It was released in theaters on February 29, however Caracas He is destined to remain in people's minds for a long time to come. First of all because this is the third movie Marco Demore He talks about his urgency to return behind the camera after its closure Gomorrah chapter And after saying a final goodbye to a characterThe immortal Ciro Di Marzio. The added value is also to find the stage master again Tony Servillowhich made his debut when he was just 18 years old in the company that made him discover his love for acting.

Caracas, based on Ermanno Rea's novel called Naples Ferrovia, is a feature film suspended between dream and reality, where the dream-like dimension explicitly wants to prevent the viewer from forming a single perception of this extreme right-wing extremist who at a certain point in his life and life is no longer able to feel the West and wants Convert to Islam. Giordano Fonte will accompany him to Hell, discover his character as well, and analyze it closely The root of all the violence that invades the railway alleys and the soul of all humanity. A war between the last people on Earth, orphans of a sense of community that, in its absence, makes them unable to save themselves.

Let's start with the personalities: who are Caracas and Giordano Fonte?

love: They are two contradictory people, for sure. Karakas was a boy who, because of his political ideology, played on the far right, and then at a certain point in his life he said he could no longer define himself as a Westerner. As Muslims say, return to Islam. In addition, he is a man of extreme feelings, fanatical views that have repercussions not only on his political choice, in this desire for spirituality, but also in love.

Cervelo: We always forget to say, when talking about Caracas, that she is also the heroine of the latter, an aspect that largely guides her behavior and is perhaps one of the reasons why this old communist caryatide, as Rea introduces himself in the book, is so curious, who returns to Naples because he must obtain prize. The encounter with Caracas makes him a dream machine, moves time in the most arbitrary directions, puts him in a state of internal travel, within himself, and at a certain point, despite being so far away, it ends in a contradictory friendship. Which makes them essential to each other.

How do political and religious fanaticism come together in this film?

love: The theme of intolerance resonates throughout the film. In my opinion, this also speaks of great emotions and strong motivations that drive the characters. Caracas towards the drifts, especially of young people linked to this world of the extreme right, made of absolute values ​​that do not portend doubts, made of violence towards the other who is always seen as an enemy, an invader, an intruder to the homeland. One's own territory.

And when extremism overtakes faith too, Giordano Fonti calls it to himself and shouts: “It only matters how you feel.”.

Cervelo: Yes, this is one of the moments where their relationship becomes more intimate. The place in the world that these characters occupy with more self-awareness, more ability to define themselves, is the place where they feel like they've given someone a helping hand or gotten help from someone against whatever ideology they want to plan. Help without realizing it.

Everywhere there is Naples that represents a global representation, a world where all people in search of a center or a home meet. How is Naples viewed today?

love: There is a part of the country that sees Naples as a possibility of resisting a certain type of standardization, and on the other hand, there is a distasteful feeling that in the news, but also in art and not in culture or politics, Naples is always constantly in the forefront. I realize that this perception of the city can be stressful.

We also saw that in Sanremo this year, didn't we?

love: Well, of course, that too.

Cervelo: I have a feeling, compared to other Italian cities, that there is still a population here. People who offer either the possibility of disappearing into comfortable anonymity or feeling a kind of generous solidarity that other cities don't feel. I love Napoli very much and I say that without shame. One time I was walking in Spaccanapoli and I asked myself “but why am I so happy?”. Aside from the fact that it was a beautiful day, I heard a phrase in the background that gave me an explanation and it was “Avimma campà tutto quant” (We must all live, ed.). It is the feeling that there is space for everyone, that compared to the struggle to make a living, there is the possibility of solidarity and being together.

Giordano Fonte returns to Naples, which he does not know. Naples is described as motherly, a womb that welcomes children angry at being abandoned, but at a certain point one feels “But he changedHow has it changed?

love: What I feel about the city today is that it is gradually adapting to the changing times, while trying hard to remain connected to certain traditions. I admire the fact that there are teenagers in 2024 who know a line from an Edoardo comedy or a song from the classical Neapolitan repertoire, they know who Viviani was, and they know some of the more modern interpreters like Troisi and Pino Daniele. In my opinion, this is truly a cultural treasure that we receive from this city without any merit, and perhaps in this sense it makes us truly unique.

“In cruelty there is no order, no homeland, no kind of father“, we hear about scenes of violence that leave a mark on the soul of Caracas. And I ask you: Have we all become somewhat orphaned because of a lost humanity?

Cervelo: In cruelty one feels displaced. It is the biggest problem we face, the dehumanization of man. I think it is one of the tasks that art is asked to do more responsibly. Now that there is a lot of talk about artificial intelligence, and about machines replacing humans, we are witnessing the embodiment of relationships that are increasingly accelerating through selling to buy, buying to sell, selling to buy, and buying to sell. Companies that offer a model are almost exclusively imitated and imitation means imitating the desires of others. According to a rule that is again the rule of selling to buy, buying to sell. It is fundamentally a problem of dehumanization.

Marco D'Amore made his debut in Tony Servillo's company when he was 18 years old. How did you find yourself on set after 25 years of working with reversed roles?

Cervelo: I engaged in many early works, such as those of Martone, Sorrentino and many others, with the enthusiasm of participating in a spring-themed experience. This film is not Marco's first film, but it is a film that he invested a lot of himself in from a compositional point of view, and because of the previous relationship, I felt like I had to be close to him because he clearly told me that he needed me. This also led to a very in-depth reflection on the first drafts of the script, which in some parts did not completely convince me, although I understood Marco's laudable intentions, because in my opinion it distanced itself a little from the spirit. From Raya's novel. In this sense, I made myself available to serve the entire project.

How are you so different?

love: First of all, we are different in terms of the theatrical experience. Tony comes from years where he also had more personalities and relationships at his fingertips that pushed him, while I grew up in another era, where the only example was really him. We are different in some tastes, we are different in age, but from the differences arise those sparks that facilitate interpretation, that make the characters themselves find harmony and incredibly vitality.

In light of these continuing scenes of violence and oppression and this resistance even to “Stop Genocide” that we recently heard on that stage in Sanremo, in your opinion, is it possible to have hope for our future today?

love: I read a beautiful description of a recent interview with Karl Marx. The journalist asked him about the meaning of his life experience, and Marx replied, “Struggle.” So I think that in the face of institutional indifference, in the face of the superficiality with which some unacceptable incidents of violence are reported, I hope that there will be a will to fight. It is clear that my struggle is a peaceful struggle, and I hope that members will multiply in such a way that this cry will become increasingly louder.

A moment is as good as a picture, a still image of a moment that will never come back. What is the still image of this film you made together?

Cervelo: After days of filming, coming back in the evening and looking out the hotel window and looking towards the sea, towards Capri. Instead, we shot the film in the market, in the areas of Vasto and Lavinaio, where we could experience first-hand the difficulty of living, and the struggle to survive. Then you find yourself in the evening smoking a cigarette in front of this nature that seems indifferent, this magma that is squeezed from the bowels of the city, it was an emotion that still makes the flavor of the film resonate in that sunset.

love: After this wonderful struggle over the script with these summer sessions, Tony comes back one evening and says to me, “Come and get me, we have to go and party, take me to Mimi's at the railway.” This was the restaurant that Rea frequented while writing Napoli Ferrovia and it's a place close to my heart, as well as being Tony's restaurant as well, and where we decided to shoot a scene in Caracas. That evening, if we could have taken a photo that reflected the strength of our relationship, it would have been amazing.