Santa Maradona (2001)

Andrea Straniero, a 27-year-old literature graduate, is the embodiment of a generation riddled with insecurity, going from one job interview to another with little success. He lives in Turin in an apartment with his friend Bartolomeo Vanzetti, known as “Bart,” with whom he shares the monotony of everyday life. Bart, for his part, calls himself a literary critic, but in reality he has reviews sent to him by a cousin in Sicily and forwards them to the newspaper once they have been signed; in practice, he spends his days lounging around. The two also have a friend, Lucia, who is Italian-Indian and Marco’s girlfriend. Marco is self-centered and conceited, and seems to flaunt a confidence that is only skin-deep. For this reason, Bart, cynical and idle as he is, never misses a chance to suggest that Lucia leave him. Andrea and Bart get by however they can. Sometimes they amuse themselves by shoplifting, to experience the thrill that seems to be missing from their days. They once lived with a third friend, Pier, who has been traveling for many months (he will suddenly return home unconscious after taking too many drugs), but without him the apartment is too expensive. So before going out, they always have to check that their menacing landlord isn’t lying in wait to collect the overdue rent. Andrea and Bart are extremely passionate about soccer, movies, and reading. On his way to yet another interview, Andrea bumps into Dolores, a young theater actress and substitute elementary-school teacher, and is instantly smitten with her. By chance, he runs into her again some time later. She is elusive, but he manages to track her down. The two begin a relationship, until she confesses that she slept with the director of a theater production she had hoped to be involved in, two days before meeting Andrea. He immediately leaves her, but Bart tries to make him see his mistake: Dolores didn’t cheat on him; on the contrary, it’s a good thing that she confessed, and Andrea is wrong to focus on an insignificant detail about her and miss the extraordinary person she is. Meanwhile, Andrea manages to get through two job interviews at a large company. One evening, he sees Dolores again at a nightclub. They kiss, but Andrea is still angry, and they part ways once more. At the final interview, he thinks back to their encounter. When the creative director offers him a job in Rome, Andrea turns it down so he can repair his relationship with Dolores. In the final scene, Andrea vents to Bart. Andrea is completely disillusioned with the monotonous life weighing them down. Bart points out that there is only so much they can do, but one thing is certain: Andrea is enduring this monotony when he should put an end to it by going back to Dolores. The two have a heated argument, especially because the reproach is coming from Bart, the very embodiment of sloth. In the end, Andrea agrees to “make things right,” in an open-ended conclusion.