Search of an Author". La stranezza manages to convey with affection and irony some themes dear to Pirandello – the mysteries of identity and agency, the pull of madness and the irrational, a ghostlike sense of absurdity, and the mixture of fantasy and memory – while offering an accessible, entertaining dive into the universe of one of the great 20th-century writers. (International Film Festival Rotterdam)
(more)Cast
Toni Servillo
Italy
Best movies:
The Great Beauty (2013)
The Jewel (2011)
The Consequences of Love (2004)
Salvatore Ficarra
Italy
Best movies:
Baaria (2009)
Valentino Picone
Italy
Best movies:
Baaria (2009)
Renato Carpentieri
Italy
Best movies:
Fiorile (1993)
The Jewel (2011)
The Major Fisherman (2016) (TV movie)
Donatella Finocchiaro
Italy
Best movies:
Couch Potatoes (2017)
The Ages of Love (2011)
Baaria (2009)
Luigi Lo Cascio
Italy
Best movies:
The Best of Youth (2003) (series)
Good Morning, Night (2003)
The Traitor (2019)
Galatea Ranzi
Italy
Best movies:
The Great Beauty (2013)
Ho voglia di te (2007)
Black Arrow (2006) (series)
Tiziana Lodato
Italy
Best movies:
Solino (2002)
The Star Maker (1995)
Baaria (2009)
Paolo Briguglia
Italy
Best movies:
Il tunnel della libertà (2004) (TV movie)
Good Morning, Night (2003)
Io non mi arrendo (2016) (TV movie)
Aurora Quattrocchi
Italy
Best movies:
Malena (2000)
The Star Maker (1995)
Before the Night (2018) (TV movie)
Fausto Russo Alesi
Best movies:
The Traitor (2019)
Kidnapped (2023)
The Double Hour (2009)
Filippo Luna
Best movies:
Maltese - Il Romanzo del Commissario (2017) (series)
The Sea Purple (2009)
The Golden Door (2006)
Marta Lìmoli
Best movies:
Il figlio della luna (2007) (TV movie)
The Traitor (2019)
Giulia Andò
Best movies:
Long Live Freedom (2013)
The Confessions (2016)
The Sicilian Girl (2008)