Neapolitan Mario Martone (L’amore molesto, Qui rido io, Capri Revolution) continues to make films set in his hometown, and “Nostalgiom” was presented in the main program of the festival in Cannes. It is interesting that the only previous film with which Martone presented himself at Cannes was “L’amore molesto”, based on the novel by Elena Ferrante, in which the protagonist returns to Naples after her mother’s death. The main protagonist of “Nostalgia”, the successful architect Felice (again the good Pierfrancesco Favino), will return to Naples after a good 40-year absence. He will still have the opportunity to visit his old mother before she dies, and returning home, to the streets he once walked and where he grew up, will not only awaken in him nostalgia, but also the desire to stay in Naples for a while.
In time, we will find out why the mysterious Felice left Naples so suddenly forty years ago and never returned, and now he realizes that the poor parts of the city where he grew up are now ruled by the Camorra. Today, Felice is a successful architect who lives in Cairo, and he walks nostalgically through the often dangerous streets of the city where he grew up, and he will be especially surprised by the fact that little has really changed there. Practically everything there is the same as it was when he left Naples, and through flashbacks filmed in a retro style, we also see some details from his adolescence, motorcycle races through the streets of the city and the thefts and burglaries he carried out with his best friend Oreste.
But the dark secret he hides with Oreste is actually the reason why Felice left his town, and the unsettled accounts are the main reason why he would like to meet Oreste again. But the same Oreste is today the fear and trembling of all Naples, a notorious and ruthless criminal and head of the local Camorra clan and everyone he will meet during his stay in Naples, will warn Felice that it would be best to return home as soon as possible and forget about the past . But nostalgia is clearly too strong a thing and Felice will realize that he can no longer run away from the past and must come to terms with what happened in order to continue living normally. However, we will see that it will not be so easy because while he may be ready to forgive and forget everything bad that happened, others may not be in such a mood.