罗马国际电影节开幕

Italian director Giovanni Veronesi’s film ’The Fifth Wheel’ opened this year’s event.

A comedy exploring the vices and virtues of Italy over four decades, from the assassination of Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro; Italy’s victory in the 1982 World Cup; to the arrival on the political scene of Silvio Berlusconi through the eyes of an ordinary citizen...

In "The Fifth Wheel" Veronesi tells the true story of Ernesto Fioretti, a driver who he met on a film set. He said he wanted to make a film that rewarded honesty.

Giovanni eronesi, Director, said, "He’s a person who has the face of an honest man and he’s an honest person. In Italy, as you know, in the last thirty years being honest and remaining honest and pure has been very difficult. So, it seemed fair to me to reward this honesty by making a movie about his story."

The story begins with Ernesto as a boy on a soccer pitch where his best friend, Giacinto, won’t pass him the ball. The story follows the friends through their lives as Ernesto falls in love, gets married, starts a family and follows the path of a simple, honest, hard-working man.

Actor Elio Germano, who plays the lead, said it was refreshing to see Italian cinema represent the common, typical man.

Elio Germano, Actor, said, "This is showing not only the good Italy, but also the Italy that exists but is often not represented in movies. Because movies talk about very rich people, or criminal bosses, situations like that, but rarely gets within families to talk about the most stupid things, the difficulties, lining up at the post office, situations like that, which then spark comedy. Because in Italy, there is comedy everywhere- it’s enough just to leave your house!"

Actress Alessandra Mastronardi said one of the most difficult parts of the film for her was aging by 40 years.

Alessandra Mastronardi, Actress, said, "The biggest challenge was the character ageing. The first time we did a make-up test, I have to say that I was a bit shocked, because I looked like my mother. Suddenly I saw my mother in the mirror, I wasn’t me anymore. It was an amazing passing of time, of life, that then goes away but leaves a sign."

The festival which runs until November 17 features a heavy dose of American and Italian films, with 18 films in competition. American film director and screenwriter James Gray is president of the jury.

There will 16 films participating out of competition, six of them world premières, and a total of 30 countries, from Algeria to Turkey, taking part in the festival.