Drive Me Home [Portami a casa] *** (2018, Vinicio Marchioni, Marco D’Amore, Jennifer Ulrich) – Classic Movie Review 13,482

Marco D’Amore in Drive Me Home.

The 2018 Italian drama film Drive Me Home [Portami a casa] stars Vinicio Marchioni and Marco D’Amore as childhood best friends who reconnect on a truck journey through Europe.

The 2018 Italian drama film Drive Me Home [Portami a casa] is directed by Simone Catania, who won the award for best first film at the 2020 Flaiano Awards in Pescara in Abruzzo.

Vinicio Marchioni and Marco D’Amore star as childhood best friends Antonio and Agostino, who grew up together in a small town in a village in the mountains in Sicily, dreaming of a different life elsewhere. But they have not seen or heard from each other for years. Now in their thirties, both live abroad, one works as a waiter and the other as a truck driver.

When Antonio discovers the house he grew up in, empty for a long time, is about to be sold at auction, he decides to leave to reconnect with Agostino to involve him so the house is not taken away.

The result is a truck journey through Europe, where the men will rediscover their friendship and question their lives, which have changed a lot, as old conflicts mix with new revelations.

Drive Me Home [Portami a casa] is a nice, short story of brotherly love, hardly a story at all, just a mood and atmosphere piece, but very nice, sweet and well done. The film is pleasant and attractive, giving a great deal of low-key pleasure and satisfaction. And yes, it’s moody and atmospheric, and, above all, the two guys hit it just right, with Vinicio Marchioni and Marco D’Amore well cast and fitting into their roles seamlessly and appealingly.

It is a road movie really, taking the slow lane most of the way, but that’s okay sometimes, certainly this time. It takes no risks at all, which is a slight shame, so there are no real surprises. There’s some warm sentimentality, though it works hard towards it and for it, so it deserves to pay off, and it does. It is Italian after all. The title tells the story, so there are no surprises there.

It premiered on November 27, 2018 at the Turin Film Festival and was released by Europictures in Italy on September 26, 2019.

Director: Simone Catania.

Writers: Fabio Natale (screenplay), Simone Catania (screenplay).

Stars: Vinicio Marchioni, Marco D’Amore, Jennifer Ulrich.

© Derek Winnert 2025 – Classic Movie Review 13,482

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com