A year on from his “platform” film, Nuovo Olimpo [+lire aussi :
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fiche film], which was an impassioned homage to films released exclusively on Netflix, Ferzan Ozpetek is bringing his stories, characters and emotions back to the big screen with his new feature film, Diamanti [+lire aussi :
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fiche film], which is hitting over 400 Italian cinemas from 19 December, courtesy of Vision Distribution. A Christmas film with all the trimmings, it’s a genuine crowd-pleaser, deploying a cast of successful actresses (18, in all) and set in its entirety in one of the most sparkly and colourful places imaginable: a prestigious dressmaker’s shop for the film and theatre world in 1970s Rome.

As often happens with the Turkish-Italian director, there’s also an autobiographical impetus behind this his 15th film. On this occasion, Ozpetek goes back to the early ‘80s when he worked as an assistant director and frequented film and theatre dressmakers, meeting the greatest costume designers, director and actors of the period, against a backdrop of mannequins, sewing machines and fabric scraps. That said, the film opens in the present-day: gathered around the usual, sumptuously decked table is a group of women whose faces we progressively recognise. They’re famous actresses who have all starred in the director’s previous films: Luisa Ranieri, Jasmine Trinca, Nicole Grimaudo, Paola Minaccioni, Elena Sofia Ricci, Lunetta Savino, Aurora Giovinazzo, Milena Vukotic, Carla Signoris, Anna Ferzetti and Loredana Cannata, in addition to new entries Vanessa Scalera, Geppi Cucciari, Milena Mancini, Sara Bosi and Mara Venier. They’ve been called together by Ozpetek himself, who’s appearing in one of his films for the very first time, developing his next work alongside them.

So it is, therefore, that between a plate of pasta, a read-through, and a little playful banter (“so, what are you planning to do with this vaginadrome?”), we’re catapulted back to 1974, inside the walls of a splendid dressmaker’s directed by two diametrically opposed sisters, one of them determined and slightly despotic, the other more fragile and tormented, played by Luisa Ranieri and Jasmine Trinca (the former now on her fourth Ozpetek films, the latter rewarded with a David di Donatello trophy for her role in The Goddess of Fortune [+lire aussi :
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fiche film]). An important order comes in for a huge film set in the eighteenth century: the costume designer (Vanessa Scalera) is an Oscar winner and the director (Stefano Accorsi, also on his fourth Ozpetek film) is incredibly demanding. The dressmakers get to work; they don’t have much time, but plenty to contend with, including a rivalry between two prima donnas who should be prevented from crossing paths when trying on their costumes, at all costs. And each of them has their own problems at home too, whether a violent husband, a tricky son or eternally insufficient funds… But these women are like diamonds: they’re not easily broken.

Diamanti lasts 135 minutes, and the time flies by. The cast is well-matched, the actresses are all brilliant and well-centred, and even the smallest roles add value. Then, there are the dazzling outfits: the film’s costumes come courtesy of Stefano Ciammitti (of Io capitano [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] and the Netflix series The Law According to Lidia Poët), to whom the upcoming David di Donatello trophy will undoubtedly fly. There’s a little bit of everything in the film: humour and drama, sisterhood and competition, grave losses, loves that might have been, secret relationships, and singing and dancing to tunes by Patty Pravo and the unmistakeable Mina…  In short, the full breadth of Ozpetek’s universe in its most sensational form, dedicated to three diamonds of Italian film: Mariangela Melato, Virna Lisi and Monica Vitti.

Diamanti was produced by Greenboo Production, Faros Film and Vision Distribution, in collaboration with Sky. Vision Distribution are also overseeing international sales.