My film could appeal to [people] who are not afraid of dealing with the dark side of life it is meant for those who don't go for high-tech special effects and cheap thrills," says Peter del Monte, who has made eight feature films including Julia & Julia (1987), which featured Gabriel Byrne, Sting and Kathleen Turner. "Compagna di viaggio is actually a simple film, an initiation drama."
The film stars Asia Argento, daughter of renowned Italian director Dario Argento, who is paired with Michel Piccoli (The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, Belle de jour). For del Monte, "Asia is very wild, violent and spiritual, all at the same time, and Michel Piccoli is very light-hearted, yet deep. I am very happy with the outcome, with the way they portrayed Cora and Cosimo."
Cora is 20 years old, impulsive and rebellious. She lives in Rome alone, with no permanent address and no permanent ties. Cora makes a living walking dogs in the daytime and working as a waitress in a bar at night. One day, the owner of the dog she takes for walks asks Cora to follow her father, Cosimo, a retired university professor who seems to be either very absent-minded or senile.
Cosimo's problem is that every time he ventures out of the house, he ends up getting lost; so Cora's job is to babysit him from a distance. One morning, Cosimo goes to the railway station - with his shadow in tow and boards a train.
So begins a journey into the unknown for Cora, where little by little she crosses into a twilight zone, another dimension "This voyage is a symbol; it is a voyage of self-discovery for Cora," says del Monte of this peach of a film.
"A strange affinity develops between these two people, divided by age difference and social background, who have only one thing in common the feeling of alienation. At the end of the film, these two divergent aspects of life merge."
Damjana Finci
Prod Co: Alia Film, Istituto Luce
Prod: Enzo Porcelli
Dir: Peter del Monte
Cast: Michel Piccoli, Asia Argento, Lino Capolicchio
Scr: Peter del Monte, Gloria Malatesta, Claudia Sbarigia
Ph: Giuseppe Lanci
Prod des: Mario Rossetti
Mus: Dario Lucantoni
Ed: Simona Paggi
Cast: Michel Piccoli, Asia Argento, Lino Capolicchio
Running time: 104 mins
International sales: MK2
