THE LAST MAN ON EARTH

The extraterrestrials have landed on Earth. Radios, newspapers, and televisions talk about them, some try to take advantage of the situation by inventing "mystical" support groups, others are afraid, but for the most part, indifference reigns. In this context, Luca moves, a shy waiter in a bingo hall and incapable of establishing a relationship with the opposite sex. Luca is attracted to his neighbor Anna, but his misogyny precedes his feelings. Meanwhile, Luca's father has a close encounter that changes his life. Presented in competition at the 68th edition of the Venice Film Festival, "L'ultimo terrestre" marks the directorial debut of Gian Alfonso Pacinotti, aka Gipi, a cartoonist for Repubblica and a respected comic book artist (his "La mia vita disegnata male"). For this debut, Pacinotti chose to adapt a comic, or rather a graphic novel, but not his own, but rather "Nessuno mi farà del male" by Giacomo Monti. The director said he was struck by the ability to adapt the contemporary Italian situation to the line of the science fiction genre that Monti's story presented, so he tried to transpose those suggestions into moving images. We can say that Gipi succeeded, because "L'ultimo terrestre" has many of the limits of the first work, but it is still a fresh, funny, and at times intelligent film. First of all, let's clarify one thing. "L'ultimo terrestre" is a science fiction film but it approaches the genre tangentially, touching it only to give itself more properly to the bitter/grotesque comedy. The aliens and the extraterrestrial invasion are there, but they serve as the backdrop to the story, appearing as the engine of a story that could have started anyway. Gipi is interested in describing the human being and not the extraterrestrial, since man is alien to himself more than gray beings with large black eyes can be. Not surprisingly, the extraterrestrials seem to interest our protagonists very little, who limit themselves to repeating several times "But are you afraid of these UFOs?", not really caring about the epochal event that is taking place. The aliens are them, or rather us, elderly women who prostitute themselves in a furniture exhibition that they have on loan, yes men of the last hour who improvise as space gurus, old and vulgar waiters in heat, gruff and alcoholic fathers who lie to misogynistic sons embittered by life. In a fauna of grotesque individuals who seem to have come rather from Lanciostory, the only true humans are the misfits like the trans Roberta and, little by little, the protagonist Luca. The Mr. Nobody who answers to the name of Luca Bertacci is the alienated par excellence. Completely out of a world he does not understand and that does not accept him, marked by childhood traumas and various complexes, Luca starts as an apathetic eccentric to embark on the path of searching for love and his own identity. He will manage to obtain some things, not others or perhaps, but the important thing is that the world around him is changing even if he does not notice it. The extraterrestrials are the deus ex machina capable of redefining his status as an alienated person and reshaping the fate of humanity. In this hustle and bustle of faces and events, there is the desire and the possibility to talk about an Italy as distracted as the characters who populate the film and just as dissociated, rich in prejudices and meanness, where one always tries to take advantage of the next person, lies are told to not look bad in the eyes of others (perhaps marking them for life) and on the topic of "extraterrestrials" one is more concerned with the football championship, where one risks having a full team of extraterrestrial players after the "dominion" of those from outside the EU. Pacinotti does not show a particular directorial personality, although the long scene in a single take of the beating on the street has a taste and a presence not to be underestimated. Perhaps the film sometimes falls into the development of the screenplay that relies too much on the certainties suitable for contemporary Italian cinema and thus it is preferred to throw it into comedy, also noting a underlying goodness in which the bad are punished, the good are rewarded and the true "aliens" turn out to be those that practice labels humans. Trifles, it is clear, but it is noted that even here where the road of the "genre" less frequented (in this case science fiction) is attempted, one seeks refuge in languages and stereotypes belonging to the culture induced by other more reassuring genres. Excellent the work of the interpreters who find the best in the father/son couple played by Roberto Herlitzka ("Buongiorno notte") and the almost debuting Gabriele Spinelli. Good also the supporting cast with Anna Bellato ("Che bella giornata"), who plays the neighbor Anna, and Luca Marinelli ("La solitudine dei numeri primi") who is the trans Roberta. Noteworthy is the soundtrack by Valerio Vigliar and nice the "fake" look of the aliens, which is halfway between vintage and kitsch. "L'ultimo terrestre" is a singular work, a surreal and funny fresco of Italy and the Italians, a science fiction film that is first and foremost a bitter-tasting comedy. Imperfect but tasty. Curiosity. At the beginning of August, a clip of TG3 started circulating on the web where the journalist presenter announces the arrival of aliens in Italy. It was viral marketing for the promotion of "L'ultimo terrestre". You can see the video below.