2021 - Biografico/Sportivo - 1h 32m
Regia: Letizia Lamartire
Cast: Andrea Arcangeli, Valentina Bellè, Andrea Pennacchi, Antonio Zavatteri, Anna Ferruzzo, Riccardo Goretti, Thomas Trabacchi, Marc Clotet, Martufello
Roberto Baggio is a talented Venetian footballer, who dreams of playing in Serie A. His hope of playing in the top flight happens when he signs for Fiorentina, but soon the world happens to him, only thanks to the confidence in himself and those who love him that he will be able to become a football legend.
The film is the biography of the football and private life of Italian football legend Roberto Baggio, from signing with Fiorentina to the bad injury that put his initial career at risk, through that damn penalty of the 1994 World Cup, and more, trying to rewind his story as best as possible.
Certainly a film that Netflix wanted to advertise as a great event, about the life of one of the greatest Italian footballers, the mistake was to speed up the story and in doing so not dwell on certain periods of his life that were very important. Letizia Lamartire, semi-known composer of soundtracks (I had never heard her name before today), is not at her first experience as a director and telling the story of such a footballer, could be fundamental for her directing career. The enthusiasm probably led her to underestimate many aspects of Baggio.
A young Baggio (Andrea Arcangeli) with Arrigo Sacchi (Antonio Zavatteri) when he was coaching Rimini
I really liked the great reflection on the Great injury at the time when he played for Lanerossi Vicenza, the team of his region where he signed his first professional contract after his first experiences at Caldogno, an injury that at 18 years old could end a career just begun and already talented, having just signed with Fiorentina a few days before. The way of telling the first serious injury, was the main theme of the film rightly covering the first part of the story, but in showing his desire for revenge was not taken care of his seasons at Fiorentina of which we see little. You can not go quickly from his first call-up with the national team when he was still in Florence, to the US World Cup in 1994 in the blink of an eye, without dwelling on the victorious seasons at Juventus and the win of the Ballon d'or 1993, which were fundamental to his life.
The same can be said of the lack of seasons at Milan, his first revival at Bologna, and the switch to Inter, making little from the world cursed the latest seasons at Brescia as if it had happened immediately, by the curiosity of the spectator who did not know of his career, how it arrived there, and the trophies won. I can understand that bringing everything would have been too long to describe, but I would have preferred the film to last 2 hours but with all the details of his career rather than 1h and 30m where there are too many important details, only nominated as if they pass in the background compared to others. I think the director wanted too much to synthesize and choose the exemplary moments.
Roberto Baggio with father Fiorindo (Andrea Pennacchi)
What was important for the success of the film is certainly the talk of his relationship with his gruff father Fiorindo, who did not always treat him well, but who always treated him with ease, this to make him believe in himself, reaching his goal. A true azzeccamento of choices on the characters, as with Andreina, wife of the protagonist and the beautiful Valentina Bellè has interpreted modestly, due to its attachment to the same region of Baggio, being veronese, birth, and being able to speak a perfect venetian dialect is not always easy, the actress was among the finest in the film thanks to its way of joining a secondary character, but fundamental to the player
The real Roberto Baggio after the wrong penalty at the 1994 World Cup
I have to dwell on the characters of Arrigo Sacchi and Carlo Mazzone, where discreet interpreters have been chosen, more than anything that resemble him, and the comedian Martufello very similar to the great sister Carletto gave a good proof of Baggio's football father and the one who made him reborn at Brescia. Precisely because the interpreters are similar I would have expected that the deputy of Sacchi with the national team, Carlo Ancelotti, put an actor very similar to the future to the coach of Milan, which instead was not. Wonderful elements were Baggio's conversion to Buddhism, which helped him a lot in his long injury, but in particular that cursed rigor of USA 1994 recreating in an egregious way the scene, which disappointed himself and the world covering half of the film.
Baggio and his wife Andreina (Valentina Bellè)
Just the interpreter of the Divine Codino, Andrea Arcangeli, managed to trace in a discreet way the figure of Roberto with his way of being sometimes brazen with his teams, the way he faced his coaches with a fist and character, as the phrase "This is crazy" referred to the substitution at the World Cup of 94 against Norway. Let's say that Arcangeli, has managed to prove to almost 30 years, that he can be able to interpret a weighting like The Divine Codino in a partly excellent way trying to approach the character of the real footballer, not without difficulty, but also thanks to the same makeup artists who have made it almost the same as the original.
Diodato with Roberto Baggio
Great to give space in the credits to the archive images of Baggio's retirement in 2004 against Milan, with a big hug with Paolo Maldini and the Ovation of fans and opponents. A good soundtrack composed Matteo Buzzanca who managed to give right and memorable melodies, with strong tones during the bearing elements such as injury and cursed penalty. Music in which Diodato participated with the man behind the champion, the main theme of the film that gives the right meaning to the man who was Baggio; to which are added self Control by Raf ricantata in a new version by Malika Ayane and the compositions of the DJ producer duo of Altarboy, which are one of the emerging novelties. In a nutshell a film with many difficulties (let's say imperfect), but which managed to bring the story of Roberto Baggio in a great way and with the enthusiasm of those beautiful memories of who was the Divine pigtail.
by Giacomo Fantini rating: 3,20 of 5
29 May 2021
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