Stop the Pounding Heart

The film that brought Roberto Minervini to international critics’ attention is also the one in which the author refined his personal cinematic style: the dramatisation, the photography and the editing all contribute to giving a patent cinematographic touch to reality. But while the narrative progression fooled quite a few, with some labelling it a “mockumentary”, there’s no trace of a script. The film’s subject emerged after a long period of visits, spending time with the Carlson family, capturing with the young protagonist the key to describing the community’s contradictions, teasing them out with tact and aplomb. The trust established between the filmmaker and the characters is impressive – they get to know one another in moments of intimacy, especially in the final scene where Sara, confessing her doubts to her mother, weeps for her freedom.

Daniela Persico
Programmer and critic