The term “predator” can mean a number of different things. Obviously, there’s the definition that relates to animals in nature, the hunter after the prey. And in the #MeToo era, there’s the more nuanced definition about people in power preying on those without. Then you have the idea of what a predator is that is discussed in the upcoming film, “I Predatori (The Predators).”
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In honor of “I Predatori” debuting at this year’s Venice Film Festival, in the Horizon section, we are thrilled to give our readers an exclusive look at a clip from Pietro Castellitto’s new film. The feature follows the story of a young man that is caught in the middle of a battle between warring factions in Rome. Warring factions, of course, meaning families with very distinct lifestyles. One is bourgeois and intellection, while the other is full of, well, fascists.
The clip doesn’t really give much away in terms of plot but does show the dry humor that is found in the film, as the young man has to explain how he “brilliantly” labeled two food items to help differentiate which was which without opening the lid. The humor brings to mind something from Yorgos Lanthimos or his ilk, where there are awkward pauses and inherent silliness, without slapstick.
As mentioned, “I Predatori” comes from filmmaker Pietro Castellitto. In discussing the film before its debut, he said, “This film is a concerted effort, but the characters are unaware of it. Each of them is alone, trapped in that stage in life in which no one seems to understand you and you wish that everything would go away. Reverse course in order to revive your hopes: this is their battle. Anyway, being happy is a tough business. At times, a job for ‘predators.’ In Federico, I have catalyzed a feeling of alienation, a sense of enormous frustration that stems from the difference between what you are and what others think you are. A troubling feeling that can lead people to take extreme measures. For me, fortunately, it has led to the writing of a film. This one.”
“I Predatori” will debut at this year’s Venice Film Festival. A formal worldwide release has not been announced.
Here’s the synopsis:
It’s early in the morning, the sea at Ostia is calm. A man knocks at the door of a woman’s house: he is going to sell her a watch. It is early in the morning again when, a few days later, a young assistant professor of philosophy will be left out of the group chosen for the exhumation of Nietzsche’s body. Two grievances. Two apparently incompatible families: the Pavone and the Vismara. Bourgeois and intellectual the former, proletarian and Fascist the second. Opposing factions that share the same jungle: Rome. A banal incident will bring the two poles into collision. And the folly of a twenty-five-year-old man will lead to a showdown that reveals everyone has a secret and no one is what they seem. And that we are all predators.