WTI Magazine #20    2014 Mar, 7
Author : Simone doc Bracci      Translation by:

In the moment of the triumph it is right to leave room to euphoria. The expectation, anticipation, the joy, the victory and then the moment of happiness, either personal or group happiness, from every angle and for every professional level. We now focus our attention on cinema: first worldwide, then American, then finally Italian, and we look at the Oscars as the most important event in the industry, but also the most historically manipulated.

Well, knowing this, and having accepted the challenge, we can focus and analyze the success of the year, at least for us, thinking about what shines under our flag and focusing on the figure of Paolo Sorrentino (a talent of cinema) and the whole story of his production. This is our praise for "The Great Beauty" (La Grande Bellezza), Oscar for best foreign film.

15 years have passed since last Italian victory in the category: with this award the country of Fellini, Scorsese and partly Maradona keeps the first place in the ranking of the foreign nations that have received the highest number of golden statuettes. The movie is about the moral decadence of an ephemeral passing humanity, indifferently observed from a cosmopolitan city which over the years choose to be seduced but not conquered.

Somebody named the movie as a "bad-mannered Dolce Vita": because it brings us back in time to a series of utopias left hanging for too long, but at the same time allows an entire generation to reveal itself, to do outing about its own mistakes and correct the course. Here is the warning, the high intrinsic morality that elevates the movie to a work of art. Then, all aboard the bandwagon: media unleashed, Italy like when we won the world cup in 2006, again at the center of the world.

But for how long? Such a prestigious victory brings to light two clear situations, a more unique than rare cinematographic dichotomy. This victory actually combines, at least in the eyes of the rest of the world, the charm of the motherland on the screen and its obvious flaws. Winning is like a natural doping: it excites you when considering the personal skill, it depresses you after that moment, when you realize that the goal of the comeback is hard and far from done.

The return to a high-level class of cultural movies: we are on the right path, now we have to finally realize that what's important is not to be on the red carpet, but to decisively cure our static nature. Investing in new projects, giving space to young talents and containing the customary and stem the usual: reinvigorating through cinema a country that seems to suffer from lack of euphoria. Thanks to Sorrentino we earned the respect to get back on top.