Ratataplan

Last updated
Ratataplan
Ratataplan.jpg
Directed by Maurizio Nichetti
Written byMaurizio Nichetti
Produced by Franco Cristaldi
Nicola Carraro
StarringMaurizio Nichetti
CinematographyMario Battistoni
Music by Detto Mariano
Release date
  • 1979 (1979)
CountryItaly
LanguageItalian

Ratataplan is a 1979 Italian low budget comedy film directed, written by and starring Maurizio Nichetti. The film turned out to be highly succesful, launching Nichetti's career [1] and earning him a Silver Ribbon for Best New Director. [2]

Contents

Plot

Life does not offer much satisfaction to the recent graduate engineer Colombo: in a job interview in which candidates are asked to draw a tree, he is the only one not hired by the company since his drawing, instead of being monochromatic and schematic as the executives would like, is colorful and lush. Colombo lives in a battered but lively palace with a railing; he has four neighbors: a woman who is perpetually pregnant, the members of the theater cooperative "Quelli di Grock", a girl always intent on carrying heaps of rags, and a ramshackle dance school attended by a student he is in love with, but she won't even look at him.

He is, in his own way, a genius of electronics and automation (he has built a contraption that prepares his breakfast and brings it to him in bed, and which hands him his clothes for the day), however his job is that of a waiter at a remote drinks kiosk at the top of Montagnetta di San Siro. The owner is a fat and alcoholic hag who is the only customer of herself and spends her days being served beers by Colombo. The routine is interrupted when the wheelchair bound manager of an international summit has a heart attack: one of those present at the summit calls a nearby bar to bring a glass of water, but by mistake dials the number of the kiosk.

Colombo finds himself having to run across Milan carrying the glass of water on a tray, which during the journey suffers a sequence of ridiculous accidents: it is first poured into the helmet of a traffic cop, then some painters accidentally dip the brushes in it, it is soiled by the unloading of a truck, pigeons eat birdseed in it and finally an insect falls into it. Once at its destination, the concoction is still drunken by the now cyanotic boss, who not only recovers, but miraculously gets up from his wheelchair laughing and hopping. It would therefore seem that Colombo's life is at a turning point: at the kiosk a long line of paralytics is queuing to drink the miraculous concoction, which Colombo prepares by skilfully reproducing on the spot all the previous misadventures. But then the boss buys the entire kiosk with millions to turn it into a sanctuary.

The hag, who now advertises herself as a saint, is enthusiastic about the project while Colombo is suddenly unemployed. The engineer, to make ends meet, improvises himself as a violinist for the deranged theatrical cooperative which is based in his condominium. His life, however, does not improve much: the impresario, strict and grim, comes to the courtyard to gather the actors and leave for a show but, not seeing them arrive, goes up to the messy apartment where they sleep and wakes them up with a trumpet; they rush to wash up the dishes, throwing them from one part of the kitchen to the other in a sort of hilarious assembly line, and are finally loaded badly into the van.

Colombo, who finds himself sleeping in the condominium garbage can, is also awakened abruptly. After grotesque incidents along the way, the company arrives in the courtyard of a rural town scattered in the fog, where it sets up a pathetic show (the improbable Magic Show) in the midst of chickens, geese and cows. In the meantime, the impresario does nothing but devour everything that comes his way, even the flowers that the local children give him. The spectators, at first only perplexed by the insipid staging, then take up shovels and pitchforks and force the actors to a long and ruinous escape on foot.

Back home exhausted, Colombo is again snubbed by the dancer he is in love with, who instead rushes to help a neighbor. He then decides to take action but, too shy to woo the girl himself, builds a remote controlled automaton made in his own image. The animatronic is sent to the balcony, and Colombo finally manages to attract the attention of the dancer. The two go to the disco; Colombo, who remains at home to pilot the automaton, follows the evening on a screen and all seems to go well until the control system explodes: the automaton is jammed and continually orders the waiter two drinks, sitting next to the now completely drunk girl.

Alerted by the explosion, the girl who constantly collects rags rushes to Colombo's house. She expresses her liking for his cheerful and extravagant home, and then invites him to follow her into a warehouse full of colorful rags. There the two take turns dressing up and rolling around, having finally found happiness in a completely unexpected way.

Cast

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>The Icicle Thief</i> 1989 Italian film

The Icicle Thief is a 1989 Italian comedy film directed by Maurizio Nichetti, titled in imitation of Vittorio De Sica's 1948 classic Italian neorealist film The Bicycle Thief. Some feel The Icicle Thief was created as a spoof of neorealism, which predominated Italian cinema after World War II. However, it is generally understood that the film is critical of the impact of consumerism on art, as suggested by the contrast between the nested film and commercials, and the apathy of Italian television viewers in recognising the difference between the two. The film won the Golden St. George at the 16th Moscow International Film Festival.

<i>Bio Zombie</i> 1998 Hong Kong comedy film

Bio Zombie is a 1998 Hong Kong zombie comedy film, starring Jordan Chan. It spoofs George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead and shows many similarities to Peter Jackson's Braindead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roland Topor</span> French writer, screenwriter, actor and painter

Roland Topor was a French illustrator, cartoonist, comics artist, painter, novelist, playwright, film and TV writer, filmmaker and actor, who was known for the surreal nature of his work. He was of Polish-Jewish origin. His parents were Jewish émigrés from Warsaw, Poland. He spent the early years of his life in Savoy, where his family hid him from the Gestapo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dwight McCarthy</span> Fictional Character, Sin City Universe

Dwight McCarthy is one of the principal characters in Frank Miller's Sin City universe. He appears in A Dame to Kill For, The Big Fat Kill, Family Values, The Babe Wore Red and That Yellow Bastard. He is the character that appears the most in all the Sin City yarns. He was portrayed by Clive Owen in the 2005 film, and by Josh Brolin in the 2014 prequel.

