Tonno spiaggiato

Directed by Director's notes
  • Matteo Martinez
Directed by
  • Matteo Martinez
Year
  • 2018
Length
  • 90' min.
Year
  • 2018
Length
  • 90' min.
Cast
  • Marika Costabile
  • Lucia Guzzardi
  • Niccolò Senni
  • Frank Matano
Synopsis

Francesco is a not-so-bright young man whose dream is to make people laugh. In fact, he tries to be a comedian in small venues, but he’s never even made anyone smile.

The only thing that works in his life is the love he shares with Francesca, a heavy-set girl. One day, during one of his performances, he deeply hurts her by making fun of her weight in front of the audience, and with a broken heart, she leaves him. His numerous but clumsy attempts to win her back will all fail, until, at the death of her grandmother, Francesco will have an idea as crazy as it is brilliant, which will lead him to pretend to be other people, forming improbable relationships and clumsily attempting to take the lives of many, including his own.

Director's notes
  • If a girl you love has left you and you can't win her back in any way, but she, after a long time, hugs you again at her grandmother's funeral and then apologizes and dumps you again, what can you do to get another hug? Easy. You kill another relative of hers and show up at the funeral. "Tonno spiaggiato" (Beached Tuna) was born from a booming laugh at this idiotic idea while Frank Matano and I were flying over Greenland. "The film is practically made," we told ourselves, as soon as we returned to Italy, we'll write it in three days. Instead, three years passed. But now, finally, the film is here. And it contains all our passion for animated sitcoms, for black humor, for superstitious mysticism, for surreal situations and for shamelessly grotesque ones; there's a bit of autobiography (for example, Aunt Nanna, but in a less moderate version, was my aunt and lived in an apartment above mine) and there's also all our allergy to neck rashes for political correctness, for oppressive didacticism, for ostentations of goodness and "poetic" thoughtfulness. "Tonno spiaggiato" could be defined as a "black comedy" but in reality, it is a comedy that awkwardly aspires to be a tragedy. It wasn't easy to tune in with satisfaction (Frank in front and me behind the camera) to the wavering movements of our thoughts. And to reconcile them, trying not to lose the thread of the discourse. Inside there's a bit of Batman, a drop of Buster Keaton, a spoonful of Rick & Morty, a slice of Hellzapoppin' and a dusting of The Simpsons... Throughout the film, the editing style changes, the atmospheres change, but the colors change little. In fact, Davide Manca's precious cinematography (skillfully supported by Gaspare De Pascali's set design and Sabrina Beretta's costumes) used a palette of only 10/12 shades, facilitating my direction in blending such different narrative registers. Now, with the game done, I can say that "Tonno spiaggiato" faithfully followed the mental paths concocted by Frank and me. If we manage to share them with many, we will be pleased. And we will be reassured. It would indeed be a moral slap for that alarmist who, unjustifiably, provided us with the coordinates of a well-known psychiatrist.
Directed by
  • Matteo Martinez
Screenplay
  • Frank Matano
  • Matteo Martinez
Produced by
  • Mario Gianani and Lorenzo Mieli
  • for Wildside
A production
  • Wildside
  • and Newco MGMT
  • with Vision Distribution
Co-produced by
  • Niccolò Vecchiotti
  • Francesco Facchinetti
  • for Newco MGMT
Executive producer
  • Giacomo Talamini
  • for Hive Division
Assistant Director
  • Giaime Grieco
Editing
  • Cristina Flamini
Scenography
  • Gaspare De Pascali
Director of photography
  • Davide Manca
Costumes
  • Beretta Sabrina
Original score
  • Danjlo Turco
Sound
  • Gianfranco Tortora
Distribution
  • Vision Distribution
Director's notes
X

If a girl you love has left you and you can't win her back in any way, but she, after a long time, hugs you again at her grandmother's funeral and then apologizes and dumps you again, what can you do to get another hug? Easy. You kill another relative of hers and show up at the funeral. "Tonno spiaggiato" (Beached Tuna) was born from a booming laugh at this idiotic idea while Frank Matano and I were flying over Greenland. "The film is practically made," we told ourselves, as soon as we returned to Italy, we'll write it in three days. Instead, three years passed. But now, finally, the film is here. And it contains all our passion for animated sitcoms, for black humor, for superstitious mysticism, for surreal situations and for shamelessly grotesque ones; there's a bit of autobiography (for example, Aunt Nanna, but in a less moderate version, was my aunt and lived in an apartment above mine) and there's also all our allergy to neck rashes for political correctness, for oppressive didacticism, for ostentations of goodness and "poetic" thoughtfulness. "Tonno spiaggiato" could be defined as a "black comedy" but in reality, it is a comedy that awkwardly aspires to be a tragedy. It wasn't easy to tune in with satisfaction (Frank in front and me behind the camera) to the wavering movements of our thoughts. And to reconcile them, trying not to lose the thread of the discourse. Inside there's a bit of Batman, a drop of Buster Keaton, a spoonful of Rick & Morty, a slice of Hellzapoppin' and a dusting of The Simpsons... Throughout the film, the editing style changes, the atmospheres change, but the colors change little. In fact, Davide Manca's precious cinematography (skillfully supported by Gaspare De Pascali's set design and Sabrina Beretta's costumes) used a palette of only 10/12 shades, facilitating my direction in blending such different narrative registers. Now, with the game done, I can say that "Tonno spiaggiato" faithfully followed the mental paths concocted by Frank and me. If we manage to share them with many, we will be pleased. And we will be reassured. It would indeed be a moral slap for that alarmist who, unjustifiably, provided us with the coordinates of a well-known psychiatrist.