Nostalgia

Director: Mario Martone

Starring: Pierfrancesco Favino, Francesco Di Leva, Tommaso Ragno, Sofia Essaidi

Felice Lasco (Pierfrancesco Favino) has lived most of his life in Cairo, but at the urging of his Egyptian wife Arlette (Sofia Essaidi), he returns to his hometown of Naples, which he abruptly left while still in his teens. His first encounter upon his return is initially bittersweet.

The city he knew has changed in many ways, but there remain places that remind him of his youth. Though as his familiarity with local neighbourhoods and the labyrinthine network of streets increases, and faces from the past begin to recognise him, his presence becomes more unsettling. Contact with an old school friend, now one of the city’s leading crime bosses, reminds him of why he turned his back on this world.

★★★★ “Mario Martone’s beautifully shot and superbly composed film teeters on the edge of something special. And if it doesn’t quite achieve that, settling in the end for something more generically crime-oriented, it’s still very good.” Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

★★★★ The Times