Palermo, with its timeless atmosphere and a soul suspended between light and shadows, becomes the perfect backdrop for a tale that unfolds in just 24 hours yet marks a profound and irreversible journey. In his latest movie, Fino alla Fine, set for release on October 31st, Italian director Gabriele Muccino delves into the essence of human existence: love, chaos, rebellion, freedom.
Inspired by movies like Scorsese’s After Hours and Sebastian Schipper’s Victoria, Muccino distills complex dynamics of life into a single day. "Fino alla Fine" is a cinematic experience that narrates an impulse that is both dangerous and transformative. On a warm mid-October day in Milan, we sat with Gabriele Muccino to directly ask him about the inspiration, themes, characters of the upcoming movie, and his personal point of view and choices as a movie director.
© Casawi | Maki Oddo
"Fino alla Fine" takes place entirely in the streets of Palermo and unfolds over just 24 hours. Why did you choose this city and such a limited timeframe to tell this intense story?
The main character Sophie, young American woman on holiday in Palermo for just 24 hours, is sculpted by her sense of failure and desire for redemption. Sophie embodies the human impulse to push beyond the limits, to embrace the unknown, because beyond that unknown lies freedom and then chaos. She embarks on a fast-paced emotional whirlwind, drawing the viewer into a 24-hours journey that begins as a love story and spirals into tragedy.
The choice of Palermo is no coincidence: this city is timeless - with a unique blend of eras and cultures - a place where real life happens outside our phones (that only appear twice in the movie), it is very physical, sensual, and material. The city itself is a metaphor for life: sunny and vibrant by day, mysterious and dangerous by night.
© Casawi | Maki Oddo
As Sophie's journey goes on, it is evident how it becomes as a "detonation” and the movie becomes a reflection of that fine line between life and death, good and evil, a duality we are all built upon, though we may not always realize it.
Ever since I watched Martin Scorsese's After Hours, a movie I saw years before making my debut in the field, I've been fascinated by the narration: over the course of a single night, a man’s life is turned upside down.
I wanted to create something similar, so my goal was to give life to a powerful movie where everything is unexpectedly turned upside down, that delves into the dysfunctions of humanity and broken relationships, set within the realms of thriller and action. When I created the TV series A Casa Tutti Bene, adapted from my own movie, I began to delve into the world of crime, and I felt particularly comfortable within that genre.
What's your opinion on TV shows, that often tend to "stretch" stories over long narrative arcs? How do you see this difference in storytelling, and does it influence your own approach to filmmaking?
Comparing the timings of TV series and movies - both areas that I had the chance to explore during my career - my own perspective on storytelling is that while TV series allow for a deeper exploration of human features and development, movies require a different type of discipline, capturing the essence within a limited time frame (around 15 minutes for each character). Having developed the original idea for Fino alla Fine in around 20 days, I see how complex themes and deep characters can still be explored in brief time spans, while keeping the tension high.
You worked with a cast of young, emerging actors for this project. What does the selection process work, and what stood out about these new talents that made you want to bring them to the big screen?
For this movie I opted for a cast of rising movie stars, selected through individual auditions followed by group tests to see how the actors interact; the main cast includes young talents like Saul Nanni, Lorenzo Richelmy, Enrico Inserra, Francesco Garilli and Elena Kampouris as the protagonist Sophie.
The story revolves mainly around the female protagonist, as my goal was to give life to a movie with a strong female lead character. Sophie's journey is portrayed as a revolutionary transformation: she becomes an imperfect, borderline heroine, yet still heroic and authentic because she truly lived - mentioning Braveheart.
© Casawi | Maki Oddo
The movie tackles complex themes like freedom, life choices, and the grey line between life and death, good and evil. Why did you choose to explore these dualities? And how would you personally define the concepts of "good" and "evil"?
My opinion is that life has always a double feature: the line between good and evil, right and wrong, is incredibly thin - sometimes we believe we are doing the right thing, but in reality we may be deeply mistaken. Circumstances can turn us into murderers, criminals, and predators.
This is the primal nature of humanity, this instinct to overpower others is in our DNA - we are a species that has survived for millennia through domination, wars, looting, and destruction. While animals kill to survive, humans seek to enrich themselves, conquer territories, defeat enemies.
No civilization has ever truly become "civilized": we see this today, as the world remains riddled with war, forcing us to confront the horrors of human nature on a daily basis.
© Casawi | Maki Oddo
Your career has led you to tell stories across various genres, from drama to action. How does "Fino alla Fine" fit into your artistic journey, and what sets it apart from your previous works?
"Fino alla Fine" places special emphasis on physicality and drama. The bodies of the characters move with the force of adrenaline, fear, impulse, and the need to survive. Their desire to live intensely, to dive into the unknown (and into the sea), drives the entire plot of the movie.
I'll leave you with an anticipation of what you'll see in the movie: bodies are the incipit and the explicit, as the movie starts and ends with bodies.
© Casawi | Maki Oddo
Clara Ferrati
Fashion editor and archivist based in Milan currently working as SMM/copywriter; enthusiast about fashion history & trends, music, cinema, social media.
@clarafrt