November 23, 2013 -- This dark comedy about a man going crazy over being on a reality TV show has themes that reverberate all through modern Western society: The cult of personality, the dream of sudden, unearned wealth, the dream of instant fame and the strange phenomenon of modern celebrities being famous without having the skills, talent or dedication to earn that fame.

Luciano (played by Aniello Arena), a fishmonger in Naples, is seemingly happy in his life, although the film opens with him dressing up to play a role in a pageant. He seems to have ambitions to be a performer. He also has an illegal scheme re-selling appliances in order to support his family, in addition to selling fish at his own fish store in a public square.

One day his wife, Maria (Loredana Simioli) and children urge Luciano to try out for a reality TV show, “Grande Fratello” (the Italian version of “Big Brother”). He manages to persuade the TV crew to let him audition on camera, even though the auditions have actually ended. He is then called back by the show to come to Rome to be interviewed. During the interview, Luciano tells the interviewers many intimate details of his life. They seem to be fascinated by him. One of those at the interview is a psychologist.

Luciano comes away from the interview at Rome convinced that he is going to be a contestant on the show. He believes he will become rich and famous. While waiting to hear back from the producers of the show, he gets angry with a man begging for food at his fish market and pushes him away. Then, he notices a stranger watching him. Discussing this with his friends, he decides that he is being watched by agents of the show to see if he is worthy of being on the show.

As the date when contestants will be announced gets closer, Luciano gets more paranoid about being watched. He starts giving away food and many of his belongings to strangers in order to prove his worthiness. Maria, his children and friends all become upset. Luciano is clearly going crazy. His behavior becomes increasingly bizarre. He sells his fish store and quits his other appliance selling business as well. He sits around all day, watching TV and waiting to hear from the TV show producers.

Of course, Luciano is not chosen to be on the show. After a time, his friends and family think he has finally recovered from the disappointment and started to get his life back together, but he has one more surprise left for everyone. The acting is superb in this film, especially by Aniello Arena, Loredana Simioli and by Nando Paone, who plays Luciano's long-suffering best friend, Michele.

Luciano's mad quest for fame and fortune in this story illustrates the seduction offered by these kinds of TV shows. Similar seductions are offered by lotteries and other get-rich-quick schemes. At the heart of all this is the quest for material wealth. When people see wealthy and famous celebrities on TV who are not exceptionally skilled or talented, they wonder “why not me?”

If the leader of an oppressive society wanted to set up a system to give people enough hope so that they would not try to overthrow the government, lotteries and reality TV shows like “Big Brother” would be a good strategy for achieving that goal. This movie shows a bit of the human costs of reality TV, but not the full extent of it.

This film is in Italian and English with subtitles. This film rates a B.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2013 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

Robert Roten can be reached via e-mail at .