REVERIES OF A SOLITARY WALKER

Three characters in three different places and times compose the story of Reveries of a Lonely Walker. Theo, a philosophy graduate student, who finds himself with a mysterious book from which he becomes obsessed; Jean Jacques Renou, the author himself of the book grappling with his creation and at war with his demons; and a young child in the woods chasing an old man, characters both from Renou's work. Therefore, three different planes, realized with different techniques, linked by the same book and the desire for freedom from the oppressions that the characters seek in their own realities. The film Reveries of a Lonely Walker by Paolo Gaudio had already been mentioned on our pages as the winner of two awards at the last edition of the TOHorror Film Fest in Turin (best film and best artisanal inventiveness) and now we are talking about it again with a more in-depth review given the imminent release in Italian cinemas. Gaudio's work unfolds on three independent narrative planes, each characterized by a different technique (stop-motion, puppet animation, live-action). The three characters, whose stories we see interwoven with the alternation of these three parallel stories, are linked by a mysterious book, an unfinished book. Matteo, a literature student, becomes obsessed with it and discovers that the magical recipes described in the pages are true and really effective. Jean Jacques Renou, the author of the book, is also obsessed not only with the realization of the book itself but also with the great sacrifice that this work has cost him, namely his relationship with his much-loved wife. Finally, we see a young boy, protagonist of the stop-motion part, who is none other than the character himself of Renou, the protagonist of his fantastic recipe book. The three do not meet, do not interact with each other but are always nevertheless linked by a common destiny, by the sense of failure and incompleteness of their own lives. Matteo who tries to shake off the stigmata left by childhood traumas and who decides to focus his university thesis precisely on the unfinished stories of various authors remaining however thus strictly linked to his childhood, Jean Jacques who struggles against his own demons that prevent him from realizing his work and the young child and his reluctant old master who will not be able to pass on all his knowledge. Here already too much has been said, Reveries of a Lonely Walker is a film more simple to see than to tell and no description will be able to do it justice. It is indeed a film made with care in every single detail and Gaudio had to overcome not a few obstacles to be able to complete it. The project in fact started more than five years ago but the economic needs allowed the director to complete it only recently. It was certainly worth it given the numerous awards it is collecting around the world (Grand Prix of the Samaine du cinéma fantastique de Nice, Grand Prize at the Future Film Festival in Bologna, Best Special Effects at the FKM in Coruna and many others). The awards for special effects are more than deserved. In Italy, such quality had not been seen in years, nothing of cheap CGI but varied animation techniques and all realized with extreme care and competence. Every single shot is studied in detail, nothing is left to chance and every sequence clearly conveys to the viewer the love and passion of the director. Gaudio manages to bring to the screen a work impossible to label, a poetic and fantastic work as never seen in Italy, of a uniqueness and sweetness that conquer the viewer. Highly recommended. Small curiosity: the book Reveries of the Lonely Walker really existed, an unfinished work by Jean Jacques Rousseau, an introspective work that rediscovered happiness and human values through the bond with nature represented precisely by the author's walks.