Tribute to Antonio Capuano P3

A piece of Napoli inside these doors.

Antonio Capuano (L) presenting his film to the public

The newly renovated MoMA (The Museum of Modern Art) is the home of the Antonio Capuano Retrospective. Showing his films throughout this weekend and premiering Mario‘s War for a New York audience and members of the artistic community that frequents the museum. Yesterday the film Vito and the Others (Vito e gli Altri), Pianese Nunzio: 14 years old in May (Pianese Nunzio: 14 Anni a Maggio) and the short film Sophialoren screened to pack house. Antonio Capuano was there with Gian Mario Feltti (his producer) and I interviewed them about their works.

Vito and the Other – 85 mins. 1991

On its surface, this film is a story about street kids who suffer the pitfalls of poverty and live their life on the outskirts of society with no direction. But beneath the surface this film is statement against filmmaking. Capuano gives a voice to the youth of Napoli while using their rebellious mentality to portray a statement against cinema. The disjointed narrative is part film, part talk show, part video game, part soap opera, part music video, part Disney cartoon, and part amusement park ride. It’s a fusion of Godard’s rebellious editing from Breathless, Tarkovsky’s moving camera in Mirror and Pasolini’s narrative from his novel A Violent Life and the characters of his film Mamma Roma. This film challenges the viewer to sit and look at the film, and at these kids, even though it might be too ugly to look at.

Justin Ambrosino: Do you still keep in touch with Vito?
Antonio Capuano: Yes but he’s in jail right now. He’s been in and out of jail for quite some time. He got married when he was fourteen.

JA: What did you think when you read the script for the first time?
Gian Mario Feltti: I said this film has to be made. I was at the Premio Solinas in 1988 (an Italian Script writing competition) and Suso Cecchi D’Amico was leading it. She told me if I really wanted this script to win, that I would have to walk over her to do it. So I told her to lay down.

JA: How different was the script to the film?

GMF: The script is exactly like the film. When you read the script you can see the film.

JA: Are Antonio’s film’s hard to find distribution?

GMF: Yes, especially Vito and the Others because of it’s lack of a clear plot.

Sophialoren 27 mins. 1997

Set on the shores of the island of Posillipo, a man falls in love with a squid that turns into a woman at night and her brother is a prince with his face painted black. The film is a surreal tale that is childlike in its nature. It’s playful, funny, absurd and poetic. The characters are eccentric people cut off from the rest of the world who create an imagined one around them. There are comedic scenes and dialogue reminiscent of early silent films. You can sense that Capuano had fun with this film. It was a part of the omnibus film I Vesuviani – a larger project that brought together the Neapolitan film directors Mario Martone, Pappi Corsicato, Stefano Incerti and Antonietta di Lillo.

JA: Do you think there is a Neapolitan school of filmmaking, starting with the earlier silent films, like Assunta Spina, then growing from there?

AC: No, there is no such thing. Film is inspired by the world. Each country produces work that inspires other films.

JA: Do you get complete creative control while making a film?

AC: Yes. I have to have complete control.

JA: Did you also produce this film?

GMF: No. I only produced three of his films – Vito and the Other, Pianese Nunzio and Polvere di Napoli.

Polvere di Napoli

Pianese Nunzio 115 mins. 1996

Opening with a view of the Neapolitan neighborhood Sanita behind the bars of a steel fence gives the impression that this town is imprisoned. With this film Capuano makes a effort to combine all of elements that make up a typical Neapolitan film – music, singing, the camorra, religion, street kids, the church, love – and tell a story that is pieced together by court transcripts. Pianese Nunzio is based on the true story of a priest who falls in love with a fourteen year old boy and his complication with the Camorra (the Neapolitan Mafia). Scattered through the film are moments when characters stop right in the middle of a scene and approach the camera. They stare into the audience and recite their name, when and where they were born and how they play into the story as if they were on the stand, in court, testifying. With this film, Capuano masters his techniques that he introduced to us in Vito and the Others.

JA: Where did the idea of having the characters in the film speak to the audience like that come from?

AC: It was what I read in the court transcripts. They read exactly like that.

JA: Do you ever feel threatened by the criminal element you depict in your films?

AC: No they don’t murder film directors. They tell me go ahead have fun, go play. My films really don’t change anything.

JA: Do you think that you have the answers to some of the social problems you deal with in the film?

AC: No. I only really ask questions. There are no answers. My questions only lead to more questions.

JA: Any memories of the reactions when this film premiered?

GMF: What I remember is when Capuano stood before the journalists before the screening and said this is a film about love and sometime love can even pass through a blowjob. He’s a dangerous man.

JA: For you what is the hardest part about making films?

AC: Letting them go.