佛拉卡萨船长之旅

Scola’s “commedia dell’arte” adaptation of Gautier’s major novel “Captain Fracassa” deviates from its source’s cloak-and-dagger romanticism, scrapping the happy-ever-after denouement between Baron of Sigognac (Perez) and Isabella (Béart, strikingly virtuous), bringing down the curtain promptly after the troupe’s first performance in Paris and totally omitting the following purple patch where the members will become the courtiers of King Louis XIII. Showing no interest in royal pageantry and palatial grandeur, Scola’s left-leaning ideology keys his film into a hymn for the ordinary folks, namely, the peripatetic Italian theater troupe, led by the Tyrant (Ucci) and Lady Leonarde (Masiero), that takes Sigognac in, who is a wet-behind-the-ears, impecunious baron languishing in his derelict castle with his loyal servant Pietro (Ingrassia). En route to Paris, Sigognac falls in love with both Isabella, the ingénue of the troupe, and Serafina (Muti), a maturer belle. But soon he must learn to accept defeat and acquire worldly wisdom on top of his winsome chivalry. His rite of passage culminates in his creation of a successful play and impersonation of the titular, idiosyncratic captain, which will help the troupe take Paris by storm. Visibly shot inside a studio with a magnificent scenographic design and arrangement, THE VOYAGE OF CAPTAIN FRACASSA is a fine specimen of entertainment that never strays far away from its innate effervescence, especially on the strength of Troisi’s comic performance, who plays Pulcinella (aka. Punch), a buffoonish sidekick in the troupe. Truly, Pulcinella becomes Sigognac’s servant out of a gainful encouragement, but he is no slave to mammon. When his master’s life is hanging in the balance, Pulcinella is endowed with an admirable sense of proportion. Also, he can peacefully part ways with his lover Zerbina (D’Aquino) when a more auspicious future beckons to her. Through Troisi’s artless simplicity and deceptively effortless antics, Scola seems to find the perfect conduit to express his affirmation and affection to the have-nots like him. Meantime, the youthful pairing of Perez and Béart is a fetching eyeful, their star-crossed romance has just enough allure to keep audience dangling. However artificial and stage-bound it looks, haphazardly its script meanders (the medias res arrangement is a bit unnecessary), Scola’s 17th-Century exemplum on humility and true love is pure-hearted, infectiously droll and irreproachably life-affirming (how often in a movie there is no bad blood but whole-hearted understanding between two women who are smitten with the same men?). referential entries: Scola’s La TERRAZZA (1980, 7.2/10); SPLENDOR (1989, 7.5/10); Christian-Jaque’s FANFAN LA TULIPE (1952, 7.2/10).

Title: The Voyage of Captain FracassaOriginal Title: Il viaggio di Capitan FracassaYear: 1990Country: Italy, FranceLanguage: French, Italian, SpanishGenre: Comedy, Adventure, RomanceDirector: Ettore ScolaScreenwriters: Ettore Scola, Furio ScarpelliBased on the novel “Captain Fracassa” by Théophile Gautier Music: Armando TrovajoliCinematography: Luciano TovoliEditors: Raimondo Crociani, Francesco MalvestitoCast:Vincent PerezEmmanuelle BéartMassimo TroisiOrnella MutiLauretta MasieroToni UcciMassimo WertmüllerJean-François PerrierTosca D’AquinoCiccio IngrassiaGiuseppe CedernaRemo GironeClaudio AmendolaMarco MesseriRenato NicoliniNaike RivelliRating: 7.4/10