Loose Cannons [Mine Vaganti] *** (2010, Riccardo Scamarcio, Alessandro Preziosi, Nicole Grimaudo, Lunetta Savino, Ennio Fantastichini, Ilaria Occhini) – Classic Movie Review 12,734

Riccardo Scamarcio stars in Ferzan Özpetek’s 2010 Italian comedy film Loose Cannons [Mine Vaganti] as pasta magnate’s gay son Tommaso, who decides to return to come out to his narrow-minded family in Southern Italy. His older brother beats him to it.

Riccardo Scamarcio stars in director Ferzan Özpetek’s 2010 Italian comedy film Loose Cannons [Mine Vaganti] as Tommaso Cantone, the younger, grown-up son of a rich Italian pasta magnate, who comes home to narrow-minded Lecce, Southern Italy, from self-exile (and his boyfriend) in Rome and plans to announce to his whole family that he’s gay so that he won’t have to take over the family business. But before he can, his older brother Antonio (Alessandro Preziosi) makes a startling announcement of his own – he’s gay too.

The brother is immediately banished and packs his bags and leaves, and the ranting and raging father Vincenzo immediately suffers a heart attack. The older brother has achieved what he wanted – he won’t have to take over the family business. The younger brother reluctantly agrees to stay on awhile to run the family business, afraid to announce to his whole family that he’s gay. Soon his boyfriend Marco and three incredibly gay buddies  Davide, Andrea and Massimiliano from Rome turn up. The family don’t notice that they are gay and welcome them into their own house.

Mine Vaganti (2010) is a rich and strange film, but a likeable, effective and affecting mix of amusing, thoughtful, clever, silly and sentimental. It’s commendably hard to pin down exactly, with lots of mixed messages flying around. The youngest son starts falling for, well, at least the idea of a lovely, stylish woman who turns up at the family house. She is brilliant economist Alba Brunetti (Nicole Grimaudo), the daughter of Vincenzo’s work partner, with whom Tommaso finds an unexpected ally and establishes an ambiguous friendship. Tommaso gets into the pasta business, neglects his boyfriend, neglects his literary aspirations, and falls out with his brother. In short starts becoming the ideal son the family want.

It’s mostly about the fluidity of sexuality, and an attack on homophobia, ignorance, hypocrisy and prejudice in Italy. Of course, it’s also about family, parental demands and hopes, and children’s duties, responsibilities and freedoms on their way to a hopefully happy, individual, unique and fulfilling life. Ultimately, we are all going to disappoint our parents, so we might as well just get on with it, get it done, and let them get over it. Don’t be a cowardly lion, have courage, follow your heart, follow the yellow brick road.

It’s all quite nicely done, unusually done, and imaginatively done. It provokes but it means to be peaceful. It kicks up dust but it wants to see it settle.

Riccardo Scamarcio is an enticing, enigmatic hero. Ilaria Occhini is outstanding as the Grandmother and Ennio Fantastichini is entertaining as the prejudiced and severe father, Vincenzo. It is kind of male dominated, but it generously offers large, eagerly grabbed roles to alluring actresses of different generation: Nicole Grimaudo as Alba, Lunetta Savino as the suffocating mother Stefania, Ilaria Occhini as Grandmother and Elena Sofia Ricci as sad, alcoholic Aunt Luciana.

It’s a handsome looking film, thanks to the cinematography by Maurizio Calvesi, making the most of the lovely Lecce, Apulia, backdrops.

The ensemble film stars Riccardo Scamarcio, Alessandro Preziosi, Nicole Grimaudo, Lunetta Savino, Ennio Fantastichini, and Ilaria Occhini.

Özpetek writes the script with Ivan Cotroneo. Domenico Procacci is the producer.

It premiered on 13 February 2010 at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival before its March 2010 release in Italy, Switzerland and Turkey.

It screened at the London Film Festival in October 2010 before being released in UK cinemas.

It won David di Donatello Awards for Best Supporting Actor for Ennio Fantastichini and Best Supporting Actress for Ilaria Occhini.

Astoundingly, given the film’s attack on its narrow-minded inhabitants, on 22 May 2010 the city of Lecce, Apulia, declared Özpetek an honorary citizen. Talk about ambivalent attitudes!

This comedy concerning gay family issues of a household in Lecce is one of the few movies Turkish-Italian film director Ferzan Özpetek, who lives in Italy, has set outside Rome, a city close to his heart.

Özpetek is the director of Hamam, Red Istanbul and Nuovo Olimpo.

The cast are Riccardo Scamarcio as Tommaso Cantone, Alessandro Preziosi as Antonio Cantone, Lunetta Savino as Stefania Cantone, Ennio Fantastichini as Vincenzo Cantone, Nicole Grimaudo as Alba Brunetti, Ilaria Occhini as Grandmother, Elena Sofia Ricci as Aunt Luciana, Bianca Nappi as Elena Cantone, Massimiliano Gallo as Salvatore, Daniele Pecci as Andrea, Carolina Crescentini as Young Grandmother, Carmine Recano as Marco, Paola Minaccioni as Teresa, Gianluca De Marchi as Davide, Mauro Bonaffini as Massimiliano, Gea Martire as Patrizia, Matteo Taranto as Domenico, and Giorgio Marchesi as Nicola.

© Derek Winnert 2023 – Classic Movie Review 12,734

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