14/06/2023 - Trash Secco’s debut feature film following two homeless Roman men’s fight for survival is a grim but poignant ode to society’s outsiders and to brotherly friendship

There’s a visible world and an underworld at play in Rome. The former is inhabited by normal people integrated into society and the latter by the wretched who don’t even have a place to call home. In Bassifondi [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - a first work directed by Trash Secco (whose real name is Francesco Pividori) and written by the D’Innocenzo brothers (who won an award in Berlin, to give one recent example, for the screenplay behind their film Bad Tales [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fabio and Damiano D’Innocenzo
film profile]) which is released in Italian cinemas on 15 June courtesy of Cloud 9 - a mouse is the first link between the visible and the underworld; a mouse which, in the film’s opening moments, we see rooting around in rubbish, following a trail of litter discarded along the steps leading from the embankment down to the river’s edge, to lead viewers directly to Romeo and Callisto’s makeshift bedroom under a bridge in Trastevere.

Of forty-year-old Romeo (Gabriele Silli) and his more mature companion Callisto (theatre actor Romano Talevi) - the two homeless main characters in this exploration of the city’s bowels - it’s the latter who doesn’t stop talking. “Let’s go and have breakfast”, Callisto repeats every morning to the more taciturn Romeo, his tormented-looking partner in misfortune whose family has abandoned him and who often has a tear in his eye, before the two of them clamber up above ground together, between the narrow streets and squares of Trastevere, and ask passers-by for “small change”. Sometimes Callisto hams it up a little, sometimes he swears, but invariably he incites mistrust or disgust in those who cross his path.

In Trash Secco’s anything-but-banal mise en scène, filth, degradation and defecation in public act as a counterpoint to the great beauty of the statues gracing Rome’s historic centre and the enigmatic faces of street artists. His emotive editing approach sees us focusing on details, facial expressions, and mouths as they bite into cream-filled pastries at the bar. Romeo and Callisto bicker, they insult one another, but they never leave one another’s side. Theirs is a desperate day-to-day life, peppered with drugs, off milk and bad odours, until the day Romeo falls ill, suddenly losing his voice and then his sight. It’s at this point that Callisto’s great humanity emerges. Romeo can’t do anything on his own, but Callisto takes care of his friend, telling him a few lies along the way to help alleviate some of his pain. Maybe one day they’ll meet again in a more beautiful world.

Bassifondi makes no concessions and isn’t an easy film to watch. It’s wholly focused on its two protagonist vagabonds, played by Silli and Talevi with great credibility, and it isn’t afraid to offend. It’s a grim but poignant ode to society’s outcasts, and its celebration of the duo’s close friendship feels anything but artificial. Bassifondi is born out of a tale written by Trash Secco fifteen years ago, revolving around the love between brothers. In writing the film’s screenplay, Fabio and Damiano D’Innocenzo have lent truth and impact to this story about deep, conflictual friendship. Special mention should also go to Giacomo Falciani’s mesmerising soundtrack combining strings and electronica, and to Valentina Belli’s acid-toned photography. In short, the film deserves much positive acclaim.

Bassifondi is produced by 11 Marzo Film together with RAI Cinema. The movie already earned itself applause at Rome Film Fest where it was presented in a premiere last October.

(Translated from Italian)