FAVOLACCE / BAD TALES

Once upon a time, in a small family suburb on the outskirts of Rome, the cheerful heat of summer camouflages a stifling atmosphere of alienation. From a distance, the families seem normal, but it’s an illusion: in the houses, courtyards and gardens, silence shrouds the subtle sadism of the fathers, the passivity of the mothers and the indifference of adults. But it’s the desperation and repressed rage of the children that will explode and cut through this grotesque facade, with devastating consequences for the entire community.

DAMIJANO I FABIO DINOĆENCO / DAMIANO AND FABIO D’Innocenzo

The D’Innocenzo brothers were born in 1988 in Rome. The two young filmmakers reached their goals as self-taught, without specific study. Their debut film, Boys Cry (2018) was presented at the Berlinale in the Panorama section and received several awards. In 2019 they published their first collection of poems “My mother is a weapon”. For the second film, Bad Tales (2020) they were awarded the Best Screenplay award at the Berlin International Film Festival.

 

Superbly shot, the D’Innocenzo brothers’ film focuses on families, neighbourly envy and the feral behaviour of men which culminates in tragedy

Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

 

A grotesque view of human nature underlies this stylish look at several Italian families over the course of a fateful summer.

Peter Debruge, Variety