Matteo Garrone’s Primo Amore and the feeling of suffering: Between sickness,a search for meaning and formal control

Abstract

In the contemporary Italian scenario, Garrone’s work undoubtedly represents one of the best examples of cinema that bravely confronts reality. The social/political commitment takes shape, in Primo Amore, in different ways if compared to the usual cinematic procedure Garrone adopts in his other works. In Gomorra and Reality the denunciation of society is intense. Saviano’s novel is sectioned in order to highlight the basic issues (the assimilation of camorra with capitalism, the false ‘respectability’ of the establishment). The focus in Reality is a harsh critique of remunerative gratification, an instrument to control the masses. The plot of Primo Amore, a tragic love story centred on an obsession with feminine thinness, is a metaphor for the rejection of abundance, perceived as unsatisfactory and limiting. This article explores Garrone’s critical approach, focusing on the author’s figurative and stylistic choices, while highlighting the complexity of the entire representation.