- A psycho-thriller inspired by a real story. That, in turn, is inspired by two videoplays: Perdo/nanda Pivano (2018) and I cani dell'acqua marcia (2018) ad by a documentary about High Fashion The Forbidden Fashion (2019).
- Between Naples and Capri today. Otto is a psychodramatist who turns seventy, shows fifty and secretly feels thirty. He lives with Julia an english and disturbed woman who reminds him his first woman and who torments him. But Otto is happy when he works with Fresco, a gay and nice boy who, three years before, trained with him. Fresco is Otto's favorite pupil, the only one who stands by him all day to tackle every work problem together with enthusiasm. Many say that they complete each other because both do things with their hands but those of Otto are moved by the mind, those of Fresco from the heart. Otto encouraged Fresco to turn his thesis on a series of his psychoplays related to gay cinema into a brilliant novel where he describes his work and his life. No other student of the School had the courage to do such an autobiographical operation. The novel has found a publisher and becomes popular with both children and adults. The only one who rejected him is Fresco's father who don't understand the theoretical parts and don't accept the real life description of his family. Otto organizes in a Villa in Capri offered by prof. Boldini, a rich old manager, a Psychodrama Theater "Il Teatro del Tempo" unique in the word where he utilizes music, videos and toys as he did many years before in Turin when he produced a TV program of psychodramas that had a big success. In exchange for his support, Boldini asks to transfer to Capri the huge collection of puppets and toys from the studio in Vomero, which has been in the Otto's home for the past 40 years, whose rental contract is about to expire. Fresco is intelligent and comes from a poor family: they are big friends and together are also producing with big efforts a documentary in Rome about Roberto Capucci a master of High Fashion that Julia hates and calls 'il filmetto'. Otto and Fresco overcome with spontaneity any problem of the production: despite the difference of age, Cinecittà people call them 'I ragazzi'. In Christmas Fresco, with the help of Otto, leaves his old boring partner and starts frequenting Rondo a new companion of his age with the prospective to do a civil union and to adopt children. Rondo is a lawyer and belongs to a middle class family. Julia leaves Otto because is jealous of Fresco and accuses Otto to have a gay trend toward him. In Christmas also arrives in Rome from Canada, Fabio: Otto's old partner who - after ten years of common life where Otto helped him to become a quoted painter - left him and went to work in Canada where he had a professional success. Suddenly some ancient traumas emerge from Otto's unconscious memory and risk to poison his relationship with Fresco. Otto becomes crazy for jealousy and is tempted to destroy Fresco, himself and their work. After many years the removed reaction explodes against the young Fresco who is involved and attacked by ghosts emerging from the past of Otto. But the boy remains with his master. Otto becomes crazy for many months but Fresco faces the situation with a mixture of intelligence, generosity and neapolitan humor. He forces Otto to create his own personal psychodrama about his traumas. One trauma, narrated in the Bricconaggio Perdo/nanda Pivano (2018), is linked to his ancient love for the wonderful lady writer with whom Otto had a long relationship at the age of twenty. The second trauma of his life (narrated in the Bricconaggio I cani dell'acqua marcia (2018)) is the double betrayal created by Fabio and dr. Hide (the didactic analyst of Otto) who made sex with Fabio during the analytic sessions payed by Otto. Boldini, the rich man owner of the Villa in Capri doesn't approve the scandal and withdraws the financing of the Theater of Time if Otto doesn't If Otto does not withdraw his two bindings from the web in which he names the persons involved. Boldini doesn't critic the personal life of Otto and his Coming out but invites him to defense the privacy and the classic analytical attitude. Boldini doesn't want link his name to a psychotherapist who has experienced the sexual and personal problems described in the bricconaggi. Otto refuses. He and and Fresco survive and complete the documentary about Capucci. Julia disappears. They bring back to Naples the collection of toys and puppets and look for a new sponsors of the psychodrama theater.—O. R.
- The essence of Le Bimbe Atomiche is contained in the text of this old letter (2002) sent by Ottavio to dr. Hide after the trauma. Its style seems ironic but is quite sincere. In that moment Ottavio denied any expression of Rage that will explode many years later: "Dear Mario., Otto and Fabio, your friends of the boat, hope you are fine. No problem. What happened is not a tragedy: don't worry for us, the human and erotic relationship between me and Fabio is now as good as before what happened. Perhaps even better. In a lab of Istituto Luce in Cinecittà I am editing Fantasmi al Valle (2012) the work on Pirandello with Leo Gullotta that we dir for Teatro Stabile di Catania. I use a lot of photographic footage because the videos shot in by university technicians are few and of poor quality. Instead, the contents - especially the Pirandello's monologues recited by Gullotta - are exceptional. In short, I make the omelette with the little I have in the fridge! The day will come when I will also do a rich shopping. One day in her tower Marie Louise von Franz told me that my "Zeffirelli complex" (as you defined my passion for movie, during my didactic analysis) actually is my Main Function, distorted and hurt since I was a child. This function today seeks and finds ways to make its way. It is another Coming Out! Today I am not just sponsoring the repressed talent of Fabio (who according to his terrible father had to be a male nurse, like him). I am also helping Ottavio (who, according to my father had to be an officer or a lawyer!). It was time to react. It seems to me a miracle that for two consecutive times I find myself working as Director with the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia that rejected me as a student for years, because I had exceeded age limits. Fabio is helping my work by making an animated logo for Fantasmi al Valle (2012). He has created a nice animation of a Pirandello 'Berretto a Sonagli' that pokes out of a box and flies like a bird. You'll see it in the next videos. One more thing. This time it is evident that your religious culture is Jewish and not Christian: the Holy Card contained in my letter is not from St. Joseph as the putative father of Jesus and does not refer to the "chastity" of a Father. He has no ironic relationship about what happened. It is not St. Joseph or even St. Anthony (there are two of them, one of which protects the animals). It is only the saint of St. Francis. This year I chose it to congratulate all my friends. The thing went like this: while I was helping Fabio make L'impero dei pappagalli (1994) a 3D video with a group of singing parrots on a 'Take Six' gospel 'Better believe!', I dreamed of the saint of St. Francis coming down from the sky in the end. His arrival let all the parrots escape except one who welcomed him with open arms-wings. I didn't understand why. A pure intuition. The scene takes place on Ponte Sisto and the frame is the one that opens Generazioni d'amore: Le quattro Americhe di Fernanda Pivano (2001) the documentary on Fernanda Pivano that caused the end of our thirty-year relationship. Obviously this dream is an invitation to peace between us. Even if I do Buddhist meditation with Corrado Pensa, my unconscious remains a Christian. But not Catholic because the (anti-gay) position of the Vatican is not Christian. And not Buddhist. It is a big mistake. The history needs a new Pope who changes many things. And he might be a Francesco Pope! A big hug also from Fabio. Ottavio
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content