Citizens of the World, 2019.
Directed by Gianni Di Gregorio.
Starring Gianni Di Gregorio, Giorgio Colangeli and Ennio Fantastichini.
SYNOPSIS:
Three Italian pensioners pool their money in order to start a new life abroad.
Skimming over the ‘Known For’ section on Gianni Di Gregorio’s IMDb page, one might easily be fooled. Occupying top billing is a writing credit on Gomorrah, Matteo Garrone’s internationally acclaimed film from 2008. For those unfamiliar with Di Gregorio’s work since, it runs the risk of painting a phoney picture of the kind of stories the Italian filmmaker is primarily interested in telling. In fact, a gritty, quasi-documentary portrait of Neapolitan organized crime is about as far as you can get from where his true intrigue seems to lie.
Mid-August Lunch, Di Gregorio’s directorial debut (which he also wrote and starred in) released in the same year as Gomorrah, serves as a far better indicator of his signature style. A benign comedy about the tribulations of later life, baked in sunny, humanist charm, seems to be where he feels truly at home. His latest film, Citizens of the World (which he also co-wrote and also stars in), follows a similar thematic blueprint, once again tackling the subject of ageing with dry humour and gentle poignancy.
Di Gregorio plays a retired, single Latin Professor who, along with friends and fellow bachelor retirees Attilio (Fantastichini) and Giorgetto (Colangeli), decides to start a new life abroad where their moderate pensions will go much further. With criteria that concerns little beyond the price of beer, the climate and the likelihood of deadly jellyfish — leaving a choice of either Cuba, Bali or Bulgaria, according to a wealthy academic acquaintance (Roberto Herlitzka) — the trio plan their trip with the urgency of an inebriated sloth, using discussions about getting by in a foreign land as an excuse to quaff wine and lunch leisurely at the numerous restaurants and food vendors dotted down the sun-soaked streets of Rome.
And it’s at a similarly relaxing pace that the film meanders through its series of familiar narrative beats. Over the course of a week, the men’s early commitment to flying the Italian nest is gradually hampered by lingering doubt, family ties, blossoming romance and, in the end, good nature and morality. But in conventionality, Di Gregorio finds warmth and charm as his three ageing protagonists bicker, contemplate and concoct several half-hearted schemes to add to their meagre pot of money. Despite shades of melancholy, there’s a welcome refrain from overt melodrama here, and as the men sip restfully in the sun, the emotional stakes rarely rise above the question of whether they will actually follow through with their plan.
Ultimately, Citizens of the World is a story about deep-felt connection. To friends, to our feelings, and, with a backdrop of the picturesque Italian capital (in something of a love letter to the filmmaker’s native city), to a sense of place. While much of the comedy derives from the squabbling of elderly men out of touch with modern life, Di Gregorio’s film speaks a universal truth: that we all need to feel a sense of belonging. With all the talk of globetrotting, Citizens of the World advocates the notion of home being where the heart is. Whatever your age.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Citizens of the World is available on Curzon Home Cinema from 12th June.
George Nash is a freelance film journalist. Follow him on Twitter via @_Whatsthemotive for movie musings, puns and cereal chatter.
