COMANDANTE the film made in collaboration with the Navy opened the 30th International Film Festival organized by the Venice Biennale on 80 August, directed by Alberto Barbera, with the aim of promoting the diffusion of international cinema in all its forms of art, entertainment and industry, in a spirit of freedom and dialogue.
The film by Edoardo De Angelis, to be released in cinemas from November XNUMXst, stars Pierfrancesco Favino in the role of Lieutenant Commander Salvatore Todaro and the screenplay was written by Sandro Veronesi and Edoardo De Angelis.
History: October 1940, World War II; Lieutenant Commander Salvatore Todaro commands the submarine Caps of the Royal Navy. While sailing in the area of operations in the Atlantic Ocean, in the dark of the night the silhouette of a merchant ship can be seen sailing with the lights off, the Kabalo, which will later be discovered to be of Belgian nationality and which opens fire against the Italian submarine. A short but violent battle breaks out in which Todaro sinks the enemy ship with cannon shots. It is at this point that the commander makes a decision destined to make history: to save the twenty-six shipwrecked Belgians condemned to drown in the middle of the ocean to disembark them in the nearest safe port, as required by the law of the sea.
To welcome them on board, considering the already very small spaces inside the submarine, he is forced to navigate on the surface for a few days, making himself visible to the enemy forces. Todaro's decision is not one of the simplest ones, not only his own career is at stake, but the life of his men first and then his too. “If on our return my decisions are not appreciated, let them remove me from command: but here, now, my decision is made, and it is adamant. We sink enemy iron without mercy, but man, man we save" - so Pierfrancesco Favino in his masterful interpretation of Commander Todaro.
We are usually used to seeing the Cinema exhibition on TV with the curiosity of observing our favorite actors in evening wear: tuxedos and long dresses amidst the glitter of sequins and the extravagance of the most audacious tastes. This year, on the international red carpet, the protagonists and the production of the film Commanding they also symbolically brought the crews, men and women of the Navy, not only submariners like Todaro was, but all those who have chosen the sea as a profession and lifestyle choice. An extraordinary film which shows the universality of the values that yesterday with Todaro and his crew, as well as today and tomorrow too, must characterize those who go to sea. Not least we are struck by the scenes that give us a realistic insight into the life of the submarine sailor. A film for the cinema and the general public in which the collaboration with the Navy has helped restore the memory of a great seafarer.
In Venice for a logistical stop at the end of training activity in the Adriatic moored a few tens of meters from the Arsenale della Marina, the Romeo Romei, fourth submarine of the class dedicated to Salvatore Todaro (type U212A). A special occasion not only for the concomitance of the presentation of the world preview of COMMANDANT, but also for the extraordinary opportunity had by young and old to be able to go up and visit one of the most advanced submarines ever built for the Navy and, at the moment , among the best in the world with conventional propulsion.
The Navy has produced a special of the Navy News entitled "COMMANDANT, the film on Salvatore Todaro" with interviews and exclusive images to the protagonists who participated in the making of the film.
The film COMMANDER
Director: Edoardo De Angelis
Production: Indigo Film (Nicola Giuliano, Francesca Cima, Carlotta Calori, Viola Prestieri), O' Groove (Pierpaolo Verga, Edoardo De Angelis), Rai Cinema (Paolo Del Brocco), Tramp (Attilio De Razza), Vgroove (Mariagiovanna De Angelis ), Wise Pictures (Antonio Miyakawa)
Duration: 120 '
Language: Italian, Flemish, Venetian and Neapolitan dialects
Performers: Pierfrancesco Favino, Massimiliano Rossi, Johan Heldenbergh, Silvia D'Amico, Arturo Muselli, Giuseppe Brunetti, Gianluca Di Gennaro, Johannes Wirix, Pietro Angelini, Mario Russo, Cecilia Bertozzi, Paolo Bonacelli
Screenplay: Sandro Veronesi, Edoardo De Angelis
Photography: Ferran Paredes Rubio
Editing: Lorenzo Peluso
Scenography: Carmine Guarino
Costumes: Massimo Cantini Parrini
Music: Robert Del Naja
Sound: Valentino Gianni
Visual Effects: Kevin Tod Haug
