Filmmaker Abel Ferrara and actor Willem Dafoe have a bit of an ongoing working relationship. For decades now, the filmmaker and actor have collaborated on a number of films including “New Rose Hotel,” “Go Go Tales,” “4:44 Last Day on Earth,” and “Pasolini.” However, his most recent collaboration, “Tommaso” has yet to hit theaters officially. But that’s about to change.
As seen in the new trailer for “Tommaso,” Dafoe stars in Ferrara’s film about an American artist living in Rome with his young wife and their young daughter. The film debuted at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival and has been making the festival rounds since then. Now, it’s set to begin arriving in theaters next month.
When we saw the film back at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, we weren’t completely sold on it. In our review, we said, “‘Tommaso’ might seem like a thrilling, fantastical portrait of an artist, but Abel Ferrara’s execution is far less impactful image than the above description would suggest. The director remains adrift in the wasteland of the imagination.”
No matter the review for the film, when you have a filmmaker like Ferrara and a leading man like Dafoe, you are almost forced to give it a shot. And “Tommaso” definitely seems like it’s a film that is definitely worth your time. This is especially the case for those Ferrara/Dafoe completionists, who want to see all of their films.
Speaking of Ferrara and Dafoe, the duo is once again collaborating on the upcoming film “Siberia,” which will make its debut at this year’s Berlin Film Festival.
“Tommaso” played a variety of different festivals over the last year and is debuting in some European territories next month, but an official US release has not been announced.
Here’s the synopsis:
TOMMASO is the story of an American artist living in Rome with his young European wife Nikki and their 3 year old daughter, Dee Dee. A work concerning imagination.