LA PIVELLINA (2009 - DRAMA) **** out of *****
(Trailer park life, Italian-style)
CAST: Patrizia Gerardi, Tairo Caroli, Walter Saabel, Asia Crippa.
DIRECTORS: Tizza Covi, Rainer Frimmel
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and serious Italian trailer park tearkjerking moments - straight ahead...
IT'S LIKE THIS: When you think of countries with trailer parks, Italy is not necessarily the first country that would pop into your head. With its centuries of stunning art, history, style, cuisine, and smokin' hot sexy people, Italy is the last place you would imagine to find an enclosed park filled with trailer homes and Honey Boo-Boo clones. But yet, our latest review begs to differ: apparently, Italy does have trailer parks. Thank goodness, though, that they're not as skeezy as those that exist in this country.
Our next review is LA PIVELLINA, which in English means, "The Little Girl." Which is this movie's American release title. It is about a couple of humble circus workers, Patti & Walter (Patrizia Gerardi & Walter Saabel), who live in a humble trailer park on the outskirts of Rome. It is the circus off-season, and they are not too busy. Good thing, too, because one evening, Patti stumbles across a cute little tyke named Asia (Asia Crippa), playing by herself in a nearby park. Asia's mother is nowhere in sight. After hanging out for a few minutes (or a hundred), the horrible realization that Asia's mother has obviously - oh, shit - abandoned her dawns on Patti. The fact that a handwritten note has also been pinned to Asia's parka is a major clue. The note is from Asia's mother, and she writes that she will be back to pick up Asia as soon as she can - and to please not call the police.
With little choice to do otherwise, Patti takes Asia home to her humble trailer park home to feed the poor abandoned girl. Soon, Patti's husband, Walter, comes home and learns that he and Patti have becomes parents at the young age of (if their looks are any indicators) 72. And he doesn't seem pleased by this - wonder why? Anyhow, it soon becomes clear that Walter is a little concerned about this development because he's afraid he and Patti will be charged with kidnapping if the authorities discover Asia in their trailer. Plus, now they have another mouth to feed and additional expenses - and considering they are in their off-season, that's not so great. Eventually, though, Patti manages to persuade Walter to, you know, calm the fuck down and give Asia's mother a chance to come back and pick her up. And just like that, we have a couple of reluctant grandparents...
While Walter goes around trying to scrounge up work, Patti makes Asia comfortable in her new and temporary home. She takes the little tyke to meet one of the neighbors, a soccer-loving Juventus teen named Tairo. Tairo and Asia get along like gangbusters, and just like that, Asia has another fan in her growing club. Patti, Asia, & Tairo pass the time doing the following: (1) stomping on rain puddles, (2) cooking meals and chatting, and (3) going out and hanging in the city. Gradually, a cute little family unit develops. Even Walter starts to mellow out a little and join on the fun.
But how long can this "love story" last? Won't Asia's mom be back soon to pick her up? If so, how will Asia's new "family" cope? Will Patti, Walter, & Tairo be heartbroken? And what happens when Asia's mom actually drops off a letter saying that she will be back very soon for Asia? Is Patti right when she says that it is someone they know? Who is Asia's mom? Does it matter? Is Asia's rightful place with her mom? Or with Patti, Walter, & Tairo?
Whatever the outcome, get that hanky ready...
BUT, SERIOUSLY: It's always interesting when a film shows a place that you are intimately familiar with in a new light. I lived in Italy for a collective total of 3.5 years, and have traveled extensively through it. I have also seen many films set there. However, none of those films show Italy in the interesting and touchingly humble light that our latest review, LA PIVELLINA, does. There are no sleek, glamorous, wealthy Italians in this film - just simple folk who make their living in a simple yet unconventional but honorable way. They are not money-oriented, but family-oriented. And their familial bond grows throughout the film, leading to the film's haunting, bittersweet finale.
But before anything else, I need to point out something else remarkable about the film. Although the plot is fictional, the "characters" are not. You'll notice that the cast plays "characters" with the same names as theirs. That is because independent film directors Tizza Covi & Rainer Fimmel have done something quite remarkable here. They have taken the real-life subjects of their documentary BABOOSKA, which was about circus performers, and used them as the basis of a fictional story. Patrizia Gerardi, Walter Saabel, & Tairo Caroli are indeed circus performers who live in a Rome trailer park, but the events of LA PIVELLINA were scripted by Covi and Fimmel. This interesting blend of fact & fiction creates a semi-documentary feel that gives the story impact and immediacy.
As can be expected, Gerardi, Saabel, and Caroli come off quite naturally since they are essentially playing themselves in constructed scenarios. They mesh well with one another because of their shared histories. Watching this unusual method of telling a cinematic story is quite rewarding and entertaining because it almost feels as if you are watching real people (which you are) in real situations (which you are not). I hope that Covi and Fimmel continue this experimental trend in their future films.
As great as the adult (and young adult) cast is, though, there is no doubt that the beating heart of this film belongs to young Asia Crippa as Asia, the lost little girl. Given that she is barely three years old, there was no concrete reason to believe that Crippa (or any other child of that age) could pull off the very difficult task of acting as the emotional center of this story. Still a toddler, Asia doesn't have an older performer's ability to shape her performance or make choices to enhance or subdue it. We have to fall genuinely in love with her the same time that Patti, Walter, and Tairo are falling for her, and with a less charismatic and dynamic child, the whole affair could have come crashing down. Thankfully, Covi and Fimmel caught lightning in a bottle with little Asia Crippa's casting. The child is just an endlessly compelling presence who hooks us with her natural sparkle. It will be interesting to see if she goes on to act as she grows older. If she does, she will no doubt be an effective performer.
LA PIVELLINA was recommended by the same friend who recommended our previous review, NUOVO MONDO (GOLDEN DOOR), and I was discussing it with another friend last month. I mentioned how refreshing it is to watch films that are peopled with simple, humble characters and themes that emphasize the value of decency, family, and loyalty - and that are made by people who have no interest in becoming the next rich Hollywood Big Thing. Instead, they have the freedom to focus on telling new and different stories about people who are not usually the subject of more "glamorous" establishment films. I felt it reinforced my decision to focus on free independent writing projects that emphasize creative and emotional rewards, rather than financial gain - which has never been of any interest to me. When something becomes a job, it gets competitive and calculating, and a lot of the special magic disappears. My friend agreed, and films like LA PIVELLINA retain a lot of that magic that so many other pricey Hollywood films lack because it is about a “business” rather than being creatively and emotionally truthful.
In the end, LA PIVELLINA is a little gem of beauty that reminds us of the power of friendship and family - especially the ones that form around us unexpectedly. Those are usually the strongest ones. We hope to see more of Tizza Covi and Rainer Fimmel's experimental brand of independent story-telling...
