This star of Italian and international cinema is the subject of a surprising film presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is released at the same time in French cinemas.
There are cinema legends that we never forget. Whether it is through their films which remain timeless, their glamour, or the numerous awards they received during their career, even after their death, they retain their aura. This is the case of this monument of Italian and international cinema, considered one of the greatest, and which is today the subject of an astonishing fake biopic.
Christophe Honoré likes to surprise, and he promises to do so again with Marcello Mio. This feature film summons the figure of the actor Marcello Mastroianni to pay homage to him in a completely counter-current way: by asking his daughter, the actress Chiara Mastroianni, to play him. In detail, Marcello Mio tells the story of an actress, called Chiara, and who is the daughter of Marcello Mastroianni and Catherine Deneuve (like Chiara Mastroianni in reality). As her life becomes complicated, she decides to live the life of her missing father. Her decision takes radical turns as she dresses like him, talks like him, breathes like him from one day to the next.
Marcello Mio is Christophe Honoré’s tribute to his favorite actress, Chiara Mastroianni, but also to this essential Italian actor. Marcello Mastroianni is considered one of the greatest actors of his generation, having become iconic thanks to his roles in numerous films by filmmaker Federico Fellini, such as La Dolce Vita or Eight and a Half. He has also shared the poster with Sophia Loren on several occasions, but also in several French films, such as La grande bouffe.
Nominated three times for the Oscars without winning the statuette, Marcello Mastroianni was nevertheless rewarded several times: he had a Golden Globe (Italian Divorce), two BAFTAs (Italian Divorce and Yesterday, Today and tomorrow), and two acting awards at the Cannes Film Festival (in 1970 for Drama of Jealousy and in 1987 for Black Eyes by Nikita Mikhalkov).
Marcello Mastroianni died on December 19, 1996 from pancreatic cancer, at the age of 72. Today, the actor is resurrected in Marcello Mio thanks to his own daughter, in a film where Catherine Deneuve, Fabrice Luchini and Nicole Garcia and Benjamin Biolay all play their own roles. Presented in official competition at the Cannes Film Festival on May 21, it will be released on the same date in French cinemas.
