Loose Cannons (2010)
"Mine vaganti" (original title)

Tommaso is the youngest son of the Cantones, a large, traditional southern Italian family operating a pasta-making business since the 1960s. On a trip home from Rome, where he studies ... See full summary »

Director:

Ferzan Ozpetek

Writers:

Ivan Cotroneo, Ferzan Ozpetek

Stars:

Riccardo Scamarcio, Nicole Grimaudo, Alessandro Preziosi

5 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Riccardo Scamarcio	...	Tommaso Cantone
Nicole Grimaudo	...	Alba Brunetti
Alessandro Preziosi	...	Antonio Cantone
Ennio Fantastichini	...	Vincenzo Cantone
Lunetta Savino	...	Stefania Cantone
Ilaria Occhini	...	La nonna
Bianca Nappi	...	Elena - Tommaso's sister
Carmine Recano	...	Marco
Massimiliano Gallo	...	Salvatore - Elena's Husband
Paola Minaccioni	...	Teresa
Gianluca De Marchi	...	Davide
Mauro Bonaffini	...	Massimiliano
Giorgio Marchesi	...	Nicola
Matteo Taranto	...	Domenico
Gea Martire	...	Patrizia

Storyline

Tommaso is the youngest son of the Cantones, a large, traditional southern Italian family operating a pasta-making business since the 1960s. On a trip home from Rome, where he studies literature and lives with his boyfriend, Tommaso decides to tell his parents the truth about himself. But when he is finally ready to come out in front of the entire family, his older brother Antonio ruins his plans.

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Plot Keywords:

factory | dinner | gay | heart attack | writer | 

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Taglines:

Some Family Secrets are Best Kept in the Closet.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook (Spanish) Official site [Germany]

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

12 March 2010 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Hombres al dente

Filming Locations:

Gallipoli, Lecce, Apulia, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fandango, Rai Cinema, Apulia Film Commission

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"Kutlama"
Written by Sezen Aksu
Performed by Sezen Aksu

User Reviews

It would take an immigrant to create a film like this in Italy....

Bravo for Ivan Cotroneo, the talented translator of Cunningham and Kureishi, among other evident skills, and for Fernan Ozpetek, the only Italian director (though he happens to be Turkish by birth) who regularly and reliably features positive gay characters in his films. In an Italy that, at least as issues of sexual identity and respect for difference are concerned, has just barely crossing the threshold of the 1980s, Ozpetek is a rarity and a treasure. The first two-thirds of Mine Vaganti (Loose Cannons) will seem dated to anyone familiar with the last 30 years of queer representation in American cinema, as will the melodramatic, end-of-the-world reaction of Tommaso's father to learning that his son is gay, but the last third hits all the right dramatic and emotional notes and redeems any doubts one might have about the rest. There are some outstanding performances here: Ilaria Occhini as Tommaso's grandmother, and the gorgeous Nicole Grimaudo as the disconsolate and complex Alba. In fairness, I even have to throttle back some of my knee-jerk dislike for Scamarcio. It's not that he's a standout here, but playing a gay character is still a brave move in Italian cinema, especially for an actor who still depends on teen-heartthrob roles for his bread-and-butter. He's certainly no more or less believable as a gay man than are any of the other actors in the film, though even that's a throwback to the days when U.S. cinema divided representations of gay men between "normal," masculine gays (Tommaso—who may be gay, but still knows how to play soccer—his boyfriend, and his brother) and the "sassy gay friends" who are frivolous and effeminate and whose only purpose is to provide comic relief. Still, Mine Vaganti is a giant step forward and a welcome and charming antidote to government silence and Vatican-inspired hate speech.