Actor Bela Lugosi is said to have rested in a coffin to emulate the Dracula that made him an icon on the big screen. For his part, Johnny Weissmuller requested that Tarzan’s cry be heard at his funeral. To identify with his most famous character, Joseph Cederna is limited to… Serve it at the tables of a tavern in KarpathosIsland in the Aegean Sea like thatAntonio Farina, who played in the Mediterranean. As in the masterpiece by Gabriele Salvatores (Price oscars 1992) Cederna clears the table, brings the souvlaki, greets the customers.
“Italians?”, the ritual question, reads the film’s anthology. In the film, his character was the youngest of eight unlikely soldiers forced into action during the war Second World War in Kastellorizo, forgotten, if not by God, then by the Italian army. Between killing chickens and donkeys mistaken for enemy soldiers, brave adventures and impromptu soccer games in the shadow of military planes, Farina/Cederna finds herself and her love in this magical place and decides to stay there. Fiction, one will say: or maybe not.
It seems he broke the fourth wall.
“I know it seems absurd to me, sometimes it makes me laugh.”
But do customers recognize it?
“Eight times out of ten, yes.”
They will ask you for hundreds of photos.
“And it’s a pleasure as long as they shoot with the tavern keepers, too.”
It’s strange to imagine an actor waiting for tables.
“It makes you realize that you always have to be polite when you go to a restaurant.”
What are you doing here?
“My partner and I help a local family friend. They have a vegetable garden and a small restaurant. First we came as guests, then we became family. And, you know, those who belong to the family work ».
The Spirit of the Traveler.
“I have never come as a tourist. Do you think that I also learned to be a farmer here? I cut the grain, I harvest tomatoes, zucchini. And I’m with my friends.
There is a deep connection.
“Visceral. They gradually welcomed us until they adopted us. I have also served as her son’s best man and am expecting him in Rome in December. I’m a lucky man, I have two families in the world.”
how much time do you spend here
“No less than a month a year. I am organizing and postponing all my film and theater commitments to get this window. It’s almost a physical necessity for me to come here. I can not help it.
Have you discovered these countries with the Mediterranean Sea?
“It’s actually an even older connection: I came to these places as a child with my father Antonio when he was an archaeologist. I am a traveller, a son of the island who always comes back.”
He also returned to Kastellorizo where you shot the film.
“For years and I keep coming back. From July 21st to 27th I will be there to present my documentary film On this Earth, made with Simone Corallini, at an international festival. And to talk about my love for this country.”
Why does he love her?
“It’s a special place with a history of falls, comebacks and tragedies. Thanks to Mediterraneo, it got the notoriety it deserved. It has become a destination for Italians, Greeks and Australian expats.”
And what does it mean for you?
“Island of Youth. Every time I come back I feel my memories travel and I see my film mates in front of me. I picture us boys again, almost strangers. I walk the streets alone, in the morning or late at night, and imagine myself talking to Abatantuono, Antonio Catania, Claudio Bigagli… it makes me incredibly tender.”
How do you remember those days on set?
“The joy of being together, the sweat under the scorching sun as we rode around disguised as soldiers.” And then these games…».
Please?
“We finished filming at 6:30 p.m., then we went out onto the pier and challenged each other at soccer-tennis until sunset. I’m a fervent Inter fan, while Abatantuono is known to have a Rossoneri heart. It was life and death battles, it was like we waited for the derby every time like kids do.”
Who was the best?
“Gigio Alberti, definitely. Then, in turn, Abatantuono and I».
By the way, how many times have you filmed the famous penalty scene on the airport runway?
“A few, not more, it was good almost immediately.” Salvatores was in a state of grace, he managed to get us the maximum out of it. We all seemed better off under his guidance.
July 10, 2023
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