Reality (Reality)
Contemporary World Cinema
Matteo Garrone / Feature Narrative / Italy, France / 2012 / 115 min / Colour / 35 mm
In Italian / Arabic, English subtitles
Interests: Comedy, Drama
MENA Premiere
Synopsis
A dark, clever and at times very funny take on society’s addiction to celebrity and the trappings of cheap glory, Matteo Garrone’s ‘Reality’ was quickly likened to ‘King of Comedy’, Martin Scorsese’s classic satire about showbiz obsession. With a wonderfully naturalistic lead performance by Aniello Arena, Garrone brilliantly captures the impact of contemporary fame on those bent on achieving it for all the wrong reasons. When Luciano (Aniello) is coaxed into auditioning for ‘Big Brother’, he thinks nothing of it – until he is called back for a second round of screen tests. Faced with the imagined prospect of cash for life, the Neapolitan fish seller is bitten by the fame bug. But his excited hopes of moving into ‘the house’ soon take a blackly comic turn. As Luciano’s misguided obsession with the ‘reality’ of reality TV eclipses the day-to-day reality of his life, paranoia and near-megalomania set in.
About the Directors
Born in Rome in 1968, Matteo Garrone began as a camera assistant, making his directorial debut with the short ‘Silhouette’ in 1996. ‘The Embalmer’ was a critical success in Cannes in 2002 and picked up two David di Donatello awards. He is best known for his Mafia epic ‘Gomorrah’ (2008), which won a Golden Globe and went on to become a worldwide success.
Credits
- Director
- Matteo Garrone
- Screenwriter
- Ugo Chiti, Maurizio Braucci, Matteo Garrone, Massimo Gaudioso
- Producer
- Domenico Procacci, Matteo Garrone
- Editor
- Marco Spoletini
- Music
- Alexandre Desplat
- Cinematographer
- Marco Onorato
- Other
- Matteo Garrone, Massimo Gaudioso
- Cast
- Aniello Arena, Loredana Simioli, Nando Paone, Graziella Marina, Nello Iorio