(2022, Italy, 124')
A future without water: how far removed is a possibility such as this, following climate change and social predicaments of the last few years? The film speculates on an apocalyptic, almost irreversible scenario, though not as improbable as it may seem. Like a biblical plague, drought grows chronic both in geography as well as in interpersonal relationships. Using different, diverse characters, the film reveals its choral novel character: a storyline of subjective experiences and the emergence of fatality as a common, tragically snarky fate. All – good and bad – look for the last possibility of salvation, the last amend for redemption.
Bitterness, fun, irony, and drama are but a few ingredients in Virzì’s films, which fosters critical reflection and moves the conscience. Born in 1964, Paolo Virzì graduated at the Experimental Film Centre in Rome, where he met Furio Scarpelli, his teacher and mentor. In 1994, he participated in the Venice Film Festival with Living It Up. His subsequent films – all critically acclaimed – have been August Vacation (1996), The First Beautiful Thing (2010), Human Capital (2014), and Like Crazy (2017). Also in 2017, he was in Venice with The Leisure Seeker, starring Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland.
