Il grande sogno (2009)

Directed by: Michele Placido | 101 minutes | drama | Actors: Riccardo Scamarcio, Jasmine Trinca, Luca Argentero, Massimo Popolizio, Alessandra Acciai, Laura Morante, Silvio Orlando, Brenno Placido, Marco Iermanò, Federica Vincenti, Dajana Roncione, Pasquale Cassalia, Michele Placido, Tatti Sanguineti, Carlo Zanotti

It won’t be a coincidence. In the Berlusconi era, Italy produces a boom of political films. Films about political persons (‘Il divo’, ‘Vincere’, ‘Il caimano’) films about notable political events (‘Buongiorno, Notte’) films about young people who become involved in political unrest, willingly or unintentionally (‘La meglio gioventù). And then there are the films that are not directly about politics, but that do deal with it indirectly (‘La siciliana ribelle’, ‘Gomorrah’).

In ‘Il grande sogno’ we experience the tumultuous 1960s through the eyes of two young people, a police officer who actually wants to become an actor and a politically conscious student from a wealthy family. As in the rest of the western world, left-wing youth are demanding America’s withdrawal from Vietnam and greater participation in the university. Between the acts, free love is discovered, which causes other problems.

It all does not result in great cinema. The plot of ‘Il grande sogno’ has little variety and many clichés. Students screaming again and again, agents yelling back again and again, attack, withdrawal and attack again. To make up for the lack of narrative variation, we’re faced with a few forced scenes. A defloration in a lecture hall as the police storm the university, a loving lovemaking (this time in bed) interrupted by a messenger with a doomsday message. At the end, the plot goes terribly wrong, with climaxes that never get to you, because the characters are barely developed.

The acting of the great Jasmine Trinca is opposed to the mediocre plot and the unexciting direction. Even a pale character like the student Laura knows how to make something memorable. In addition, the film has something sensible to say about ideals and dreams. While societal dreams are lost in a hopeless struggle, individual dreams remain attainable. That this semi-autobiographical film is actually a pat on the shoulder of actor/director Michele Placido may not have been the intention. But it is not a coincidence either.