Author's judgement: 
+
Last November the results of the survey carried out by Caritas of Rome on poverty in the capital were presented. There are over 16 people living in conditions of profound economic and social hardship, most of them homeless. Among these, almost half are Italians of medium social and cultural extraction which leads to highlighting a definition of "new poor".
In this world, in this environment, it fits I am Tempest, the latest work by Daniele Luchetti just released in theaters. The story concerns the vicissitudes of a Roman entrepreneur, a kind of homemade Wall Street wolf, who is grappling on the one hand with a financial and real estate transaction in Kazakhstan and, on the other, is forced to serve twelve months of work to social services due to a previous conviction for tax crimes. He is entrusted to an emergency social assistance center where marginalized, homeless, more or less illegal immigrants or simply poor people find hospitality.
Tempesta is the always good Marco Giallini (which perhaps, in this period, is seen too much on the screen to the point of risking inflation) and worthy shoulders Elio Germano together with Eleanor Danco. Note of merit to the young man Francesco Ghegi, which we hope will maintain the spontaneity and freshness that has shown in this film. The protagonist finds himself grappling with this world unknown to him, where the hardest truth of difficult lives mixes with that of unbridled luxury, of the power of money that seems to be able to buy everything, including a law at the hands of the usual corrupt politician. The film ends where it should be: with the values of good and evil remixed, where the ugly and bad do not understand who they really are.
Luchetti knows cinema and knows how to do it. Some of his titles deserve to be remembered: first of all The bag holder, from 1991, which won many well-deserved awards, then The school of '95 and My brother is an only child of '97. The screenplay, the text, handle a very topical theme well (one could observe a certain recognition of the Berlusconian era) and in some moments historical films come back to mind: from Ugly dirty and bad by Ettore Scola from 1976 with an unforgettable Nino Manfredi, as well as some characters from The usual unknown by Mario Monicelli from 1958 (one of the protagonists could have been the brother of the legendary “Capannelle”). From the latter title, I am Tempest it seems to derive a sense of irony as well as dramatic reading of the extreme condition in which the different protagonists, rich and poor, live on opposite sides.
The visions of the two worlds are deliberately exaggerated and the images of the film restore all the beauty as well as the ugliness that characterizes them. Rome is in the background, almost neutral, certainly far from it Great Beauty that we saw in Paolo Sorrentino's film. Other worlds, other people, other stories. The idea of Luchetti's film is good even if it lacks a few excessive lengths while, on the contrary, it could have better refined some passages that would certainly have enriched the story. It's a film that doesn't seem to belong to the “Italian comedy” genre, nor would it be associated with the comic genre. At the end of the screening, one is left with a vague sense of incompleteness, of lightness and at the same time restlessness because, in the end, those worlds of which one speaks in one direction or another are close to us, very close. Deserves a good sufficiency with two stars and +.
PS. There is still a film in theaters that deserves to be proposed: Tonyaby Australian director Craig Gillespie. Based on a true story, it has received numerous awards, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Allison Janney. A film full of passions and feelings, not all of the best, but an all-round expression of the many aspects of human nature. Excellent screenplay, tight editing, excellent protagonists: a film not to be missed
