Gianluca Zoppa’s short film, Luca, is a breath of fresh air. I review many independent films and have become inured to the usual plot formulas, drawn, I assume, from the usual screenwriting books. Instead of leading us down a well-worn path, Zoppa tells a story that is strikingly powerful and strikingly believable. It is not a linear story and does not have a simple message. Perhaps there is no message at all other than a profound insight into the universal but sometimes uneasy fellowship of mankind.
The story begins in the the north of Italy, perhaps in the business capital, Milan. The protagonist is Luca, played by Zoppa, who, incidentally, also co-wrote the story with screenwriter Nicholas J. Potter. Luca is an instantly magnetic character and we feel for him from the first moments of the film.
We find him walking down a wealthy glass and steel hallway looking distraught. Through brief flashbacks it turns out that Luca has been let go from his job after twenty years of service. His boss tells him that the business has fallen on hard times and he has no choice. The name of the boss is Mr. Fausto. This is, I must assume, no accident. Faust is, of course, a figure from German folk tales who was immortalized in the ‘play’ by Goethe. Faust finds life dull so he sells his soul to the devil in exchange for unlimited worldly pleasure. We don’t learn much about the boss in the film, but could Luca be a Faustian character? Instead of trading his soul for pleasure, Luca trades his business suit for the uniform of a car wash attendant. He has a child on the way and must do what he must to keep his head above water. But before too long his boss call him up and offers him another job; a job that pays even a bit better than the one he had. There is only one catch: the job is in China.
We next find Luca being picked up at the airport in China by the jovial Mr. Chen. Chen brings Luca to the room where he’ll be living. It’s filthy. In a dilapidated building full of workers. Luca is shocked and refuses. But Chen lets him know that he has no choice. This is where he’ll be living. Luca’s office is similarly a dusty mess, very far away from Milan’s glistening shops and leafy boulevards. The sky is yellow. And Luca must trade risotto and panettone for dumplings.
At this point, we might have expected the film to take a turn towards lamentation and self-pity. Luca’s making money again, but he’s living in squalor and his family is far away. But Zoppa takes a different and far more satisfying direction. We see Luca gradually become close friends with Chen. They argue at work as colleagues often do, but they can shake it off. Luca has dinner with Chen’s family and we start to understand the connection. Chen isn’t far from his family, but, like Luca, he must spend his days working in a dusty furniture factory. What makes this (or any, really) work bearable is the camaraderie with his friend. Having even one real friend can make even the dreariest occupation bearable – and even enjoyable.
I expected the film to simple play out this idea: Luca found a friend and, hey, there’s a silver lining in every gray cloud. I could foresee Chen visiting Italy, the families getting together and everyone living happily ever after. But instead Zoppa shocks us with a totally unexpected, but sadly realistic ending.
Both main actors are spectacular as is the photography. The film seems to have been shot on location in both Italy and China (if it wasn’t, it certainly fooled me). The cinematography and color – the contrast between Italy and China – are so good the film could almost have been silent and we still would still have been able to follow and would have felt the emotional punch this film delivers.
This is a film that will stay with you for a long time. I found myself turning the plot over in my mind again and again trying to figure out what it means. I’m still pondering.
by: Darida Rose
© 2021. UniversalCinema Mag.