Italian Film Festival - The Man Who Bought the Moon

The Studio Italia Cinema Italiano Festival warmly invite you 'The Man who Bought the Moon'.

Italian comedy is not commonly known for its deadpan and absurdist humour; it seems that The Man who Bought the Moon owes much of its’ style to Sardinian wit rather than Italian. Director, Paolo Zucca extracts as much charm and mirth from the cultural chasm between mainland Italians and Sardinians as he can.

The wonderfully silly and poetic set-up reminds me of magic realism. When the Italian Secret Service receives word that an unknown Sardinian man has made a claim to the moon, authorities worldwide get worried. A mainland special agent must be despatched across the Tyrrhenian Sea to investigate.

But first, he must learn to go undercover as a Sardinian, no mean feat for a mainland Italian. His Sardinian instructor Badore (Benito Urgu) puts in a virtuoso performance of deadpan comedy (Nominated for Best Supporting Actor).

Once in Sardinia, the film really finds its straps in both visual style and characterisation, ending with a surprising and enchanting finale.