FerrariMichael Mann’s film, which competed at the 80th Venice Film Festival, is an adaptation of the 1991 biography of Enzo Ferrari: Man and machinewritten by Brock Yates.
The film tells the story of Enzo Ferrari, founder of the automobile company of the same name. The main character is Adam Driver, who is going through his next great test, even if, as for House of GucciThere was immediately a lot of controversy around the casting choice, as this was yet another film centered on Italian characters played by international stars. In fact, Penélope Cruz plays the role of Laura Ferrari, Shailene Woodley plays Enzo’s love interest Lina Lardi, and Patrick Dempsey plays race car driver Pietro Taruffi. The film immediately made headlines, but primarily because it was director Michael Mann’s long-awaited return to the big screen after an eight-year absence.
It’s the summer of 1957, and former racing driver Enzo Ferrari is facing a crisis as his business, founded just ten years earlier with his wife Laura, faces bankruptcy.
Mann recounts the difficult period the Ferrari family faced, both because of the company and especially the untimely loss of their son Dino. A broken marriage and all the difficulties associated with an extramarital affair that resulted in Enzo having another child, the film nicely sums up the complex reality of the famous entrepreneur and his boundless passion.
In fact, it is in this disconsolate atmosphere that Enzo decides to bet on one race, which crosses Italy with a length of 1600 km and is known to the world as the Mille Miglia.
Ferrari this is a film that certainly entertains, but at the same time destabilizes both due to the unreliability of some of the stories and, above all, due to the misleading language that mixes Italian and English in a completely confusing and nonsensical way.
Michael Mann’s skill is undeniable, his technique for visually capturing the dynamism of motor racing and his ability to create spectacular images continues to amaze. But at the same time, the film narrates extremely dramatic and painful events with a disarming coldness that fails to capture the protagonist’s emotional rollercoaster.
Despite the greatness of some of the scenes, it is the viewer’s inability to empathize with such a complex and interesting character that makes them worthwhile. Ferrari This is probably a great missed opportunity.
Anna Sofia Kaira
film criticism