This docu-fictional hybrid follows a blank-faced and talentless waiter in the ways of swanky silver service
This film is avowedly a docu-fictional hybrid, for which director Davide Maldi has shot fly-on-the-wall nonfiction scenes at a prestigious Italian “silver service” catering college where teenage boys are schooled in the ways of becoming smoothly efficient waiters in white jackets and bow ties. The fictional aspect evidently comes later, with the careful selection and curation of scenes, although this is arguably no more “fictional” a procedure than in any other documentary.
It follows Luca Tufano, whose blank, unreadable expression becomes more enigmatic as the film progresses. He is quite obviously terrible at this vocation, at one stage dropping an entire tray of glasses with a deafening crash. But at no point does Tufano talk back, or jeer at his teachers; neither does he look contrite, worried or determined to mend his ways. With a group of other boys,...
This film is avowedly a docu-fictional hybrid, for which director Davide Maldi has shot fly-on-the-wall nonfiction scenes at a prestigious Italian “silver service” catering college where teenage boys are schooled in the ways of becoming smoothly efficient waiters in white jackets and bow ties. The fictional aspect evidently comes later, with the careful selection and curation of scenes, although this is arguably no more “fictional” a procedure than in any other documentary.
It follows Luca Tufano, whose blank, unreadable expression becomes more enigmatic as the film progresses. He is quite obviously terrible at this vocation, at one stage dropping an entire tray of glasses with a deafening crash. But at no point does Tufano talk back, or jeer at his teachers; neither does he look contrite, worried or determined to mend his ways. With a group of other boys,...
- 10/29/2020
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Smells Like Teen Spirit: Three Locarno Standouts Consider the Beauty and Torment of Being a Teenager
The following essay was produced as part of the 2019 Locarno Critics Academy, a workshop for aspiring film critics that took place during the 72nd edition of the Locarno Film Festival.
Growing up is hard.
For an adolescent just making their way into the world, it seems like the physical changes, mood swings, and all the conflicting emotions that come with transitioning into adulthood are the most cataclysmic events in the world — a matter of life and death.
But what does it mean to observe this period from some distance, particularly through the cold lens of a movie camera? ‘’I probably never saw a happy teenager.” Italian director David Maldi remarked casually while promoting his new film “L’Apprendistato,” which premiered at the 72nd Locarno Festival in the Cineasti del presente competition.
It might seem like a joke, but Maldi takes very seriously this job of documenting adolescence, especially as a...
Growing up is hard.
For an adolescent just making their way into the world, it seems like the physical changes, mood swings, and all the conflicting emotions that come with transitioning into adulthood are the most cataclysmic events in the world — a matter of life and death.
But what does it mean to observe this period from some distance, particularly through the cold lens of a movie camera? ‘’I probably never saw a happy teenager.” Italian director David Maldi remarked casually while promoting his new film “L’Apprendistato,” which premiered at the 72nd Locarno Festival in the Cineasti del presente competition.
It might seem like a joke, but Maldi takes very seriously this job of documenting adolescence, especially as a...
- 9/15/2019
- by Wilfred Okiche
- Indiewire
In his new film “L’apprendistato” (“The Young Observant”), which premiered at the 72nd Locarno Festival in the Cineasti del presente competition, Italian filmmaker Davide Maldi explores a crucial moment in a young life as a teenage boy is forced to grow up after enrolling at a prestigious hotel and catering school.
Building on his background as an artist outside of the cinema — as well as citing Jonathan Swift’s 18th-century book “Directions to Servants” as a source of inspiration — Maldi approached a small group of artists from non-cinematic disciplines in making the film, a quiet, involving story which he shot alone within a carefully-selected educational facility frozen in time, ruled by tradition and discipline.
The result is a well-composed mix of meticulously curated visuals and a rhythmic score, evoking the anxiously anticipated rite of passage that connects to the author’s general focus on coming-of-age, “L’apprendistato” being the...
Building on his background as an artist outside of the cinema — as well as citing Jonathan Swift’s 18th-century book “Directions to Servants” as a source of inspiration — Maldi approached a small group of artists from non-cinematic disciplines in making the film, a quiet, involving story which he shot alone within a carefully-selected educational facility frozen in time, ruled by tradition and discipline.
The result is a well-composed mix of meticulously curated visuals and a rhythmic score, evoking the anxiously anticipated rite of passage that connects to the author’s general focus on coming-of-age, “L’apprendistato” being the...
- 8/12/2019
- by Linda Keršnerová and Wilfred Okiche
- Variety Film + TV
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