original title:
Pericle il Nero
directed by:
cast:
screenplay:
Francesca Marciano, Stefano Mordini, Valia Santella, from the novel by Giuseppe Ferrandino
cinematography:
editing:
set design:
costume design:
music:
Peter Von Poehl
production:
distribution:
world sales:
country:
Italy/Belgium/France
year:
2015
film run:
100'
format:
colour
release date:
12/05/2016
festivals & awards:
Pericles is a noir film, a throwback to American movies of the '40s, with a tight rhythm and a plot which never misses a beat. The protagonist of the story, Pericle, works for an underworld boss and during one of his nomerous assignments he makes a serious mistake which damages another powerful boss. So he finds himself stuck in a situation which is well beyond him. Everyone wants to skin him alive, both his own boss to make sure he is pardoned by his rival and the latter to seek vengeance for the wrong he has been done. Pericle has no choice but to escape. During his escape, he meets a woman who lets him into her home and with her he starts a relationship which gradually turns into real affection. This will be a chance for him to grow, to become self-aware by refusing to follow the rules of his world.
DIRECTOR'S NOTES:
Moving through Ferrandino's pages, what hit us straight away was that strange music that played inside Pericle's head. We tried to pander to his thoughts, to go with his digressions and intuitions so that we could find his story and that of our film. I say "our" because we all - screenplay authors, actors, producers - decided together to follow Pericle and we waited until the character really revealed himself to us. And we discovered an orphan, that doesn't belong to anyone and is searching for a family, living in a country that isn't his; a strange being who fills himself with chemicals to calm the absen ce fermenting inside him.
An unveiling process that continued on the set, where the camera became an active, participating witness.
Il Nero of the film's title showed us the way, while all of us (including Pericle) were searching for the light. So the film escapes definition. There's drama and there's the theatricality of certain quintessential figures, and there's even a touch of (black) humour. And it's Pericle's voice that guides us in an escape that has just one goal: to stop in a quiet place and no longer be alone.