Cannes

Amidst a whirlwind of deep, bitter and philosophical films making up the main competition of the Cannes Film Festival 2023, Nanni Moretti's Il Sol Dell'avvenire (A Brighter Tomorrow) seems like a refreshing breath of comedic genius. He easily displays that one can tackle important subjects even with comedy and satire, leaving viewers rolling in their seats while wondering about the quirks and follies of the film industry. Nanni Moretti's Il Sol Dell'avvenire is a critique of the fast-changing film industry where quality and content are compromised for quick money and views through the influence of OTT streaming platforms. But it is also a dig at himself or stubborn directors who get too self-indulgent while trying to make the perfect film. 

Giovanni, played by Nanni Moretti himself, is a filmmaker who has a vision. He is a perfectionist who needs everything to be his way to make good films. His ongoing project is a political statement on Russia's invasion of Hungary in the 1950s. The Italian communists, led by Ennio a newspaper editor are torn as Russia follows the same social beliefs. While there is much to be said about the film within the film, the focus is on Giovanni, his personal life and his career. He is an overbearing man that cannot seem to let go of his director’s hat whether he is on his own film set, at home or visiting his wife’s film set. Using comedy, Moretti’s slow but deliberate dialogue delivery, Giovanni’s adorable but grating tantrum-throwing becomes palatable as viewers don’t necessarily feel pity for him but understand what he is trying so hard to achieve. But the harder he tries to control his life and the different aspects that make up his life and career, the more he loses control. His wife and producer, Paola needs a therapist to figure out how to get a divorce, his investor is bankrupt and OTT platforms will only fund his film if he makes it for the masses. 

Moretti weaves an all-encompassing tapestry as he juxtaposes cheery folk brass music with mournful string instruments, the colourful set of the political film with Giovanni’s mundane life, allowing the tone of Il Sol Dell’avvenire to interchange from joy to sombre which reflects Giovanni’s existential crisis, making it a subversive experience. With a constantly moving structure that embroils quick scenes, the story keeps moving even though Giovanni’s film comes to a standstill. His strict direction which does not allow the actors freedom to interpret the script is an introspective move at its finest – it makes viewers wonder just how many filmmakers are making films for an audience or themselves. It also opens up the larger discussion of how authentic the audience’s opinion is if it is different from what the director has in mind. While Giovanni thinks his film is political and psychological, the lead actress, Vera considers it a pessimistic view of love which he just cannot seem to accept.  

While Giovanni can be considered a spokesperson for Moretti, it also shows just how self-aware he is, understanding that no matter how hard one may try to control something, it will keep changing and adapting over time whether it is filmmaking or relationships. But ever the comedian, he does it in the most hilarious way possible from Giovanni thinking Paola is joking about the divorce to interrupting another director’s last shot of a film just because it doesn’t reach his impossibly high standards.

Sure, the ending is bittersweet but it makes Giovanni human, he's not just a misunderstood director. He understands why things turn out the way they do, albeit a little late and in his way. And you get so absorbed that you don't even realise that the film has ended, wishing it never did. In this whimsical journey, Moretti enlightens us on the technical and artistic aspects of a film, proving that a hearty dose of humour can easily be entertaining as well as informative.