Martin Eden | |
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![]() International film poster | |
Directed by | Pietro Marcello |
Screenplay by | Maurizio Braucci Pietro Marcello |
Based on | Martin Eden by Jack London |
Produced by | Pietro Marcello Beppe Caschetto Thomas Ordonneau Michael Weber Viola Fügen |
Starring | Luca Marinelli Carlo Cecchi Jessica Cressy Vincenzo Nemolato Marco Leonardi Denise Sardisco Carmen Pommella |
Cinematography | Alessandro Abate Franco Di Giacomo |
Edited by | Aline Hervé Fabrizio Federico |
Music by | Marco Messina Sacha Ricci |
Production companies | Avventurosa IBC Movie Rai Cinema Shellac Sud The Match Factory |
Distributed by | 01 Distribution (Italy) Shellac Distribution (France) Kino Lorber (US) |
Release dates | |
Running time | 129 minutes |
Countries | Italy France |
Language | Italian |
Box office | $3 million [2] [3] |
Martin Eden is a 2019 Italian-French historical romance drama film directed by Pietro Marcello. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Jack London, in a Naples-set background, and follows an illiterate sailor's journey to establish himself as a writer in post-war Italy. [4] [5]
The film was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 76th Venice International Film Festival, where Luca Marinelli won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor. [6]
After saving Arturo, a young scion of the industrial middle class, from a beating, the sailor Martin Eden is invited to the boy’s family home. Here he meets Elena, Arturo’s beautiful sister, and falls in love with her at first sight. The cultured and refined young woman becomes not only the object of Martin’s affections but also a symbol of the social status he aspires to achieve. At the cost of enormous efforts and overcoming the obstacles represented by his humble origin, Martin pursues the dream of becoming a writer and—under the influence of the elderly intellectual Russ Brissenden—becomes involved in socialist circles, bringing him into conflict with Elena and her bourgeois world. [7]
Principal photography for the film began in May 2018 in Naples, Italy. [8] [9]
The film had its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival on 2 September 2019. [7] [10] [1] It was screened at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival in the Platform Prize program, [11] winning the section main prize on 12 September. [12]
It was released in Italy by 01 Distribution on 4 September 2019. [13] It was released in France by Shellac Distribution on 16 October 2019. [14]
Martin Eden grossed $0 in North America and $3 million in other territories. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Kino Lorber had opted for a VOD release. [2] [3]
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 87% based on 108 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10. According to the website's critical consensus: "Martin Eden uses one man's quest for fulfillment as fuel for an ambitious—and often rewarding—look at a complex array of social and personal themes." [15] On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 75 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "generally positive reviews." [16]