In 2021, Italian filmmaker Laura Samani made a splash in Cannes and on the festival circuit with her feature debut Small Body, an ambitious story of motherhood and spirituality that displayed great cinematic confidence. Four years later, Samani has opted for a simpler premise for her second film A Year of School, based on the book of the same name and first unveiled in Venice’s Orizzonti competition. The coming-of-age element, paired with the director’s international acclaim (which earned her some French financing), should provide crossover appeal beyond Italy and the Nordics (the latter due to the film’s Swedish components).
As per the title, the plot revolves around a full school year. Specifically, the last year of high school for a group of students in Trieste. This established community has to welcome a new member: Fredrika “Fred” Sjöberg (Stella Wendick), who has moved to Italy from Sweden on account of her father’s line of work. Her shy demeanor and the initial language barrier make it hard for her to integrate at first, and some bullying occurs. Over time, though, she manages to bond with three people in particular, all boys: Giacomo Antero (Giacomo Covi), Pietro Pasini (Pietro Giustolisi) and Samuel Mitis (Samuel Volturno). Will their friendship – or perhaps something more – get them all the way to admission to the final exams?
Samani goes for a light-hearted approach filled with empathy, which immediately allows the characters to endear themselves to the viewer and come across as fully developed protagonists and not clichéd movie teenagers, even when the dialogue invokes some low-brow, common denominator stuff (given Fred’s origin, the inevitable dirty joke Italians like to tell with Stockholm as the punchline is dispensed with early on). Soon enough, it all feels very lived-in and real, and one almost feels like joining this cheerful foursome on one of their regular trips to the most popular hangout in town, affectionately known as Bar Merda (“shit”).
Key to the film’s success is the casting of the four youths, and the director truly struck gold with Wendick, Covi, Giustolisi and Volturno, all of whom are making their film debuts (or, as the Italian-language opening credits say, “for the first time on the screen”, a mention they all share in a single title card to highlight their strength as a unit). They give naturalistic performances (the guys in particular get to use their real accents rather than “proper” Italian diction, the cultural specificity adding to the soul of each character) and provide a solid emotional roadmap all the way up to the joyfully melancholic resolution.
Visually, A Year of School is perhaps less impressive than Small Body, which took its female lead on a physical and spiritual journey across formally enchanting landscapes, but the simplicity Samani evokes with the help of cinematographer Inès Tabarin is, much like the acting, a deceptively straightforward gateway. As the story progresses, the director finds just enough room for small yet elegant touches that enrich the microcosm she’s dealing with and make that world undeniably her own, albeit with all the classic ingredients that will make it recognizable and relatable for everyone. It’s a simpler project, but one that never takes the easy way out.
Director: Laura Samani
Screenwriters: Laura Samani, Elisa Dondi
Cast: Stella Wendick, Giacomo Covi, Pietro Giustolisi, Samuel Volturno, Magnus Krepper, Silvia Gallerano
Producers: Nadia Trevisan, Alberto Fasulo, Thomas Lambert
Cinematography: Inès Tabarin
Costume design: Loredana Buscemi
Sound: Luca Bertolin, Danilo Romancino, Riccardo Spagnol, Vincent Arnardi
Production companies: Nefertiti Film, Rai Cinema, Tomsa Films, Arte France Cinéma
World sales: Rai Cinema
Venue: Venice Film Festival (Orizzonti)
In Italian, Swedish, English
102 minutes
