Claudia Pandolfi and Vanessa Scalera are protagonists of the new film by Rocco Papaleo, Il bene comune, una comedy agrodolce produced by Picomedia, Less Is More Productions and Piperfilm in collaboration with Netflix, on his debut at the cinema on March 12. Set on the Pollino massif is the story of a group of prisoners who, with the help of an acting teacher (Scalera) and a tourist guide (played by the same Papaleo), embark on a journey in search of a secular tree symbol of resilience, the loricated pine. And while their path into nature becomes a journey of inner transformation, they tell their lives between emotion, laughter and so much music.
Pandolfi is the charming Samanta, who became a drug courier to get rid of a violent husband, and now forced into prison separated by his beloved child, Scalera plays Raffaella, an actress of little success but great enthusiasm, ironic woman, tenacious and never defeated.
That’s what they told us during this double chat.
How did you work under the direction of an outclass like Rocco Papaleo?
Scalera: I had a lot of fun, and I must emphasize that Rocco kisses very well… (in the film there is a scene where the two characters kiss, ndr). Apart from the jokes, my long theatrical experience has helped me: in the film we all actors make small monologues direct to the camera, and it was beautiful, because somehow we could push the word beyond the writing, we did a kind of show on the show. This mix of theatre, cinema and music has been a great opportunity for me.
Pandolfi (laughs): But no one was disciplined like me: while the others improvised, I was there to shut up to do what my master said. Rocco, however, when he leaves the direction for his role as an actor, let’s say so, becomes a little lazy. Because as a director he has a great ability to hold the set in a poetic, very musical way, but when it comes to entering the scene it was a bit like breaking him a spell. However, I loved his character a lot, indeed, I want to make an appeal: Rocco please, create more characters of men so sensitive, we need it.
You Vanessa what took away from this role?
Scalera: I think it was the opportunity for me to recover some features that belong to me, but I thought I didn’t contain, or maybe in recent years they had been bewildered. That is a way of looking at life with enthusiasm and optimism, which does not mean acceptance, but pure vitality. To revive that living silver that was mine when I was twenty years old. And obviously at first I opposed, I had deep crises, and I discussed a lot with Rocco on how to get into the character of Raffaella, while in reality it was all much simpler, and more soave.
To Claudia instead I would like to ask: what is the “common good for her”?
Pandolfi: In fact, I think we should rather think of common pain, because if we continue to focus on what might please us or that would make us happy, it is as if we thought only of the interest of a few, instead of a more widespread good. The world is in a difficult situation, if we understand what makes us suffer perhaps we can find a real strategy for the good of all.
Claudia and Vanessa, you are two extraordinary actresses capable of moving between the dramatic register and the comic book, each with its own style, with its own irony. I would like to ask you: what does comedy mean to you, smile and make people laugh?
Pandolfi: I think comedy is something a little unconscious for both, a sort of hidden quota, which is then somehow caught. Perhaps it is precisely the unawareness that makes us comfortable, otherwise it would become a force. Personally I don’t think I can make people laugh, but when I laugh at myself things are more beautiful, the world is more welcoming, and then especially moving with a smile on the lips is definitely more useful than living unmused. Life is a comedy written by a sadist, said Woody Allen, also a little comic, but very ironic. Scalera: Because let’s say it: life is always tragic. When you push the pedal of the dramatic register, but show that around the corner there is the banana peel where you will inevitably slide, is what makes me laugh. Claudia, for example, has this comic ability. Which then is a lightness that belongs to the Romans, which intrigues me a lot and reminds me of so many great actresses of the past.
L’articolo Claudia Pandolfi e Vanessa Scalera: “Life is tragic.” The double interview on the film <i>The common good </i> comes from IlNewyorkese.
