MC
Marco Castellini
•A young substitute teacher returns to her hometown to replace a recently deceased teacher: in the school she will find a class of strange boys (some of whom are devoted to a strange "game") and a stern headmistress. Written by Franco Ferrini and Lamberto Bava and directed by the latter, "Il Gioko" (with a K and not, as is often incorrectly reported in its sporadic TV appearances, "Il Gioco") is part of the series of horror-thrillers financed by Rete Italia at the end of the 1980s. The subject is sufficiently original and "mean" but is not properly developed, partly because it is not sufficiently supported by a script full of inconsistencies and "holes". Not even the presence in the cast of the great Daria Nicolodi manages to ennoble a film that, in the end, turns out to be poorly executed and rather weak. Curiosity: Bava's assistant director in this film is Ferzen Ozpetek, who later became a highly esteemed director for his "The Ignorant Fairies".