''The Cézanne Affair'' ( it, L'uomo nero) is a 2009 Italian

comedy drama film 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 ...

written, directed and starred by

Sergio Rubini Sergio Rubini (born 21 December 1959) is an Italian actor, film director and screenwriter. Life and career Rubini was born in Grumo Appula, Apulia, but soon moved to Rome to study acting. After some roles in theater, he debuted in a feature ...

. For her performance in the film, the actress

Valeria Golino Valeria Golino (born 22 October 1965) is an Italian actress and film director. She is best known to English-language audiences for her roles in '' Rain Man'', ''Big Top Pee-wee'' and the two '' Hot Shots!'' films, particularly the olive-in-the-be ...

was nominated in the category for best actress at the Nastro d'Argento Awards.

Plot

The plot of the film is a flashback by Gabriele Rossetti, a young teacher who returns to Bari for the death of his father Ernesto. Ernesto Rossetti was the stationmaster in the small Apulian village of

San Vito dei Normanni San Vito dei Normanni ( Sanvitese: ) is an Italian town of 19,947 inhabitants of the province of Brindisi in Apulia. The inhabitants are called Sanvitesi (or Santuvitisi in dialect) and the town is sometimes referred to as San Vito. Physical geog ...

. He lived happily with his wife and his little son, Gabriele. However, Ernesto had artistic ambitions and was fond of

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a new and radically d ...

's painting after he saw the artist's water colour self-portrait at Bari. Ernesto wanted to make an exhibition in his homage to the country, but the local art critic, truncated and conceited, stunned the exhibition with a newspaper article.
Ernesto did not win for himself. He copied to Cézanne's work, neglecting the family especially Gabriele, who began to grow afraid of him and hate him. On the birthday of his son, Ernesto showed the professor (local art critic) the new picture; and the professor again negatively commented the work, stirring up Ernesto's wrath, giving an inconvenient shock to his son Gabriele. When Gabriele grew up, he eventually discovered that Ernesto had deceived everyone with the second painting, which he replaced with the original painting of Paul Cézanne, in order to prove the deceit of the villagers and the professor.

Cast

as Ernesto Rossetti *

as Franca *

Riccardo Scamarcio Riccardo Dario Scamarcio (; born 13 November 1979) is an Italian actor and film producer. Life and career Scamarcio was born in Trani, Apulia, the son of Irene Petrafesa, a painter, and Emilio Scamarcio. He went to train as an actor at the Sc ...

as Pinuccio * Guido Giaquinto as Gabriele Rossetti *

Anna Falchi Anna Falchi (; born Anna Kristiina Palomäki; 22 April 1972) is a Finnish-Italian model and film actress. Career Anna Kristiina Palomäki was born in Tampere, Finland, the daughter of an Italian father, Benito (Tito) Falchi, and Finnish moth ...

as Donna Valeria Giordano *

Mario Maranzana Mario Maranzana (14 July 1940 – 11 January 2012) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Background Born in Trieste, Maranzana began his career in the theater with Vittorio Gassman in '' Oedipus Rex'' by Sophocles, then worked with, among others ...

as Museum Director * Vito Signorile as Professor Venusio *

Maurizio Micheli Maurizio Micheli (born 3 February 1947) is an Italian actor, voice actor, comedian, author, playwright and television personality. Life and career Born in Livorno in 1947, at 11 Micheli moved to Bari with his family, then at 20 he moved to Mi ...

as Lawyer Pezzetti *

Mariolina De Fano Mariolina De Fano (14 October 1940 – 18 August 2020) was an Italian actress. Partial filmography *''Il carabiniere'' (1981) - Maid *''Vigili e vigilesse'' (1982) - Assunta *''Pover'ammore'' (1982) *''L'ammiratrice'' (1983) - Caterina *'' Whe ...

as Mrs. Lo Turco *

Fabrizio Gifuni Fabrizio Gifuni (born 16 July 1966) is an Italian stage, film and television actor. He won two Silver Ribbons and a David di Donatello Award. Life and career Born in Rome, the son of the politician Gaetano, Gifuni enrolled at the Silvio D'Amic ...

as Gabriele Rossetti (Adult) *

Margherita Buy Margherita Buy (born 15 January 1962) is an Italian actress. She is a seven-time David di Donatello Awards winner and seven-time Nastro d'argento winner. Overview After a long period of studying at the Academy of Dramatic Arts, she made her b ...

as Anna

References

External links

* 2009 comedy-drama films 2009 films Italian comedy-drama films Films directed by Sergio Rubini Films scored by Nicola Piovani 2000s Italian films {{2000s-comedy-drama-film-stub