El comandante y la cigüeña

The single plumber Leo (Valerio Mastrandeo) doesn't have it easy: his son Elia (Luca Dirodi), a teenager with a cold, prefers to sit in front of the computer or hang around in the city instead of doing his homework.

Teenage daughter Maddalena (Serena Pintucci) is in trouble after her supposed "boyfriend" posted an embarrassing video of her that made her the laughingstock of the neighborhood. And then there's Leo's deceased wife (Claudia Cerini), who appears to him every night as a ghost.

Meanwhile, the young artist Diana (Alba Rohrwacher) is in financial difficulties. If she doesn't pay her landlord Amanzio (Giuseppe Battiston) the outstanding rent soon, she is in danger of losing her roof over her head. A way out of the misery is the promise of a job from the lazy lawyer Malaffano (Luca Zingaretti), on whose office wall she is supposed to paint a fresco.

While grappling with Malaffano's extravagant special requests, she meets Leo, who plans to hire the lawyer to save his daughter from her predicament. The two have no idea that they will soon see each other again under strange circumstances...

For a long time it remains unclear whether Silvio Soldini's new film is a drama or a comedy - and what he's getting at. Serious topics such as cyberbullying are raised abruptly and dropped just as quickly. It would be nice if such problems could be solved in the real world as easily. But realism is also not a requirement of the film. Paranormal and surreal elements have their place, as does an overtly obvious Silvio Berlusconi parody.

Nevertheless, director Soldini manages not to let his film fall apart. In particular, the leading actor Valerio Mastrandeo as the overwhelmed Leo gives the film the necessary support. It may be a subtle irony that the family dad, with his mustache reminiscent of Super Mario, is a plumber of all things; However, he is by no means a "Super Leo". Nevertheless, he is good as a figurehead and steals the show from Alba Rohrwacher who is somewhat neglected as an artist in financial difficulties.

Incidentally, the film gets its title from the statues (among them the "Comandante" Giuseppe Garibaldi), which appear again and again in between and sarcastically comment on the events - an unusual, but also somewhat tried-and-true idea that slows down the flow of the film; on the other hand, a stork ("cicogna") plays an essential role and gives the story, which previously seemed rather aimless, a direction towards the end.