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Poster: Bad Tales (2020)
Poster: TMDB · Image rights notice
2020sdrama film

Bad Tales

Queridos vecinos

2020 · Italy, Switzerland · 98 min

Director
Damiano D'Innocenzo, Fabio D'Innocenzo
Screenplay
Damiano D'Innocenzo, Fabio D'Innocenzo
Cinematography
Paolo Carnera
Editing
Esmeralda Calabria
Production company
RAI, Vision Distribution

Awards: · 2 nominations

What the critics say

47 % Rotten Tomatoes positive reviews

Cast

Elio Germano
Barbara Chichiarelli
Max Malatesta
Gabriel Montesi
Lino Musella
Giulietta Rebeggiani

What it is about

A voice-over introduces a diary found in the trash, a story that claims to be true, or perhaps not. On the outskirts of Rome, several families living in terraced houses lead an outwardly ordinary routine, yet behind their facades lie discontent, envy and meanness. The story follows neighbours whose lives intersect amid growing comparison and tension.

How it was made

Brothers Damiano and Fabio D'Innocenzo wrote and directed the film, a co-production between Italy and Switzerland with Rai and distribution by Vision. Paolo Carnera shot the film and Esmeralda Calabria edited it. Elio Germano leads the cast alongside Barbara Chichiarelli, Max Malatesta, Gabriel Montesi, Lino Musella and Giulietta Rebeggiani. The result is a dry thriller that studies the suburban middle class without softening its gaze.

Reception and legacy

Bad Tales competed for the Golden Bear at the 2020 Berlin festival, where the D'Innocenzo brothers received the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay. It shared the Jury Prize in International Competition at the Brussels festival with Rocks. Critics were divided: it holds a 47% approval on Rotten Tomatoes from 19 reviews and a Metacritic score of 60 out of 100.

Stills

Bad Tales, stills 1Bad Tales, stills 2Bad Tales, stills 3

Trailer

Clicking loads the video from YouTube (privacy-enhanced mode). Open on YouTube

Trivia

Double recognition for the screenplay

The D'Innocenzo brothers shared the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay in Berlin, where the film competed in the main section.

A shared prize in Brussels

The Brussels festival Jury Prize was awarded ex aequo with Rocks in the international competition.

Original Cinematopedia text based on Wikipedia (en) and Wikidata.