<i>Allegro non troppo</i> 1976 Italian film

Allegro non troppo is a 1976 Italian animated film directed by Bruno Bozzetto. Featuring six pieces of classical music, the film is a parody of Walt Disney's 1940 feature film Fantasia, two of its segments being derived from the earlier film. The classical pieces are set to color animation, ranging from comedy to deep tragedy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Domenico Barbaia</span> Italian opera impresario (1777–1841)

Domenico Barbaia was best known as an opera Italian impresario.

"The Capital of the World" is a short story by American writer Ernest Hemingway. The story takes place in Madrid and follows Paco, a young waiter apprentice, and his desire to become a matador.

<i>Gigot</i> (film) 1962 film by Gene Kelly

Gigot is a 1962 American comedy-drama film directed by Gene Kelly and starring Jackie Gleason.

<i>Romeo and the Black Brothers</i> Japanese anime television series

Romeo and the Black Brothers is a 1995 Japanese anime series by Nippon Animation. Although "Romeo's Blue Skies" is the literal translation of the Japanese title, the official English name given by Nippon Animation is "Romeo and the Black Brothers". It is known in Arabic as "عهد الأصدقاء", in the Philippines as "Mga Munting Pangarap ni Romeo", and in Greece as "Τα Παιδιά των Καπνοδόχων".

<i>Like Father Like Son</i> (1987 film) 1987 film by Rod Daniel

Like Father Like Son is a 1987 American fantasy comedy film starring Dudley Moore and Kirk Cameron.

<i>The Invention of Hugo Cabret</i> 2007 childrens novel by Brian Selznick

The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a children's historical fiction book written and illustrated by Brian Selznick and published by Scholastic. The hardcover edition was released on January 30, 2007, and the paperback edition was released on June 2, 2008. With 284 pictures between the book's 533 pages, the book depends as much on its pictures as it does on the words. Selznick himself has described the book as "not exactly a novel, not quite a picture book, not really a graphic novel, or a flip book or a movie, but a combination of all these things".

<i>Hes in Again</i> 1918 film

He's in Again is a 1918 American silent comedy film starring Billy West and featuring Oliver Hardy. It is one of the many films where West imitates Charlie Chaplin. The director was Charles Parrott, later known as Charley Chase.

<i>Le Bal</i> (1983 film) 1983 Italian film

Le bal is a 1983 Italian-Franco-Algerian musical film without dialogue directed by Ettore Scola that represents a fifty-year story of French society by way of a ballroom in France.

<i>Death of a Salesman</i> (1985 film) 1985 film by Volker Schlöndorff

Death of a Salesman is a 1985 American made-for-television film adaptation of the 1949 play of the same name by Arthur Miller, directed by Volker Schlöndorff, and starring Dustin Hoffman, Kate Reid, John Malkovich, Stephen Lang and Charles Durning. The film follows the script of the 1949 play, with only minor differences, and premiered on CBS September 15, 1985. The film earned ten Emmy nominations at the 38th Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony, and four Golden Globe nominations at the 43rd Golden Globe Awards ceremony, winning three and one, respectively.

<i>The Big Street</i> 1942 film by Irving Reis

The Big Street is a 1942 American drama film starring Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball, based on the 1940 short story "Little Pinks" by Damon Runyon, who also produced it. It was directed by Irving Reis from a screenplay by Leonard Spigelgass.

<i>The Fifth Cord</i> 1971 Italian film

The Fifth Cord is a 1971 Italian giallo film directed by Luigi Bazzoni. The film's Italian title reprises Dario Argento's practice of using animals in the titles of his thriller films. The film is based on a novel with the same name by D.M. Devine.

<i>Ex 2: Still Friends?</i> 2011 Italian film

Ex 2: Still Friends? is a 2011 Italian comedy film directed by Carlo Vanzina.

Sangkar is a 2019 Malaysian Malay-language martial arts action drama film directed by Kabir Bhatia starring Zul Ariffin, Remy Ishak and Mira Filzah. This film depicts about the rivalry and redemption between two local mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters, as they go from enemies to friends while fighting for glory and family. This film is the first Malaysian MMA film. This was the reunion project of Ariffin and Ishak, nine years after Evolusi KL Drift 2 (2010).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boobs in the Wood</span> 1925 film by Harry Edwards

Boobs in the Wood is a 1925 silent black and white short American film starring Harry Langdon directed by Harry Edwards and produced by Mack Sennett. It was Sennett's first film written by Arthur Ripley.

<i>I Made a Splash</i> 1980 comedy film

I Made a Splash is a 1980 comedy film co-written and directed by Maurizio Nichetti.

References

  1. AA.VV., "Ratataplan", La rivista del cinema, N. 76, p. 3, Museo Nazionale del Cinema, Torino, December 2009.
  2. Maurizio Nichetti; Massimo Causo; Carlo Chatrian. Maurizio Nichetti. Effata Editrice IT, 2005.