A renowned psychiatrist is struggling with the families of several troubled teenagers—young people caught between society and themselves—and finds himself at a loss for how to help them. Then inspiration strikes: what if he puts them to work as the crew of a sailboat? The mission: reach several Mediterranean ports within strict time limits. He turns to a washed-up skipper with an illustrious sailing past, a man who's fallen from grace. The skipper agrees to take on the crew and the boat under one condition—if the mission succeeds, the boat is his.
And so this "therapeutic cruise" sets sail, with the skipper (Claudio Amendola) forced to draw on every tool in his arsenal—helm, sails, lines—but also to invent himself anew as educator, trainer, psychologist, and commander. His job: get this motley crew to learn how to sail a large boat.
As the film unfolds, we meet the novice sailors: these are the young people society labels as "cases"—the depressed one, the kleptomaniac, the violent one, the anorexic, and especially the boy with Down syndrome. I linger on that last one because Daniele Cogliandro, who plays him, comes from the communities of San Gregorio–San Silvia in Rome. But more importantly—and I'll say it again—he is my friend.
This is the first time I've sat in a cinema beside one of a film's stars, learning the behind-the-scenes stories and anecdotes directly from someone who lived them, hearing about the timing and technical details of scenes from someone who was actually there. But most of all, this is the first time I've been friends with someone in a movie. Because Daniele is genuinely one of the protagonists of Sottovento: he's on screen constantly, appears in several close-ups, delivers multiple lines, and carries two entire scenes built around his character. In one, he gives a polished performance as his character struggles with confidence—anxious about how slowly he's learning to sail compared to his faster-learning crewmates. In the other, during the inevitable storm that hits the boat, he finds himself in serious trouble and is suddenly thrown overboard (he even had a stunt double for this scene) before being rescued by helicopter.
My judgment of the film is shaped by Daniele's presence in it. My assessment of his acting performance—which I found remarkable—is colored by our friendship. But I can say without reservation that the experience Daniele had the chance to live was deeply positive: it fed his exuberant, energetic nature and his hunger to do things. For several months, he was a genuine member of the entertainment world. He made many new friends (and stayed in touch with some of them) on a film set—a unique and particular place. With them he worked, joked, and spent weeks helping to build an atmosphere of real joy and peace. He had a wonderful vacation (the entire film was shot on a boat visiting beautiful seaside towns) and made some money for his labor too.
I don't know if his film career will continue, or if Daniele will rejoin us "ordinary mortals." But I've already seen how he's handled his moment of recognition, and it's clear the whole thing doesn't matter to him that much. He lived it naturally, and he's already slipped back into his normal life just as easily. We can only hope that when our communities offer him leading roles in our own skits and plays, he doesn't ask us to deal with his agent.
- Filippo Ascenzi, 2002
Title: Sottovento
Release date: June 15, 2001
Production: Gianni Minervini for A.M.A. Film, Rai Cinema
Distribution: Nexo
Runtime: 91 minutes
Director: Stefano Vicario
Screenplay: Stefano Vicario, Giovanna Koch, Ennio Guarnieri
Music: Luca Colombo
Cast: Claudio Amendola (Paolo), Anna Valle (Francesca), Emanuela Barilozzi (Pamela), Gabriele Bocciarelli (Andrea), Daniele Cogliandro (Pippo), Vincenzo Crivello (Enzo), Benedetta Massola (Sabina), Antonello Morroni (Domenico), Mariano Sigillo (Il professore), Rosa Sironi (Rita), Francesco Venditti (Tony)