"Nonostante", Valerio Mastandrea opens the Orizzonti section with a touching love story

"A story that has been mine for a long time and that I hope will become everyone's": these are the words with which Valerio Mastandrea chose to accompany 'Nonostante', a film that has been chosen to open the Orizzonti section of this year's Venice Film Festival.

Mastandrea's second attempt behind the camera after 2018's 'Ride', 'Despite' also sees him as a protagonist in the role of a man who serenely spends his days in hospital without too many worries. He has been hospitalised for a while, but that condition seems the best way to live his life, sheltered from everything and everyone, without responsibilities and problems of any kind. It feels really good in there and even if some of his ward mates feel trapped, for him it feels really free, like nowhere else.

If with 'Ride' Mastandrea had chosen to tell the story of a woman recently widowed by the death at work of her husband, in 'Nonostante' he returns to reflect on the relationship between life and the afterlife, describing a series of characters who find themselves in a sort of limbo between these two universes.

With his first work behind the camera, the Roman actor and director had already demonstrated discrete sensitivity, but with this new feature film he definitely raises the bar of ambition, managing to deal with a series of complex themes effectively, in a simple and sincere manner.

Co-written by Mastandrea with Enrico Audenino, 'Nonostante' starts with a very strong subject and suffers from a few fluctuating moments during its duration, but is able to leave numerous food for thought after the credits and even bring a few smiles, despite the dramatic basis of the story.