Dry

"Siccità" is a drama about a 3 years complete drought that hits Rome.

While the disgraceful italian filmography of the last 20 years (with very few exceptions) might in itself represent the inexorable decadence of a country and of its intellectual vitality, it's much more rewarding and thought provoking to witness such aridity with the aid of a good production.

Virzì, who was always capable of interpreting the gaze of youth and naivety, in this last decade focused on different subjects without - IMHO - being able to produce anything on par with its best older movies.

With "Siccità" instead he seems finally ready to write-direct (co-write) an incredibly complex and mature story with dozens of actors, drama and comedy, young and old people, social commentary and poetry in scene.

A little slow (I have watched it at 1,5x and didn't even notice) and while not a masterpiece for the genre - indeed it lacks that surrealist touch which seems so dear to nowadays top creators and audiences dealing with dystopia - it totally deserves an 8.