A Brighter Tomorrow (2023) User Reviews

Heartfelt love letter to Moretti's fans

[sntvcn · 7/10 · 5 May 2023]

On the occasion of his 70th birthday, Director Moretti sends a heartfelt love letter to his fans, reliving the themes that made him popular and acclaimed over the course of 50 years. The story jumps between three distinct layers: Moretti's own life, the movie he is shooting, and the movie he is about to make, with each providing its own share of humorous moments, successes, and of course, failures (due to Moretti's intrinsically pessimistic outlook). Compiled from both his own works and the works of those who have inspired him, particularly Federico Fellini, the movie is ultimately an observation of the passage of time, with a faint but lasting hope of a future. When you let it be.

Hard to believe, but in the end, Moretti's cinema meets Tarantino's

[fabiosciarra-1 · 7/10 · 13 May 2023]

Nanni Moretti's 'A Brighter Tomorrow' is a film that's difficult to interpret for those who haven't followed the author's entire artistic journey. In the film, the Italian director and actor stages himself completely, his obsessions, and his quirks, in a fully conscious and often self-deprecating manner, exaggerating the worst aspects of his character and intellectual verve to the point of shattering his marital life and the very film he is trying to complete. Essentially, between fiction and reality, Moretti seems to be so obsessed with his own obsessions that he stages his own suicide. But just before plunging us into an extremely dark and pessimistic ending, Moretti, much like Quentin Tarantino, acknowledges cinema's power, and perhaps duty, to change history, to make the audience dream, and to still give them the hope of a better future, if not in reality then at least on the big screen. It's really hard to rate this film, not only for the disarming clarity with which Nanni Moretti presents himself but also because, being a film designed primarily for his fans, none of them can complain that this Moretti film is, in an almost suffocating way, a film about Moretti and his 70th year, when all that remains of the 'splendid forty-year-old' we saw in 'Dear Diary' are memories and some regrets.

The love for everything

[santiago_caballero15 · 8/10 · 17 September 2023]

In "The Sun of the Future," Nanni Moretti reinvents himself as a consummate filmmaker, expressing his views on the political world, streaming platforms, contemporary cinema, his personal life, and his relationship with his partner more forcefully than ever before. This astonishing Italian comedy delves into the critique of all these aspects through the film that the main character (played by Moretti) is filming.

Compared to "Dear Diary" (1993), which was more personal and, if I may say so, somewhat egocentric, "The Sun of the Future" stands out for being exceptionally political and romantic. This film perfects the autobiographical approach the director explored in his previous work.

The film serves as a starting point for an important debate about independent cinema and the strategies it must employ to survive in the streaming era. Moretti criticizes the current trend in which movies are expected to lay out their entire plot within the first two minutes, an illogical formula in his perspective and characteristic of the senseless surge of streaming in recent years.

Ultimately, "The Sun of the Future" is a work imbued with an underlying sentiment: love. Love is the driving force and the brake in the entire narrative, a crucial element that can change things for better or for worse.

A good film

[Sciluke · 7/10 · 5 May 2023]

I liked the film as a whole, Moretti is certainly someone who loves cinema and in general all the art of old Italy, you can see everything in the protagonist played and representing himself, but I can't fully understand the intent because I don't know well the real communist ideologies or the Soviet ones or the Italian Communist Party. But I can appreciate the desire to create well-made characters, in a world where cinema is produced only by big houses that do not grasp the essence of art in any way the protagonist lives his life completely in art, in his own art and in the art of others, and when he gets the chance he analyzes art in all the ways it's possible to do it and all he does is bring his art back to the screen, no matter the money, just instinctively as an artist, it's the first film I've seen by this director and consequently I don't know if it's below or above average compared to the others, but I give it a 7 because it's a film that has soul and the desire to tell something.

Sad and hopeless

[pernix · 6/10 · 29 May 2023]

This is a movie of an author that openly and transparently admits that he has nothing personal to say anymore.

His fantasies about italian communism in the 50s are completely childish. His marriage is sterile and purely based on repetitive ceremonies.

When looking for inspiration, he makes empty copies of scenes by Fellini and Woody Allen. The actor Moretti endures in repeating and enlarging obsessively the very same classic behaviours of his previous movies, so much that my 14 years old son asked me why his character is speaking in such an odd way.

