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A fable drawn on the screen

2020-02-28T01:54:19.665Z


The illustrator Lorenzo Mattotti adapts to the cinema The famous invasion of bears in Sicily, the story that Dino Buzzati published in 1945


It had neither feet nor head. So the Grand Duke laughed. But the messenger insisted, very convinced: he said there were so many who looked like a huge black snake. He announced that they were sliding through the mountains, and soon their march would reach the city. "Bears?" Asked the tyrant incredulously, who was still laughing. Even so, just in case, he ordered his army to stop the advance of the animals with gunshots. And that the poor did not pose any threat: they only went down to the valley in search of the bear cub Tonio, the lost son of his king.

MORE INFORMATION

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Thus begins the first of many clashes of The famous invasion of bears in Sicily , a fable of the Italian Dino Buzzati who has spent decades in love with the smallest readers and also the elderly. And that, now, has reached the cinemas. The well-known cartoonist and illustrator Lorenzo Mattotti directs the animated film of the same name, which recovers, celebrates and even extends that story, first published in 1945. The film will be screened in Spanish cinemas starting Friday, February 28.

“Buzzati is one of the columns that have most influenced my work. Many times I wondered why nobody had made an animated version of this story so rich, imaginative, full of poetry and ideas, ”Mattotti (Brescia, 66 years old) confesses to the phone. So much that the creator chose her to premiere at the cinema. Somehow, he had touched it, since he has drawn posters for Cannes or La Mostra of Venice and collaborated with Wong Kar Wai, Soderbergh or Antonioni. But the applauded Italian career has been forged mainly among cult comics such as Fuochi , illustrated versions of The Divine Comedy or The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and covers for The New Yorker magazine . “The best ideas and results are obtained with some rituality and continuity. When I can draw every day, ”he explains. Many call him an artist, although he prefers "craftsman." But in this case the most appropriate definition is another: director.

Frame of 'The famous invasion of bears in Sicily'.

“While reading the book, I visualized it,” adds Mattotti. Of course, the drawings that Buzzati himself included in the print edition make it easy for the reader to travel to that strange Sicily, made of magic, ghosts, dangerous creatures and great friendships. "Help to dream," defends the illustrator. But, at the same time, the story designs with its words a parable about love and selfishness, and a metaphor for the struggle between capitalism and communism.

And not only. Towards the end of the famous bear invasion in Sicily, the construction of a controversial monument begins. But the work itself is a cathedral dedicated to the importance of fairy tales. “We need fables that show us what life is, people who tell us about things from the past, legends. We cannot always live focused on reality before us, it cannot stand. This movie talks about the pleasure of telling, of bringing the stories to others, ”says Mattotti.

enlarge photo A frame of the film.

With the letters, or with the images. Because Buzzati splashed the original account of rhymed poems. But Mattotti takes poetry to his field: the visual. The illustrator's brush has dyed the fable with care and delicacy, to color a fantastic world, lost between mountains and creatures that Sicily never had. Certain frames only ask for a frame and a room to hang on.

enlarge photo Lorenzo Mattotti. CAROLINA SANSONE

The director himself enjoyed that part of the project: "Talking with creatives is wonderful, you understand right away." More, if the team has animators of works such as The Red Turtle or Welcome to Belleville ; with a screenwriter like Thomas Bidegain, a regular contributor to Jacques Audiard; or with Toni Servillo, Jean-Claude Carrière or the late writer Andrea Camilleri among other benders of the different versions.

The obstacles awaited Mattotti in much more prosaic terrain. "The problem is having to talk so much in the discussions, defend certain positions, with those who do not draw: explain to others, to those who put money and risk, your visions, your ideas and see if they can be done," says the artist . He, in any case, argues that he respected the budget - 11 million euros - and those responsible. If they told him something was impossible, it was discarded. 3D animation, for example, ended up being replaced by one in two dimensions, for economic, but also aesthetic reasons.

Forced exceptions, for a lover of freedom. “I have the habit of breaking the structures that I learn, so as not to get bored repeating them and look for something to have fun. Building a series of images I create a job, a way of working, but I can end up imprisoning myself in a working method, ”adds Mattotti. Therefore, now looking for new paths: focus on the paintings and dare to "be more painter." Overcome other mountains, move wherever you want. Like bears in Sicily.

The Adventure returns to normal

The small distributor of The invasion of bears in Sicily , La Aventura, has been under the media for weeks. It is what he has acquired long ago, and when it was not even filmed, the rights of the South Korean film that would end up triumphing at the Oscars. The success of Parasites , by Bong Joon-ho, has shaken the company and triggered the box office of the film but has not changed its usual policy of premieres, as careful as measured.

The return to normal began last week, when they released Synonyms , by Nadav Lapid, to coincide with the Berlinale, where he won in 2019. And, despite his title, Lorenzo Mattotti's film will not invade many rooms. "Despite the Oscars of Parasites, each film has its specificity. We would love for independent animation to have more output but the background tells us that in Spain it is difficult to distribute," they explain from La Aventura. Of course, the company maintains every year the commitment to alternative drawings: after the life of Zucchini in 2018 and Dilili in Paris in 2019, they now deliver their hopes to the invasion of bears in Sicily.

Source: elparis

All life articles on 2020-02-28

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