Blessed Boys [La Santa Piccola] *** (2021, Vincenzo Antonucci, Francesco Pellegrino, Gianfelice Imparato) – Classic Movie Review 12,601

Vincenzo Antonucci and Francesco Pellegrino star as best friends Mario and Lino, living a poor but pleasant life in Naples. Lino has a crazy mother and a sister who is being hailed a little saint. Lino has only two things going for him: soccer and Mario.

Vincenzo Antonucci and Francesco Pellegrino star as two best friends Mario and Lino, who live a fairly poor but quite pleasant neighbourhood life in Naples, Italy. Lino can’t afford to pay the rent, but tries to make ends meet by regularly delivering takeaways on his motorbike and occasionally having sex for cash.

Lino has a totally dysfunctional, almost catatonic mother, and a sister who is hailed a little saint by the local believers after she appears first to resurrect a dead bird and then her mother, who has hit the floor lifelessly after breathing gas fumes by not turning on the stove. Lino has only two things going for him in his life, soccer and Mario. The two young men are very close, but, for Mario, not quite close enough. For it looks like Lino wants to stop short at brotherly love. Lino moves in with Mario, even sharing his bed, when the local believers turn his and his sister’s shared bedroom into a shrine to the Madonna, and the sister is paralysed in prayer. The locals take over the house, bringing their prayers, gifts and money. With her home tuned into a religious theme park, the mother completely revives, gets made up, and makes everyone coffee. It’s a miracle.

[Spoiler alert] But then, for both of the boys, after all they’ve been though together, something unthinkable happens, somehow a door opens into a new world where they will be forced to follow different paths, even if the most important thing they have is their fraternal friendship. What could have been a perfect gay love story turns sour with this agonising ending. It feels like it’s going to work out like the old proverb: ‘one door closes and another door slams shut in your face’. The thing is, Mario is Lino’s loving gay friend and Lino is suffering from internalized homophobia, and that’s one nightmare (and not to mention a nightmare mother).

Director Silvia Brunelli’s 2021 Italian drama film Blessed Boys [La Santa Piccola] is very well done, most unusual and quite moving, with strong dramatic scenes and plenty of local flavour. Vincenzo Antonucci and Francesco Pellegrino are excellent as the two guys, both tremendously appealing, and effortless able to show that they are obviously made for each other. The English language title change to focus on the men is appropriate. The story is all about them and not about the little girl.

Maybe we could have a sequel with a happy ending? That would sure be nice. But then this is Italy, and Naples too, where some things seem stuck in the dark ages.

Writers: Silvia Brunelli, Francesca Scanu.

It stars Vincenzo Antonucci and Francesco Pellegrino, along with Gianfelice Imparato as the priest Don Gennaro, Pina Di Gennaro as the mother Perla, Sophia Guastaferro as the sister Annaluce, Sara Ricci as Lino;s friend Perla, and Luigi Chiocca as the landord .

© Derek Winnert 2023 – Classic Movie Review 12,601

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