Qui rido io (2021)

Early 20th century. In the culturally vibrant Naples of the Belle Époque, actor and playwright Eduardo Scarpetta is at the height of his enormous theatrical success: Felice Sciosciammocca, a character he created, has supplanted Pulcinella as Naples’s quintessential comic figure, and his comedies are enjoying unparalleled success. Eduardo juggles the stage with a complicated family life involving wives, lovers, and legitimate and illegitimate children. With his wife, Rosa De Filippo, he has three children: Maria (whose actual mother was Francesca Giannetti), Vincenzo, and Domenico (whom he has acknowledged as his son, though he is in fact the son of King Vittorio Emanuele II). With Luisa, Rosa’s niece, he has had Titina, Eduardo, and Peppino De Filippo. He supports them, and they treat him as an uncle, though they know he is their father. Vincenzo, Eduardo, and Titina are introduced to the theater from a young age, taking turns in the role of Peppeniello in Misery and Nobility. The talent of the two boys is particularly evident: Vincenzo, now nearing adulthood, has been chosen by his father to inherit the company and the character of Felice Sciosciammocca, and feels the weight of this responsibility; from the outset, Eduardo is a gifted actor and playwright, but suffers from his father’s failure to acknowledge him. One day in Rome, Scarpetta attends a performance of The Daughter of Iorio, a drama by Gabriele D’Annunzio, and decides to create a comic parody of it. Despite Rosa’s disapproval, Eduardo writes the script and then travels to Tuscany to ask D’Annunzio, then considered the most important poet in all of Italy, for permission to stage the show. The Poet seems willing to accommodate Scarpetta and is greatly amused by his ideas, but in fact gives only an ambiguous verbal assent. Scarpetta therefore goes ahead with the parody. On opening night, taking advantage of a mishap by the leading actress, a group of intellectuals close to D’Annunzio—including Roberto Bracco and Ferdinando Russo—begin loudly protesting against Scarpetta, accusing him of plagiarizing the original drama solely to discredit the Poet. Eduardo is forced to stop the performance and put on another show. Some time after these events, the Italian Society of Authors and Publishers brings a lawsuit against Eduardo Scarpetta for having counterfeited The Daughter of Iorio. This will give rise to a protracted legal case, with repercussions for the playwright’s artistic and personal life. Eduardo tries every means to win the favor of young Neapolitan intellectuals such as Salvatore Di Giacomo, Libero Bovio, and Ernesto Murolo (perhaps yet another of his illegitimate children), organizing parties at Villa La Santarella, his lavish mansion. But this only worsens their dislike of him: they consider Scarpetta’s theater too popular to be counted among the art forms. The only person to take his side is Benedetto Croce, who will help him with the legal proceedings. Meanwhile, new difficulties beset Eduardo’s family. Peppino, who had been sent to a wet nurse in the countryside, is called back to live with his mother and siblings, but finds it very difficult to fit in and, above all, to contend with the powerful personality of his uncle/father. Luisa, meanwhile, becomes pregnant again, but the baby girl is stillborn. At the same time, with the opening of the Salone Margherita and the advent of the cinema in Naples, comedy is increasingly pushed aside. Eduardo therefore has to endure the betrayal of Gennaro Pantalena, his longtime friend and colleague, who leaves his company to perform in Salvatore Di Giacomo’s drama Assunta Spina. His son Vincenzo, too, wants to break free of him to work in films, and a serious conflict erupts between them. The day of the hearing arrives. During questioning, Eduardo puts on a full-blown comic performance, using irony and lively gestures to assert his right to satire and ridicule D’Annunzio and his accusers, vigorously defending his art. In doing so, he wins over the audience and the jury, which ultimately acquits him of all charges. The courtroom victory, however, is not enough to bring the actor peace: a few months later, Eduardo Scarpetta retires from the stage, leaving Vincenzo in charge of the company. The De Filippo siblings will go on to become the most important Neapolitan actors of the 20th century, and Eduardo in particular will become one of the world’s most influential playwrights.