Sadly, this is Moretti reflection on death: death of inspiration, death in movies, physical death, death in endless repetition. Infact, the end of the movie is clearly a funeral, with many of his actors from all his movies paying homage to him, with a smile. A mild attempt at sweetining the overall feeling of the movie, which is sadness and hopelessness.

A metafilm into which other films are interwoven

[Boskizzi · 8/10 · 13 May 2023]

A film that's different from the usual, almost a metafilm into which other films are interwoven. Moretti talks to us about history, politics, love, violence, and physical decay. In some ways, it's also very autobiographical. Despite the many themes the director has inserted, everything flows smoothly towards an ending that leaves some threads of hope for the audience. I left the cinema feeling happy, despite everything. For this, I want to thank Moretti. At some point, it wasn't so obvious. The actors' performances were also great, especially those of Silvio Orlando and Margherita Buy, as well as Amalric's. In short, it's the usual Moretti film that never disappoints and I believe can be appreciated not only by an Italian audience but also an international one.

Kaleidoscope of memories

[mariapiacostagliola · 6/10 · 27 April 2023]

Nanni Moretti creates a game of interpretations of himself by building a double vision of satire such as split screen, one with his narrator's voice, and in the other criticisms, ironies, melancholies, professional successes and private failures. A film within a film from the '50s to bear witness to the decadence of politics, while Giovanni mismanages his marriage, jeopardizing the film produced by his wife Paola. Everything is resolved with red flags in a parade with famous actors, Jasmine Trinca to with Renato Carpentieri during the march in a revival of the ideologies of the time. Maria Pia.

A white old man's confession

[s-15230 · 8/10 · 26 May 2023]

#Cannes2023# A film by a white old male director that far exceeded my expectations. It can be considered as a self-reflection and self-deprecating work from the usually narcissistic Moretti. He directed and acted in a movie that explores his journey from denial to ultimately admitting his creative decline, the irrelevance of his themes (at least to a diminishing audience), his inability to work without his wife "assistant" and the growing resentment from his crew towards his mansplaining . In the end, he also concludes with a false sense of hope, summarizing it as a lament for the leftist movements of the 1950s and acknowledging his inability to find a good ending. This self-analysis and sincere display of vulnerability moved me. There are countless directors in their old ages who have run out of creative juices, but not many can be this candid. Additionally, there are Fellini-esque elements throughout the film, with circus motifs and ensemble dancing, adding a touch of delightful nostalgia. @ Cannes Cineum Aurore.

A Moretti's festival

[norbert-plan-618-715813 · 7/10 · 14 January 2024]

The great quality of the film is the interweaving of several dramatic arcs: a director has to deal with his film and its actors, but also with his wife, who is a producer, and her relationship, which is in question; his daughter, who introduces her lover, the director of the film his wife is producing, a film in a very different style to his own. And finally, he has to deal with his producers, from the French Mathieu Amalric to the Koreans, including a hilarious sequence involving Netflix producers.

The director is, of course, played by Nanni Moretti, in every scene. This can be irritating, but it works, because Nanni Moretti intersperses his film with visual excesses: the scooter ride for location scouting, the dance choreography where the film suddenly shifts into a musical.

All in all, the film is a Moretti show revolving around his obsessions, with the charm of the interweaving of these different stories that gravitate around him. Those who love him will swoon, those who hate him 100%.

Unnecessary movie

[denappel · 2/10 · 2 July 2023]

I didn't like this movie at all. Perhaps this was a movie for die hard Moretti fans that saw all his movies? For me the story was very weak, the pace was utterly slow and clearly they should prohibit certain directors to act in their own movies. There were some nice shots and sure I could smile a few times. I guess a metafilm can work, but I couldn't relate to neither one of the stories and both of the stories were quite superficial and unexciting. In short: I agree with the reviewer of the gardian who writes: "I'm sure the future will be brightened by another, better Moretti film - this one is best forgotten."

