Showcased during the main competition at the 2022 Locarno International Film Festival, “Il Pataffio”, directed and written by Francesco Lagi, is a playful tale of unruly ineptitude and misfortune in a Noble family. Based off of Luigi Malerba’s 1978 novel by the same name, the film takes place in an impoverished village in Tripalle, where the main character Marconte Berlocchio (Lino Musella) arrives with his wife Bernarda (Viviana Cangiano) and their entourage to claim their newly gifted castle.
Those accompanying Marconte Berlocchio are feeble and ineffective in his cause to take over the village he is promised. His knights are led by Ulfredo and Manfredo (Vincenzo Nemolato and Giovanni Ludeno), a peculiar pair to have as guards as they are endlessly distracted by their love for one another. The group’s bishop (Alessandro Gassmann), is as mesmerizing as he is repulsive, while their advisor (Giorgio Tirabassi) is meek and incapable of giving an ounce of sound advice to aid the Marconte.
Under a hot sun two knights in full body armour argue over which direction to lead a group of soldiers and a carriage towards. The knights, dimwitted and insensible, are lead by a partisan and priest who are just as incapable of giving sound advice as they are. They stand under the beating sun and take a guess at which path to march upon. By luck they find a castle in the hill, one that Marcount Berlocchio claims as his own as he sits next to his sweating new bride, Bernarda. Once the group arrive at the castle they are greeted with a foul mouthed knight who curses them away, telling them that the castle which Marcount Berlocchio is claiming as his own is on the opposite side of the valley.
Onwards once again, the knights, Marcount Berlocchio, his new bride, their priest and advisor trot towards their new home. When they arrive they are taken aback by the filth in the streets, and the poverty of the villagers keeping the small castle standing. Just as unruly and unkept as everyone in their own company, the village is ransacked. The villagers have no food, the castle is empty, with not a piece of furniture to sit upon. Food is scarce even for Marcount Berlocchio and his bride, there is little land to farm, and the live stock is claimed by the villagers who unabashedly state that they have no intentions of paying taxes.
The wishful and naive Marcount Berlocchio decides to take authority over the castle he was promised, claiming that he will civilize the villagers and make them cooperative citizens. When the villagers revolt, the knights are ordered to go into the village and pillage their homes, to bring back food and goods for the castle. Unintelligent as Marcount Berlocchio himself, the knights sleep soundly leaving no one to guard the castle; the villagers take back their belongings in the night. This action sends Marcount Berlocchio into a spiral of rage, he and all those in his company are starving and fuelled by their desperation of sustenance—they build a gallows and announce that they are putting forth laws requiring the villagers to cooperate.
Unable to come to an agreement with the villagers, the Marcount Berlocchio offers Migone (Valerio Mastandrea), a spokesperson for his people, a deal. The Marcount bribes Migone with money and food in exchange for his promise to help make the villagers obedient to the idea of a tax paying regime. This, as all schemes Marcount Berlocchio attempts to initiate, fails and back fires.
Distracted by his desire to rule, and to compensate for his impotence, the Marcount’s bride, Bernarda, grows melancholic over the absence of consummation in her marriage. Aching for some kind of comfort she turns to the village’s priest for comfort.
Person after person throughout the village fall to their sinful desires, eventually eroding any chance of a civilized state. While “Il pataffio” is a humours showcase of incompetence, and hierarchal failings, it is also a demonstration of how greed and self-importance can cause a civilization to turn to chaos. Though “Il pataffio” is a satire display of how sensitive an imperial noble structure can be if those in control are unable to build a foundation worthy of their citizens, it is also a thoughtful representation of resolve through self-governance.
(C+)