Leopardi (film)

Leopardi
Leopardi
	Film poster
Directed by	Mario Martone
Written by	Mario Martone; Ippolita Di Majo
Produced by	Carlo Degli Esposti; Nicola Serra
Starring	Elio Germano; Michele Riondino; Massimo Popolizio; Anna Mouglalis; Valerio Binasco; Paolo Graziosi; Iaia Forte; Isabella Ragonese;
Cinematography	Renato Berta
Edited by	Jacopo Quadri
Music by	Apparat
Distributed by	01 Distribution
Release dates	1 September 2014 (Venice); 16 October 2014 (Italy);
Running time	137 minutes
Country	Italy
Languages	Italian; Neapolitan

Leopardi (Italian: Il giovane favoloso) is a 2014 Italian biographical drama film directed by Mario Martone. It was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 71st Venice International Film Festival.^[1]^[2] It was also screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.^[3]

Plot

The film tells the story of the short life of the great Italian poet Giacomo Leopardi. He was a noble, born in Recanati, and soon began to study Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic and English in the rich library of his palace that his father built. Giacomo, however, possessing an inquisitive, restless spirit, would like to travel abroad to widen his views and enrich his knowledge, as was usual for European landed gentry in the 19th century, though this desire is at odds with his parents (even if his father had a sensibility akin to his, he is too bound by the social conventions and the expectations tied to his role as pater familias; his mother, on the other hand, is too busy shoring up the household declining fortunes to even care about intellectual aspirations). So the poet begins to write his first works, reflecting on the human condition, coming to the conclusion that unhappiness is a constant factor of human existence, and that in life there is no remedy for this problem. In the 1820s, Leopardi can finally leave his native Recanati, and begin to travel to Rome and Florence where, however, his high expectations of intellectual rewards and public recognition are not achieved. He suffered from repeated instances of unrequited love: that he chiefly felt towards the Countess Fanny Targioni Tozzetti, contributing to Leopardi's negative view of life and human experience. He finally moves to Naples, where a physical affliction results in his premature death.

Cast

Elio Germano as Giacomo Leopardi
Isabella Ragonese as Paolina Leopardi
Anna Mouglalis as Fanny Targioni Tozzetti
Michele Riondino as Antonio Ranieri
Massimo Popolizio as Monaldo Leopardi
Valerio Binasco as Pietro Giordani
Paolo Graziosi as Carlo Antici
Iaia Forte as Miss Rosa

Awards and nominations

Awards
Award	Category	Recipients and nominees	Result
71st Venice International Film Festival^[4]^[5]	Golden Lion	Mario Martone	Nominated
	Pasinetti Award for Best Actor	Elio Germano	Won
	Young Jury Members of the Vittorio Veneto Film Festival Award for Best Actor	Elio Germano	Won
	Piccioni Award	Sascha Ring	Won
	Akai Award for Best Actress	Iaia Forte	Won
60th David di Donatello Awards^[6]	Best Film	Palomar and Rai Cinema	Nominated
	Best Director	Mario Martone	Nominated
	Best Script	Mario Martone and Ippolita Di Majo	Nominated
	Best Producer	Palomar and Rai Cinema	Nominated
	Best Actor	Elio Germano	Won
	Best Cinematography	Renato Berta	Nominated
	Best Sets and Decorations	Giancarlo Muselli	Won
	Best Costumes	Ursula Patzak	Won
	Best Makeup	Maurizio Silvi	Won
	Best Hairstyling	Aldo Signoretti and Alberta Giuliani	Won
	Best Editing	Jacopo Quadri	Nominated
	Best Score	Sacha Ring	Nominated
	Best Visual Effects	Chromatica	Nominated
	Youngs' David	Mario Martone	Nominated