Mollo tutto e apro un chiringuito (2021)

Mr. Imbruttito, an ambitious manager from Milan, loses an important deal with Aldo Brusini, a visionary entrepreneur and committed environmentalist, who refuses to work with him after seeing him use plastic water bottles. Plunged into a deep depression, he begins to detach himself from the hectic, money- and success-driven routine he had lived by until then, until his friend “Brera” persuades him to change his life and buy a beach chiringuito in Garroneddu, an imaginary village in Sardinia, for 350,000 euros. Thus, a phrase Imbruttito had always jokingly used in moments of discouragement comes true: “I’m throwing it all in and opening a chiringuito” (which gives the film its title). However, it turns out to be a colossal scam: the kiosk exists, and Garroneddu is a genuine natural paradise, but it has no tourism at all because the residents have chosen to keep it that way. They are a community of shepherds and craftspeople, strongly opposed to any novelty and any form of exploiting the land (also because loggerhead sea turtles lay their eggs there), and have always defended themselves against such things on their own. After the local population makes it brutally clear that they do not welcome his presence, the protagonist realizes he needs to change his approach and sets about preventing the small Sardinian village from being abandoned. He is helped by his wife, his son, “Nano,” who resembles him in every way in his pragmatic and organizational manner, and his colleague and eternal intern, “Giargiana” (a term Imbruttito uses for anyone who lives outside central Milan). Together, they organize an event called “Fuori Pastore” (inspired by Milan’s Fuori Salone) to introduce the place and its traditions, without altering them, to a large number of wealthy Milanese, including Brusini, whom they recruit in Costa Smeralda. At the height of Fuori Pastore’s success, Imbruttito meets Brera again. Brera offers him 500,000 euros to become CEO of a company that intends to apply the approach used in Garroneddu to other scenic paradises around the world: organize an event to promote the local culture, then build on and speculate in the land. The protagonist initially accepts, but immediately regrets it and turns the situation around with Nano’s help. When Garroneddu’s residents, by then friends of Imbruttito, realize what has happened and angrily accuse him of betraying them, Nano, with Brusini’s help, manages to have the Environment Ministry establish a protected natural area in Garroneddu so that no one can try to speculate there again. Once the situation in Sardinia is resolved, Imbruttito returns to Milan with his family and resumes his entrepreneurial activities, having regained his confidence through the experience he has had.