The Man who hit his head

original title:

L'uomo che aveva picchiato la testa

directed by:

cast:

Bobo Rondelli, Paolo Virzì, Stefano Bollani, Paolo Mingone, Ottavo Padiglione, Paolo Ruffini, Franco Carratori, Carlo Monni, David Riondino, Nada Malanima, Alessandro Cosimi, Luca Faggella

screenplay:

world sales:

country:

Italy

year:

2009

film run:

75'

format:

colour

status:

Ready (01/11/2009)

festivals & awards:

  • Italian Film Festival Berlin 2016
  • SGUARDI SUL REALE 2013: Sguardi sul Contemporaneo
  • CIAK SI SUONA! 2012: Panorama
  • NOTEINVIDEO 2010: Panorama
  • PIVI - MEI 2010: Panorama
  • BACKSTAGE FILM FESTIVAL 2010: Backstage
  • VIAREGGIO EUROPACINEMA 2009: Personale Paolo Virzì
  • VISIONI FUORI RACCORDO FILM FESTIVAL 2009: Fuori Concorso

Director Paolo Virzì, the acclaimed heir of the Italian-style comedy tradition made popular by Academy awards favorites Mario Monicelli and Pietro Germi, takes a break from his imaginative plots to tell the story of a real-life character who is stranger than fiction. The man who hit his head deals with the mystery of Bobo Rondelli, a brilliant yet accursed musician who came close to success several times, only to flee away from it with a defiant and anarchist (though some may call it self-destructive) attitude. Rondelli charms and puzzles all the people he encounters, including fellow musicians who have embraced success, like the world-class jazz pianist Stefano Bollani. Rondelli’s portrait also reveals the hidden face of Livorno, the proud harbor town in Tuscany where both him and Virzì were born and raised, breathing and sharing its cocky and irreverent spirit. Visceral and ironic, funny and moving, the film draws on this unique character to explore the universal theme of the complicated correlation between talent and success.