For a good decade, they were stuck with contemporary melodramas that in some cases, came across as bad soap opera television. Since Gomorrah and Il Divo strong-armed their way into theaters, box office tallies in Italy have most likely changed for the better, and perhaps to an outsider like myself, it meant a return to form for Italian film in general. Expect to see major funding for the next vague of films to go towards film depicting political crimes and mafia crime dramas and perhaps, Michele Placido is among the first to have hit the jackpot receiving the backing 20th Century Fox Italia for his next project. Cineruopa.org confirms that production for Il Fiore del Male will begin later this year on a biopic on a notorious criminal named Renato Vallanzasca.
Placido re-teams with one of Italy’s best actor in Kim Rossi Stuart, who starred in Placido’s Romanzo Criminale (see pic). Stuart has been involved with the project since late 2007, and has worked the script with the director. Like several other films that profile life long criminals, I expect the film to span several decades.
According to Wiki description, Vallanzasca is a notorious Italian mobster from the region of Milan who was a powerful figure in the Milanese underworld during the 1970s. Following numerous robberies, kidnappings, murders, and many years as a fugitive, he is currently serving four consecutive life sentences with an additional 260 years in prison. He is a local celebrity in Milan, famous for appealing to part of the public opinion for his image linked to the “myth of the bandit”. The guy is so celebrated that he even has his own blog.
Translation of the title would be “Flower of Evil” (not to be confused with Claude Chabrol’s recent film), and shooting is pegged for a November start. Placido has just completed Il Grande Sogno which could preem in Venice in August.
For our Italian readers – do you think Rossi Stuart is a good choice to take on the role? Are there any fans of Romanzo Criminale looking forward to this biopic?
