Italian Race (2016)

Original Title

Veloce come il vento

Genres

Drama | Sport

Director

Matteo Rovere

Country

Italy

Cast

Stefano Accorsi, Matilda De Angelis, Paolo Graziosi, Lorenzo Gioielli, Roberta Mattei, Giulio Pugnaghi, Cristina Spina, Rinat Khismatouline, Tatiana Luter

Storyline

After her life falls apart, the only hope of young promise of GT racing Giulia Di Martino (Matilda De Angelis) is her bigger brother Loris (Stefano Accorsi), a drug addict and former champion.

Opinion

I'm Italian and I'm also the first to say Italian cinema has been terrible lately. Month after month, year after year, with only a few exceptions, the theatres are filled with terrible made in Italy movies. When "Italian Race" came out I had the feeling it would be different. And I was also thrilled to see an Italian action film so I gave it a go; I'm really glad I did because Matteo Rovere's film is a light in the darkness as it finds a good balance between drama, action and emotions.

Loosely based on the true story of an Italian rally racer, it is very likely to guess how the story will progress as soon as one of the main characters is introduced, nevertheless, it still is gripping and that basically because of how the story is structured; not only it is a fast paced racing story, but a family drama as well, and it's all well-tied together.

The action is great. I've been a fan of car racing - especially Formula 1 - since I can remember. I grew up watching them with my father and brother; I still watch them and this film was able to deliver that same adrenaline and to engage me just like a real race does.

At last but not least there's the acting, especially Stefano Accorsi's performance; he simply blew me away. His portrayal of a drug addict is pretty much flawless. Also worth of a mention is newcomer Matilda De Angelis who keeps up with Accorsi.

The score is a disgrace, though. Truly awful.