La città proibita

Gabriele Mainetti's fun mixed film bowl (of roman holiday, italian family values, restaurants and kickass martial arts) set in a central but little known ethnic part of town, deserves more success and love than it actually garnered. This was supposed to be the comercial comeback of a maverick filmmaker who exactly 10 years ago smashed the box office with his unlikely super hero "Jeeg Robot", which also launched the career of actor Luca Marinelli ("M"; "Martin Eden"). This time on hand a cast of beloved local stars includes Sabrina Ferilli ("La grande bellezza"), Marco Giallini (best at playing baddies in the Lee Van Cleef mood) paired with likable newcomer Enrico Borello and to die for stuntwoman turned actress Yaxi Liu (plus new handsome italo-chinese thesps), on a revenge blitz to the Eternal City. And that is what all the well penned characters in the film bargain for: danger, death, spectacular martial fights (that give Jason Statham or even Jackie Chan a run for their money) and true love...So I loved and recommend this fast and furious take on my hometown bathed in asian scent rarely seen since my childhood hero Bruce Lee's shoot in Rome in 1972 ("The Way of the Dragon").

Gabriele Mainetti returns with another, genre-bending film. While his storytelling is too indulgent regarding runtime, there's no denying the sheer energy and inventiveness he brings to the screen. This time, he plunges us into a vivid, chaotic, and deeply human story that fuses action, humor, and social commentary.

Enrico Borello ( The Invisible Thread, Settembre, Familia, Supersex) delivers his most mature performance yet, shedding the supporting roles of his early career to fully embrace a lead character as rugged as he is endearing. His portrayal of a Roman cook navigating a whirlwind of conflicts-both personal and external-anchors the film with a raw, unpretentious charm. Watching him embody this role with such ease and charisma suggests he's ready for even bigger challenges ahead.

A standout element is Yaxi Liu, who doesn't just bring physical prowess to the screen with her martial arts skills but also a compelling emotional presence. Meanwhile, Marco Giallini and Sabrina Ferilli add depth and charisma.

What sets this film apart is Mainetti's ability to merge stylized action with deeply rooted cultural elements. Multicultural Rome, in his hands, becomes more than just a backdrop; it's a living, breathing character, full of contradictions, grit, and poetry. His fearless approach to blending different genres makes for an exhilarating experience .

Stunning cinematography, outstanding performances, and a genuinely intriguing premise. The screenplay, however... The first half hour is powerful, tight, and wouldn't be out of place in a film by Miike or Tarantino. At the outset, the blend of Eastern action cinema and Italian-style comedy seems to work miraculously well. The two genres manage to coexist because each character is sketched just enough to give the film its necessary weight.

Then suddenly, right after the Chinese woman asks Marcello to set her free, the film collapses-spectacularly. The two of them go for a stroll around Rome and, out of the blue, she transforms from The Bride in Kill Bill into Alice in Wonderland. From that point on, her personality begins to swing wildly: one moment she's a wild tigress, the next she's Audrey Hepburn perched on the back of a Vespa, and then suddenly she's a picture-perfect housewife from a breakfast cereal advert.

The film never quite recovers its thread. It spirals into needless psychologising and tearful lamentations. There are also some musical Morettisms that feel entirely redundant. It all wraps up like a vaguely Italian noir, with a final scene that feels clumsily tacked on.

Gabriel Mainetti is an extraordinarily gifted filmmaker-but he'd do well to follow a coherent narrative line rather than raiding his cinephile's memory bank and stitching together mismatched bits of other people's films.

Rating - 7.8: Overall, a true melting pot of a movie as it is a kung-fu, familial drama, and romance all wrapped up in one that juxtaposes Chinese and Italian cultures to make an entertaining experience; but, it is really held back by its dual climax structure because you have such an adrenaline dump after the first that you really do not want to go through a second.

Direction - Pretty Good to Good: The direction on a macroscale is good, as they show this Chinese world is embedded in Rome, and they do an amazing job building the kung-fu action sequences, as it makes this movie feel like an action-packed adventure; The direction on a microscale is good, as the movie is built on its interpersonal sequences between the characters, as it makes you empathize with their struggles; The storytelling is good for the most part, as you get invested in the story, but the structure feels like an adrenaline dump, as there are two climaxes; Tension is built well, as you really get emotionally invested in these characters, and tension is built well in the action sequences

Story - Pretty Good to Good: The concept is unique and interesting because it is a familial story told with different cultures that are interesting, with a Kung-Fu and romance movie attached as well; The plot structure is pretty good for the most part because it is a main story with two subplots, but this kind of hurts the ending because there is a climax and then a second climax right after because it had to end the main revenge story and then the familial conflicts right after; Character writing is good because you care about these characters and their struggles, painted with a lot of depth that makes them memorable

Screenplay - Good: The dialogue is good and well written; The humor is definitely there and helps make the movie feel genreless at times, and it helps ease the tension in the movie; The symbolism is strong in this movie because it touches on familial topics, cultures clashing and melting together, and romantic interests; The foreshadowing is decent

Acting - Pretty Good: Enrico Borello - Decent to Pretty Goof (A little bit stiff at first, but comes into his own towards the midway point and plays a lead with some range well; has good chemistry with Liu), Yaxi Liu - Good (Has a good amount of range and really embodies someone mourning the loss of her sister; shows poise and expertise in the action scenes; has good chemistry with Borello), Marco Giallini - Pretty Good to Good (Feels like an experienced actor who really steals scenes he is in and lifts up his cast mates; has good chemistry with Borello), Sabrina Ferilli - Decent to Pretty Good (Plays her role well; Has pretty good chemistry with Borello; Isn't really given that much to work with), Chunyu Shanshan - Pretty Good (Plays the typical menacing villain well), Rest of the cast - Decent to Pretty Good (Everyone plays their roles well and helps lift up the cast)

Score - Good: Blends Chinese and Italian influences to make this movie feel like a melting pot of both cultures; Used effectively to build tension and help set the tone, especially in the action sequences

Cinematography - Good: Executed and shot well, really helps bring to life the action sequences

Editing - Good: Executed and shot well really help bring to life the action sequences

Sound - Good: Executed and shot well really helps bring to life the action sequences

Visual Effects - Good: Help really brings the actions to life, especially with the use of practical effects

Production Design - Good: Helps show the juxtaposition of this Chinese culture inside Rome

Pacing - Pacing is pretty good for the most part, but gets kind of slow at times; The way the climaxes are structured, everything in the end of the movie feels slow as you had an adrenaline dump from the first climax

Climax - Climax is a big issue with this movie because there are two separate climaxes; When the first climax ends, you have a huge adrenaline dump that doesn't allow you to experience the second climax

Tone - Tone is a mix of many genres, as this is truly a melting pot a kung-fu movie, a familial drama, and a romance

Final Notes - Saw premiere at Fantastic Fest.

Sometimes you do not need to come up with a pun or a summary line (though as always no pun intended) ... you just use the self explanatory German title of the movie ... et voila here we go. I like the director and the movie begins quite ... well if you are into action, this will be quite the opening for you.

From the training montage, to the action scene ... after that it will slow down a bit. But you will still get the occasional action bit to enjoy. And you will also get a love story ... well actually more than one love story ... not just between characters ... but also the city and maybe even building/objects ... just saying.

Well acted, the script may be a bit of a small let down ... I'd be surprised if you didn't guess the "big" twist ... but hey, this is entertainment so here we go (and no not everyone was Kung Fu Fighting ... actually many were not - plus Ghost Dog vibes! Same same, but different)