IFF22 Casanova's Return

Synopsis

In this new drama from Gabriele Salvatores, the excellent Toni Servillo stars as Leo Bernadi, a successful and acclaimed Italian director. He is approaching the end of his career but he cannot accept his slow decline. The last movie he just finished shooting is inspired by the novel about Casanova by Arthur Schnitzler, a character so similar to the director, even more than he could imagine.

This Casanova has lost his charm and his attraction to women, he’s broke and no longer eager to travel through Europe and after a long exile, he simply wants to go back to Venice, his homeland. While traveling home, Casanova meets a girl, Marcoline. She reawakens his desire, so he tries to seduce her but that leads him to a tragic understanding: he’s an old man now.

It is not by chance that Leo decided to tell this story right now, in a pivotal moment of his life and career. The destiny of both Casanova and Leo leads them to a final confrontation.