Nanni Moretti's films are never banal. He always tries something new, whether it's a bittersweet diary (Caro Diario), a tale of love and murders (Bianca), a character study about loss (La Stanza del Figlio), or his more political entries (Palombella Rossa, Il Caimano). The only exception is Aprile, which, apart for a few amusingly memorable scenes, felt self-indulgent.
Sogni d'Oro belongs to the early Moretti phase. It's a character study and a surprisingly intimate confession, a movie about a neurotic director, basically Moretti himself - albeit with his typical alias Michele Apicella - trying to make a movie about Sigmund Freud's mother.
The script focuses on Michele's obsessions, fears and doubts as an artist, on his difficult relationships with friends and co-workers - like failed screenwriter Alessandro Haber - and on his mother issues, obviously mirroring his Freud's.
Tone is surreal, satirical: Moretti skewers banality and vulgarity, and the parody of trashy TV shows (which feels prophetical, since the movie was made in 1981) is chillingly on-target, with the ludicrous duel between Michele and his rival.
7/10
Sogni d'Oro belongs to the early Moretti phase. It's a character study and a surprisingly intimate confession, a movie about a neurotic director, basically Moretti himself - albeit with his typical alias Michele Apicella - trying to make a movie about Sigmund Freud's mother.
The script focuses on Michele's obsessions, fears and doubts as an artist, on his difficult relationships with friends and co-workers - like failed screenwriter Alessandro Haber - and on his mother issues, obviously mirroring his Freud's.
Tone is surreal, satirical: Moretti skewers banality and vulgarity, and the parody of trashy TV shows (which feels prophetical, since the movie was made in 1981) is chillingly on-target, with the ludicrous duel between Michele and his rival.
7/10