''The Predators'' ( it, I predatori) is a 2020 Italian

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film written and directed by

Pietro Castellitto Pietro Contento Castellitto (born 16 December 1991) is an Italian actor, film director, and screenwriter, son of actor and director Sergio Castellitto and writer Margaret Mazzantini. Biography Castellitto began his acting career in the early ...

in his directorial debut. The film was presented at the Horizons section of the

77th Venice International Film Festival The 77th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 2 to 12 September 2020, albeit in a "more restrained format" due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Australian actress Cate Blanchett was appointed as the President of the Jury. '' The Ties ...

, where it received the Best Screenplay Award.

Plot

One day in Ostia, a charismatic watch seller manages to cheat old Ines Vismara by giving her a lousy watch for 1000 euros. This episode enrages Claudio, Ines' son, a

fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

owner of a gun shop and destabilizes Ines to the point that, while crossing a street, she gets run over by a van. Ines is saved and brought to the hospital by medic Pierpaolo Pavone, householder of an intellectual

radical chic Radical chic is the fashionable practice of upper-class people associating with politically radical people and causes. Coined in the 1970 article "Radical Chic: That Party at Lenny's" by journalist Tom Wolfe, the term has become widely used in l ...

family: his wife Laura is an uncompromising film director, and their son Federico is a 25-years-old scholar passionate with

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...

who gets mad once his professor Nicola tells him that he can't join him in exhuming Nietzsche's body. Pierpaolo is having an affair with Gaia, the young girlfriend of Bruno Parise, a colleague of his who enjoys in making pranks to him. One day, Federico manages to buy from Claudio a bomb in order to use it to destroy Nietzsche's grave: Federico completes his mission, despite being injured during the explosion. Flavio, Claudio's uncle, tells him that after being arrested, Federico will tell from where he bought the bomb and, thanks to being the son of a medic and a director, he won't be sent to jail, but if the cops will find out Claudio's guns, he will surely get imprisoned. So, Flavio orders Claudio to kill Federico. Once he reaches Federico, Claudio finds out that he is the son of Pierpaolo, the medic who saved his mother's life, and aborts the mission. Once Flavio asks for explanations, Claudio brings his 12-years-old gun-loving son Cesare at the meeting and the kid shoots and kills Flavio with a shotgun. Claudio gets arrested but doesn't lose his parental authority. A few months later, Bruno has died for a

brain cancer A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and secondar ...

that Pierpaolo diagnosed him and Gaia manages to find a new boyfriend in the very watch seller that triggered the whole story.

Cast

Accolades

(2020) ** Horizons Award for Best Screenplay *

David di Donatello Awards The David di Donatello Awards, named after Donatello's ''David'', a symbolic statue of the Italian Renaissance, are film awards given out each year by the ''Accademia del Cinema Italiano'' (The Academy of Italian Cinema). There are 26 award cat ...

(2021) **

David di Donatello for Best New Director The David di Donatello Award for Best New Director (Italian: ''David di Donatello per il miglior regista esordiente'') is a film award presented annually by the Accademia del Cinema Italiano (ACI, ''Academy of Italian Cinema'') to recognize the ou ...

** Nomination for David di Donatello for Best Original Screenplay to

** Nomination for

David di Donatello for Best Producer The David di Donatello Award for Best Producer (Italian: ''David di Donatello per il miglior produttore'') is a film award presented annually by the Accademia del Cinema Italiano (ACI, ''Academy of Italian Cinema'') to recognize outstanding produc ...

Domenico Procacci Domenico Procacci (born 8 February 1960) is an Italian film producer. Life and career Born in Bari, Procacci debuted as a producer in the late 1980s, when he co-founded with Renzo Rossellini and others the production company Vertigo. In 199 ...

and Laura Paolucci ** Nomination for

David di Donatello for Best Score David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

to Niccolò Contessa

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Predators (film) 2020 films 2020 comedy-drama films 2020 directorial debut films Italian comedy-drama films 2020s Italian-language films Films set in the 2000s Films set in Rome 2020s Italian films Rai Cinema films Fandango (Italian company) films