A thriller set in the world of women’s artistic gymnastics, in a remote and mountainous Italy, during a winter week that will forever change the fate of the young protagonists. It is the series “Corpo Libero” directed by Cosima Spender and Valerio Bonelli, which will be broadcast on Rai 2 with a double date on three Wednesdays from October 25th at 9:20 p.m. Screenplay: Ilaria Bernardini, Ludovica Rampoldi, Chiara Barzini and Giordana Mari and offers The series is based on the novel of the same name by Ilaria Bernardini and was published by Mondadori. The series is a co-production of Indigo Film and Network Movie in co-production with ZDFneo, in collaboration with Rai Fiction and Paramount+ and in collaboration with All3Media International. The cast includes Antonia Truppo, Filippo Nigro, Alessia De Falco, Giada Savi, Federica Cuomo, Eva Iurlaro, Giada Pirozzi and with Barbara Chichiarelli. The series is one of the projects of the European Alliance, in which Rai is collaborating with ZDF this time.
The three evenings of “Free Body” are a coming-of-age novel with strong thriller overtones, but also a story about being a girl and woman and an exploration of the relationship between the body – which is never really free – and the Spirit. From the first evening, the profile of a wild system, obscured by the spectacle of sport, emerges. The lightness of acrobatics, jumps and a body constantly measured, monitored and judged is countered by a dark side: ruthless competition, lies, psychological abuse.
The handover marks not only the end of the dreams of the athletes watching their bodies change, but also the end of the dreams of Rachele, the coach who channels her desire for motherhood into the attention and control of her girls.
The female body and its changes are the focus of the entire series: in fact, in the context of gymnastics, a girl’s growth into a woman represents an obstacle that must be faced. A race against time and a “death” that marks the end of his sporting career.
It is the interrogation of Martina, a young athlete from Vis Invicta, who introduces the viewer to the merciless competition between the gymnasts at the Winter Fox tournament: in a half-empty room, she answers the questions of a police officer investigating the death of a girl. Martina’s words reflect on the past week between training, preparations and competitions and show how a passion can turn into a nightmare full of fears, anxieties and stresses that shape the body and soul.
Martina, who was out of action for over ten months due to an injury, should not have taken part in the competition. The others on the team also know this: Carla, the star on whom coach Rachele and the sports doctor Alex put everything, Nadia, her shadow and the “useless” Benedetta and Anna. There is anticipation and tension among the girls, especially Martina, who is eager to prove that she is once again the champion of the past.
This brings us back to the first day of the competition, which started in the worst possible way for Martina, who was relegated to the bench by the coach. The girl, devastated by Rachele’s decision, witnesses the fight between the other athletes: the focus is on Carla and Angelica Ladeci, whose rivalry culminates in a dramatic fight between the young “dragonfly” of the Romanian national team. A defeat that disrupts the tournament so much that Martina thinks about quitting and giving up her dream as a gymnast. A decision that is also dictated by the emerging complicity with Pietro, the hotel owner’s son, but is thrown into doubt by the meeting with Angelica, who reminds her of the sporting and personal reasons why she must insist on it. While the Italian and Romanian women compete in a night-time endurance test, provoked by Carla, Elena Pace, the police officer in charge of the murder case, tries to dig deep to understand what else there is to upset the girls besides the tournament.
