The popular satirical youtube channel The Jackal has published Ogni maledetto Natale, an hilarious video about the (sometimes infamous) tradition of Christmas movies in Italy, parodying famous movie directors such as Sergio Leone (Il buono, il brutto e il cattivo), Paolo Sorrentino (La grande Bellezza), Gabriele Muccino (L’ultimo bacio), Vittorio De Sica (Sciuscià, Ladri di biciclette), the Vanzina Brothers (sadly renown for their incessant production of cinepanettoni) and Stefano Sollima (Romanzo Criminale,Gomorra).
Apart from being very well made, showing an admirable mastery in mimicking the various topoi of each director (the surreal slow motion and shiny photography in Sorrentino’s movies; the gross humour counterpointed by unforgivable technical mistakes in Vanzina’s productions; the intense and tormenting static shots from De Sica), the video is a good example of how Italians experience Christmas: a social event that often ends to be a parody of itself, but which is still a must for each and every Italian family, whether it be left-winged, right-winged, catholic, atheist or pastafarian.
by Enrico, Italian teacher in Rome, Kappa Language school
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