Naomi Riccitelli – In the famous movie The devil wears Prada (The Devil Wears PradaDavid Frankel, 2006), which has now become a cult, there is a passage in which the icy Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep, unique in this role), director of a well-known fashion magazine, addresses her neo assistant Andy (Anne Hathaway, of equal skill in the film) who had recently trivialized the choice between two belts which in her opinion had the same color: anyone who has seen the film will surely have understood that it is the proverbial speech on the “cerulean” .
«Oh, of course I get it: you think this has nothing to do with you. You open your closet and choose, I don’t know, that felted blue sweater for example, because you want to shout to the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on, but what you don’t know is that that sweater is simply not blue, it’s not turquoise, it’s not lapis, it’s actually cerulean. (…) That blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs.”
Millions of dollars and countless jobs: that’s right. Watching Air – The story of the great leap I couldn’t help but think about this joke.
Indeed, the film written by Alex Convery and directed by Ben Affleckin cinemas from April 6, tells the story of a company’s economic recovery today leader in the sale of sporting goods, Nike, and the birth of one of its most unique products, the “Air Jordan” shoe modelmade as basketball footwear inspired by the then young player Michael Jordanbut then you become a trend, an evergreen of casual-sportswear.
This will be the beginning of the collaboration between the well-known brand and the Jordan familyin what can be called a well thought out business.
In the cast, interpreters of a certain thickness: Ben Affleck himself together with Matt Damonthus sanctioning the return of a winning combination in Hollywood, and again Viola Davis, Jason Bateman, Chris Messina, Chris Tucker.
United States, 1984. Companies Adidas And Converse dominate the market of the country with the highest sales percentages, thanks also to the well-known testimonials from the world of sport who wear their products. However, another company Niketrudges in the sales race, especially in the basketball sector.
Thus, Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon), talent scout of the basketball division of the company, as well as a friend of the founder and director of Nike, Phil Knight (Ben Affleck), is tasked with reversing this trend, looking for a sports personality who can revive the image of the company. 
Defying the reticence of his colleagues, Vaccaro decides to commit himself to the involvement of the rising basketball star Michael Jordan, for whom he proposes the creation of a shoe inspired by him. However, the first person to convince isn’t so much Jordan himself as his mother Deloris (Viola Davis), who wants to safeguard her son’s talent and potential.
What allows a product to become unique, recognizable, desirable?
Far from being a boring business administration lesson, Air – The story of the great leap manages to effectively show the phases of a delicate commercial promotion operation, between benchmarking and, above all, the human factor.
Thus, to return to the opening quotation and answer the aforementioned question, a garment, an object, are not only such, but acquire value because with them there is an intertwining of existences that conceived and produced them, a creative effort, as well to a considerable financial circuit when they are placed on the market.
Convery’s screenplay and Affleck’s direction go hand in handwith the advantage of illustrating and making these dynamics understood fluidly, in a compelling way.
The film, certainly centered on what was primarily a marketing mechanism, a sensational business, among other things unprecedented (in fact, the final agreement reached between Nike and the Jordan family also envisaged the granting of a percentage of the turnover of the shoes to the player, which had never happened before), however, it keeps the focus on strong personal involvement that individuals show in the projectamong all Sonny Vaccaro and Jordan’s mother, Deloris.
Not surprisingly, the two are the real protagonists (Michael Jordan’s face is never shown) and Matt Damon and Viola Davis play them with pathos and conviction: on the one hand Damon/Vaccaro has the audacity to take the initiative and dare the unthinkable to save his business sector, on the other Davis/Deloris Jordan is determined to enhance his son’s talent, also making it a matter of dignity family and generational. 
In fact, another important suggestion that Air proposes is that of the symbolism that Michael Jordan has acquired over time as a figure of social redemption for black American citizens and as, therefore, also a pair of shoes has come to represent a common sign of recognition, a collective identity.
Air – The story of the great leap it is a well-curated film, an interesting story, with valuable performers: Ben Affleck confirms his skill behind and in front of the camera and the film also acquires that romantic-nostalgic allure thanks to an appropriate and detailed 1970s atmosphere 80.
To be seen.