Alessandro Gassmann's third feature film Il Premio (The Prize), out in Italy on December 6, pays homage to his father, legendary actor Vittorio, the director has said.
The movie tells the story of a talented, egocentric and
flamboyant novelist, Giovanni Passamonte, interpreted by Gigi
Proietti, and his relationship with his family, in particular
his two adult children.
"It is not my family but many emotions evoke chapters of my
childhood", said Alessandro Gassman, a 52-year-old actor as well
as a filmmaker.
In the movie, Passamonte, an internationally renowned
best-selling author and bon vivant, learns he has won a Nobel
Prize in literature and decides to drive to Stockholm because he
has never overcome his fear of flying.
He embarks on the trip with his trusted driver and secretary
Rinaldo (Rocco Papaleo) and his two children - Oreste
(interpreted by the director, Alessandro Gassmann), a
plain-spoken and uneducated 50-year-old whose life goal is to
open a gym, and Lucrezia (Anna Foglietta), a feisty blogger who
tries to exploit the situation to benefit her blog.
The long drive between Rome and Stockholm turns into an
occasion for the four characters to question their relationship
and talk.
Oreste, among other things, will meet his son (Marco Zitelli)
and his friend (Matilda De Angelis).
Lucrezia will discover that the man she has just fallen for
is unexpectedly a brother that her father knew nothing about.
"I think life in general is a comedy full of dramas, emotions
and melancholic events and I wanted to take this trip to talk
about it", said Gassman.
"I took many car trips with my own father".
"He trove very poorly and he always had fast cars that were
difficult to drive, so when he was on tour I often drove him",
continued the director.
I remember his long silences, he didn't talk a lot, but then
he was capable of saying many truths in a sharp manner, just
like Passamonte".
The protagonist, Proietti, a 77-year-old iconic actor and
director who worked with Gassman senior, said: "I was very good
friends with Vittorio also in private and I owe him a lot
because he discovered me together with other actors like Carmelo
Bene".
"Alessandro reminds me of him a lot, especially in his
stride: when I see him walk, I think - that's him!".
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