09/12/2020 - Today marks the arrival on Netflix of Sydney Sibilia’s new film, which tells the true story of an extraordinary utopia, but sadly overplays the bizarreness of the tale, diminishing its epic nature

There are some stories which, upon hearing them, you can’t help but feel they should be turned into a film. This is how it was for Sydney Sibilia when he learned about the unbelievably true yet seldom remembered case of the Esperantist Republic of Rose Island, founded in May 1968 off the coast of Rimini and sunk some months later in February ’69. And it’s this story of a utopian land born out of the mind of a visionary, Bologna-born engineer, Giorgio Rosa, which the director of the I Can Quit Whenever I Want [+see also:
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film profile] trilogy decided to bring to the big screen for Netflix, with production coming courtesy of his close friend Matteo Rovere. The result is Rose Island [+see also:
trailer
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The story in itself beggars belief: while the younger generations were fighting to change the world (in the late 1960s), the young engineer played by Elio Germano (crowned Best Actor at this year’s Berlinale for his part in Hidden Away [+see also:
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Writing the screenplay alongside Francesca Manieri (whom he also collaborated with on I Can Quit Whenever I Want 2: Masterclass [+see also:
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Wisely shot and visually captivating with its glossy reconstruction of the 1960s, awash with pastel tones and musical hits of the time, the film does, at times, feel somewhat unbelievable, which is ironic given that for all its absurdity, the fundamental story is true. In their slight romanticisation of Rosa’s adventure, the authors have chosen to place focus on the ludicrous side of the tale and to downplay the epic nature of his feat, which ultimately leaves the viewer confused over the real motives behind Rosa’s enterprise. It’s a light-hearted and enjoyable film, but we’re left wondering whether this was really the right tone to adopt in the telling of such an exceptional story.

Rose Island was produced by Groenlandia on behalf of Netflix; the film is available on the streaming platform as of today, 9 December.

(Translated from Italian)