Culture
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Filippo Valsecchi: “The film about Pino Daniele portrays Naples without clichés”
“The inspiration for the film stems from the simple realisation that it was possible – and indeed necessary – to tell the character’s story beyond the confines of documentaries, as has been done abroad for so many musical heroes. It has an inspiring moral.” Interview
There is a perilous and elusive line between the archetype and the cliché, which should prompt us to exercise caution in our judgements. A very young Pino Daniele, in the one-minute trailer for Nicola Prosatore’s “Je so’ pazzo”, devours friarielli like a boor in front of his two aunts-in-law. The oil on his chin has prompted some hasty accusations of sensationalism against the director, whilst for us it evokes the indelible autobiographical memory of the fourteen-year-old Enrico Caruso, slapped by his etiquette teacher Emilia Niola for the vulgarity of having told her, ‘I’ve eaten pasta and beans’. Daniele was, if I may say so, like Caruso: a Neapolitan working-class man who rose to legendary status thanks to music and who, like Caruso, maintained a troubled relationship with the city right up until his death.
His legacy, celebrated through documentaries and memorial concerts, now faces the unknowns of a biographical drama: the mystery will be revealed on 15 October when the film hits cinemas, although these days films are reviewed on the basis of trailers, books on the back covers and articles on their headlines, without even clicking on the link. Filippo Valsecchi, a Roman who followed in his father’s footsteps, is the producer of “Je so’ pazzo” (Tartare Film and Camfilm with Rai Cinema), based on the book by Alessandro Daniele, Pino’s second son. It chronicles the singer-songwriter’s life from childhood to success, culminating in the massive concert in Piazza Plebiscito in 1981.
When and why did the idea for the film come about?
Long before this project began, there was my passion for music and a vague personal memory of Pino on the beach at Sabaudia, where I used to go as a child and where I met his son Alessandro, with whom I’ve stayed in touch as we’ve grown up. The inspiration for the film stems from the simple realisation that it was possible – and indeed necessary – to tell this character’s story beyond the confines of documentaries, as has been done abroad for so many musical icons, from Michael Jackson to Freddie Mercury and Johnny Cash. Nicola Prosatore was the ideal director thanks to his fresh approach and visual flair, which I’d already noticed in his first feature film, “Piano piano”. What’s more, he has a background as a musician, and he used to hang out in the neighbourhood where Pino Daniele lived and attended the same school as him. For the lead role, Massimiliano Caiazzo was unrivalled. He threw himself into the part ‘with heart and soul’ and succeeded.
Anyone recounting the early days of Pino Daniele is also recounting Naples at a pivotal turning point, before and after the 1980 earthquake. What narrative approach should be adopted?
The story centres on a young man destined for marginalisation who, through genius, dedication and tenacity, manages to achieve social and cultural emancipation, eventually becoming a king of music. It is not a moralistic fable, but it does have an inspiring moral: anyone can try to make their dream come true, perhaps by starting with buying a guitar. Without wishing to stir up controversy, I am proud that there isn’t a single gun in this film, after the last twenty years in which we have seen far too many. I am far more moved by the cultural phenomenology of Naples than by the sensationalist portrayal of the underworld.
Which stages of the production process would you describe as emblematic?
On the second day of filming, when we were shooting in Piazza Plebiscito, and then, after the screening of the film for the cast had finished, Dorina, Pino’s first wife, and their daughter Cristina stood up with tears in their eyes.
What strikes a non-Neapolitan producer organising a film set in Naples?
An opportunity to discover more about a city that has forged a unique identity between fire and water, between Vesuvius and the sea, generating unrivalled creative energy thanks to the tension between opposites. It is a city incapable of mediocrity because it has always grappled with a trait that has become prominent in the contemporary world: the tendency towards polarisation. Naples has reconciled this in a fertile cultural output, and Pino Daniele stands as one of its prime examples, thanks to his ability to blend multiple souls within his musical expression.
Revolutionising without renouncing: “the adventurous style of a song transformed into a phoneme that revived the splendour of a withered ethnic language”, wrote Roberto De Simone upon his death in 2015.
Pino Daniele bridged the gap between tradition and innovation, between the blues and Neapolitan song, which was the first Italian cultural product to truly go global.
What do you like best about the current Neapolitan art scene?
Nu Genea for their eclectic, high-quality output, which has blended genres and brought the Neapolitan dialect back to the international stage.
“Je so’ pazzo” is his first major project as a producer. What is Tartare Film’s signature style?
The Esselunga model: high-quality projects that are accessible to the general public.
Who is the target audience for “Je so’ pazzo”?
I’m convinced young people will like it, not least because young people made up the majority on our set. Ultimately, whether you like it or not, we’ve expressed a zest for life and a desire to pass that on to the younger generations without pandering to youth culture.
If you were to make another film about Naples, what would inspire you?
It would be a pleasure to write about its women, because I believe that, all things considered, it is a matriarchal city. I enjoyed Sorrentino’s “Parthenope”.