Brucio nel vento

Italy, Switzerland

Synopsis

"Every day it's the same idiotic race. I get up at five, wash, shave, make a coffee and leave, I run to the main square, catch the bus, close my eyes and am seized by all the horror of my present life."

Tobias Horvath lives in Switzerland and has been working in a watch factory for over ten years. Every one of his days unfolds in the heaviness of daily routine and the repetition of empty actions. Born "in a village without a name, in a country without importance" in Eastern Europe, he spent his childhood in misery, in the shadow. of a mother who was a thief, beggar and the town's whore.

When, among the many men whom he saw coming and going from their house he discovers who his real father is, Tobias stabs him in the back. Convinced that he has murdered the man, Tobias flees to the West, in a desperate attempt to escape his past. Yet his new life is haunted by nightmares and visions. Oblivious to the attentions of a woman, Yolande, or evenings at the bistro with other countrymen, Tobias seeks refuge in his writing and waits, waits for the coming of an imaginary woman, Line. He searches for her in every woman he meets.

That is, until one day the real Line appears: Caroline, a childhood classmate, who is also the daughter of Tobias' father. Her husband, a university researcher and her infant daughter are also there. Every morning he sees her get on the bus, she works in the factory too. Tobias follows her, spies on her, falls hopelessly in love. Their love seems impossible, yet Tobias refuses to give up....

Director's Biography

Silvio Soldini was born in Milan and moved to New York in 1979 to study film at New York University.
In 1982 he returned to Milan, developing contacts with people who shared his enthusiasm for filmmaking (among whom Luca Bigazzi, director of photography for all his films). With this group, Soldini self-produced two low-budget medium length films: PAESAGGIO CON FIGURE and GIULIA IN OTTOBRE, both award winners at a
number of national and international festivals.
With some of his closest collaborators in 1984 Soldini launched his own company, Monogatari, which began producing all his films. Soldini started shooting documentaries as well in 1985 and made the video VOCI CELATE, filmed in a day hospital for the mentally ill. The film won the Salsomaggiore Festival competition.
The director's first feature for commercial distribution followed in 1989 with L 'ARIA SERENA DELL'OVEST, particularly well received by the public. The film participated in competition at the Locarno Festival, won the Saint-Vincent Grolla d'Oro award for Best Screenplay, the Grand Prix at Annecy, and was selected for screening at many important festivals around the world including Montreal, Rotterdam, and New York's "New Directors" at the MOMA.
In 1993 Soldini made his second feature UN'ANIMA DIVISA IN DUE. Presented in competition at Venice, the film was awarded the Volpi Cup for Best Actor for Fabrizio Bentivoglio's performance.
He then made LE ACROBATE in 1996, a feature presented in competition at Locarno and at the San Francisco International Film Festival. The film received First Prize at the Rencontres Internationales de Cinéma de Paris, and the Saint Vincent Grolla d'Oro Award for Valeria Golino's performance as Best Actress.
Tremendous success awaited Soldini in the year 2000 with the comedy BREAD AND TULIPS, enthusiastically acclaimed by both critics and the public. Soldini's success on the international scene was solidly confirmed with impressive world-wide sales - from Japan to Australia - and box-office records, notably in Switzerland and Germany. The film won nine David di Donatello awards, five Nastri d'Argento, nine Ciak d'oro, the Premio Flaiano, and received three European Film Academy nominations.
 | 

Cast & Crew

Directed by: Silvio Soldini

Written by: Doriana Leondeff, Silvio Soldini

Produced by: Lionello Cerri

Cinematography: Luca Bigazzi

Editing: Carlotta Cristiani

Production Design: Paola Bizzarri

Costume Design: Silvia Nebiolo

Original Score: Giovanni Venosta

Cast: Barbora Lukesová (Line), Ivan Franek (Tobias)

Nominations and Awards

  • People's Choice Award 2002
  • Feature Film Selection 2002