Alessandro Gassmann

WORTHY OF HIS NAME!

by Tonia Serrao Soppelsa

Alessandro Gassmann is one of the most appreciated and soughtafter contemporary Italian actors in the world of cinema — an actor, who owes his success to his great talent and participation in some of the most important fi lms made in recent years. Recently, Alessandro

Gassmann was the protagonist in a couple of the best loved Italian fi ction series, such as the Bastardi di Pizzofalcone and just lately, in the title role of Il Professore broadcast on Rai television.

It was the illustrious Vittorio Gassmann who initially pushed his son to become an actor like himself. “I didn't want to do anything“, says the younger Gassmann, “ I played basketball, … I worked as a bouncer at the Piper…“. Forced by his father however, he found himself at the age of 17 making his debut in 1982 with the fi lm From Father To Son, written and directed and starring Gassmann Sr. In 1985 he appeared in the sequel to

“I soliti ignoti“ (“I soliti ignoti, Twenty Years Later“), again with his father, and actors Marcello Mastroianni and Tiberio Murgia.

In 1995 he worked in an American production, “A Month at the Lake“ by John Irvin with Uma Thurman. The big break comes in 1997 when the young man fi nally comes to terms with his desire to act. With Ferzan Ozpetek's directorial debut fi lm, The Turkish Bath - Hamam, thanks to Gassmann’s interpretation of Francesco, an interior

architect who inherits a hamam in Turkey, directors realize that Alessandro, who followed in his father's footsteps, had fi nally found his way.

In 2021, with “The Great Silence“, Alessandro Gassmann returns to directing after four years, and for the fi rst time in his career, he decides to shoot a fi lm that does not feature him as an actor. He does so with a play written by Maurizio De Giovanni, and already performed on the stage, but now adapted for the big screen by Gassmann himself with De Giovanni and with Andrea Ozza.

“The Great Silence“ is a perfect blend of cinema and theater. It is, in fact, a theatrical fi lm that emphasizes the importance and use of words and communication. The fi lm amazes for the masterful use of the word. Set in the 1960s, the fi lm sounds very contemporary. “Silence is a bad disease,“ says Bettina, the housekeeper. “Many small silences give life to a great silence“ she says, a theory that she expounds to Mr. Valerio Primic, head of the family, played by Massimiliano Gallo. The fi lm presented at the 78th Venice Film Festival in 2021, tells a story that focuses on the Primics, a wealthy Neapolitan family: Valerio is a well-known writer of novels, recognized nationally. At present, however, the family is condemned like the house itself, to decay due to economic problems. Rose, the wife, played exquisitely by Margherita Buy, decides to sell the luxurious residence to obviate her debts and shortcomings, clashing with her husband, who would like to stay in that villa, a symbol of the good name of the Primic family. The entire narrative therefore focuses on the memories and confessions of family members, from Rose herself to her children Massimiliano and Adele, who open up for the fi rst time with the protagonist, accused by the housekeeper Bettina of never being able to listen to others. Elegant, ironic and moving, “The Great Silence“ reminds us of a fi lm from the past. Gassmann’s direction works also thanks to the tremendous imagination of its protagonist, Massimiliano Gallo.

This is a fi lm ICFF audiences will love and appreciate as it is very reminiscent of the De Filippo style. “The Great Silence“ is a well thought-out fi lm, with a nice twist, sweet and sincere in content and form. And Gassmann proves, as an artist, that he is a “chip off the old block“.