CENTO DOMENICHE/ A HUNDRED SUNDAYS

Italy, 2023, 95 minutes, Colour.

Antonio Abanese, Donatella Bartoli, Liliana Bottone.

Directed by Antonio Albanese.

A Hundred Sundays, like a month of Sundays, can be a long difficult time.

This is the story of a worker in a shipyard, good at his job, good at supporting young workers, retiring, welcomed by the workers but made redundant by the authorities. He is played by Antonio Albanese who also directed the film.

The film starts very cheerfully, an Italian town, friendships, the old men and their bocce games, a sunny atmosphere. Antonio has been divorced, does have rendezvous with a married woman in the town, is devoted to his daughter and her fiance who run a store. When she announces the engagement, this is one of the goals his life, and he enters wholeheartedly into the preparations, getting advice for the location, the number of guests…

Antonio also lives at home looking after his aged mother.

He goes to the bank, he listens to the smooth talking new manager, discovers that his investment is in stocks, is reassured, but soon the news comes that the bank is in danger, collapsing.

Antonio consults his friends who are supportive, but learns more and more about the bank, eventually getting a rifle, going to the bank, a confrontation, demands, the police coming – and, unexpectedly for the audience, his killing himself.

And the film adds information, 2023, of recent difficulties with Italian banks, their failing, and so many ordinary people losing their savings.

1. The title? The long time?
2. The setting, the town, the port, the surrounding countryside, homes, shops, workshops, atmosphere? The musical score?
3. The tuple beginning, the friendships, Antonio and his life, retired, volunteering work, helping, caring for his mother, love for his daughter, the preparations for the wedding? The shift in tone? The focus on finance, the loan, the stocks and his account, the bank failing and the consequences?
4. Antonio, personality, helping at work, not being paid, the discussions with Carlo, support, the visiting accountants, his financial situation, ousted? At home, care for his mother, her hearing, the doctor’s, outings? Conversation at home? Love for his daughter, her fiance, running the shop?
5. The Joy of the wedding, so important for him, the number of guests, the location, discussions with his friends, their advice? Going to the bank, discussion with the manager, the issue of his account, stocks, their increasing, the 30,000-euro loan, the assistant at the bank?
6. The rumours, his apprehension, the discussion with Carlo and his reassuring him? The friend at the store, warnings, explaining that Carlo had saved his money? The man from the bank, his conscience, warning Antonio? At the restaurant, seeing the young woman and her husband, following her, the confrontation, her explanation, her own losses? Fear of being fired?
7. The discussions with his daughter, her wanting to postpone the wedding, his obsession?
8. The visits to his friend, her husband absent, the relationship, his asking her opinion, phoning her and the meetings?
9. The visit from his ex-wife, her marrying again, her advice and support?
10. The growing desperation, his friends from playing bocce, Martin and his support, offering financial help, Antonio rejecting it?
11. The growing desperation, getting his rifle, going to the bank, ousting the customers, the new manager, confronting him, the young woman present, the police arriving, his demand to see the previous manager, the police and the intervention, persuasion? His final desperation, his sitting on the chair, actor to back the camera, the shot, death?
12. The jolting impression, the pessimistic ending, and the final information about finance and banks in Italy and the effect of so many people losing their savings?