Title: Come il vento (Like The Wind)
Director: Marco Simone Puccioni
Starring: Valeria Golino, Filippo Timi, Francesco Scianna, Chiara Caselli, Marcello Mazzarella.
A tragic biopic on Italian prison governor Armida Miserere, was presented Out of Competition at 2013’s Rome Film Festival: Come il vento (Like The Wind).
The brave but fragile protagonist is embodied with sensitivity by Valeria Golino, under the guidance of the talented director Marco Simone Puccioni, who has a gift for directing actresses, as seen in his previous feature, ‘Shelter Me,’ which earned co-stars Maria de Medeiros and Antonia Liskova multiple kudos. Valeria Golino’s portrayal of the edgy, chain-smoking Armida, is utterly moving, but the film’s narration feels scattered with the fragmentation of 20 years of Italian history and poignant moments of Armida Miserere’s life.
The woman’s fate seems written in her name: her first name, Armida, in Celtic stands for “fighter” and “chosen one” – not to mention the reference to the character of the epic poem ‘Jerusalem Delivered’ (La Gerusalemme Liberata) by the Italian poet Torquato Tasso, where witch Armida enchants the knights of a Christian camp and divides them against each other – whereas Miserere is the Latin prayer for mercy, an expression of lamentation or complaint. This woman is thusly tough and fragile at the same time. She is highly focused on her work and its ability to make a change in the world, but is unable to accept a great personal loss. Her empty heart leaves her no choice but to let her soul float “like the wind.”
The structural flaws of the movie are somehow polished by the excellent performance of the entire cast – Valeria Golino, Filippo Timi, Francesco Scianna, Chiara Caselli, Marcello Mazzarella – as well as the fact that what is portrayed on the silver screen is the life of a woman who truly existed, fought, suffered and was determined not to succumb to the evils of organised crime. She didn’t let go until justice prevailed, once she pursued that, nothing else mattered to her. Armida Miserere was a delicate and courageous woman in a man’s world.
Technical: B
Acting: B-
Story: A-
Overall: B+
Written by: Chiara Spagnoli Gabardi