Moretti annoys, but in a funny way

[lewianbra · 8/10 · 18 August 2023]

I found this film very enjoyable and funny. Of course it's not the first film about a director making a film, and I had only seen two of his films before so I can't tell to what extent this is "always the same Moretti stuff", but to me this film seemed rather unique and original. Nanni Moretti himself (called Giovanni in the film) is the main protagonist here, and he is mightily annoying, talking endlessly without listening properly to others including his wife, with a voice that reveals a clear sense for his own importance. This is however obviously ironic and self-deprecating (the Guardian reviewer, who slaughtered this film, apparently missed that, which is hard to believe but maybe something got lost in translation?) in an often very funny way. It helps to know such people in real life for appreciating his portrayal. Otherwise he is directing a film about Italian communists' reaction to the 1956 Hungarian uprising while the Italian communists host a Hungarian circus in Rome. He also deranges another film in which his wife participates lecturing the director on the "correct" use and non-use of violence in films. Meanwhile his very convincing down-to-earth wife prepares to separate from him (the audience can clearly see why she would want that) with a counsellor as on her own she apparently doesn't manage to take this step on her own. There is some surreal stuff with nods to Fellini and Godard in the film, and apart from Moretti's misbehaviour and the breaking down of his marriage there's some politics, feminism, and thought about cinema back then and now in the film. Moretti's general state resonates well with what goes on it the film he makes and how he directs it. Sometimes there is more than one layer of irony and it is not necessarily easy to get it all, but I for sure got enough out of it. There is a fine line between annoyance and fun in Moretti's ironic self-portrayal, but this came out on the right side for me, just about. Ultimately there is some development in his personality in a somewhat more pleasant direction; he can confess his own uncertainty and vulnerability, but will it last? I wasn't very keen on the end, but also this was ironically broken, which was well needed to make it acceptable for me. The film has its flaws, but I was well entertained, and I raise my hat to Moretti for his self-irony.

Solid meta commentary about filmmaking, entertainment, and art

[chenp-54708 · 6/10 · 4 May 2024]

Nanni Moretti is a filmmaker that while I wouldn't say he's my favorite Italian filmmaker, I have appreciated many of his doc-fiction/meta commentary films like "Dear Diary, The Son's Room, Ecce bombo, and so forth." While "A Brighter Tomorrow" is one of his weaker works, Moretti still has a heartfelt, humorous, and fun meta commentary stories with good dialogue, charm, and performances throughout.

With it's colorful production and simple setting, Moretti is able to convey interesting themes, atmospheres, and conversations within the setting that is explored pretty good and providing some strong moments about the frustration of filmmaking, art, and how it can put an affect in both fiction and reality. Many of the performances are good, there was good soundtracks, and camerawork. It's weakest parts are the narrative because while the narrative does have some strong moments, some of the uneven concepts and clearly too much influence of Federico Fellini's 81/2 causes the story to become a bit repetitive and self-indulgence at times. Including some character development needing some improvements.

Overall, Moretti latest work isn't grand but it remains heartfelt and solid.

One of Moretti's worst

[apereztenessa-1 · 7/10 · 17 November 2023]

Someone asked me one day which person in history I would want to have lunch with. While Julius Caesar, Jesus Christ, Napoleon or George Washington may have been good candidates, I couldn't think of a name that appealed more to me than Nanni Moretti. Over the last 25 years, starting with the exceptional Palombella Rossa, Nanni Moretti has had an uninterrupted streak of masterpieces including Caro Diario, The Son's Room, The Caiman, We Have a Pope, Mia Madre and Three Floors, to name a few, which rank among the best films made in that time period, and make Nanni Moretti one of the greatest living filmmakers.

With that track record, I imagine Moretti could only disappoint. And disappoint he does with A Brighter Tomorrow. Don't get me wrong, we are still talking about one of the best filmmakers in the world, one that certainly knows how to make a good movie. But this one feels miles behind his other films. One of the things that hit you is how self-referential it is. From the name of the circus in the film (Budavari, a reference to Palombella Rossa) to the obsession with shoes (a reference to his earlier films, in particular Bianca) to a scene playing with a soccer ball (a reference to Caro Diario), it feels reheated, almost vain, from a filmmaker who always looked decidedly into the future. And this feeling of lack of ideas is made worse by abundant references to classic films, in particular those of Fellini.

In a way, these shortcomings arise from the subject of the film itself: it is ultimately about the gap between Moretti's values, represented by his films and his film culture, and today's world. But the issue is the message feels conveyed without passion, which has been the one constant in his filmography to this day. A Brighter Tomorrow therefore disappoints. We can only hope for Moretti's next film and remember all of his previous ones.