Dir: Mario Martone | Italy Drama 2026
Mario Martone’s Scherzetto is an endearing, understated little drama that gradually morphs into a thriller and something of a departure from the director’s usual fare.
Toni Servillo plays an ageing illustrator who returns to the family flat in Naples to look after his young grandson, where the encounter forces him to confront his past, his regrets and the anxieties of growing old.
There are faint echoes of La Grande Bellezza in Servillo’s melancholy, world-weary presence ruminating over the past, but Martone approaches these similar themes here in a less grandiose much quieter, more intimate register than Paolo Sorrentino and the undertones are much darker bringing to mind something from Michael Haneke.
Ultimately, it is the brilliantly matched pair of Servillo and the irrepressible young Lorenzo Perrotta who make the film so watchable: their sparring, affection and mutual fascination give Scherzetto a warmth and accessibility that should make it compelling despite its slow burn pacing.
VENICE FILM FESTIVAL 2026