Man vs. The Establishment. Retired Professor Astolfo has been evicted from his apartment of twenty years in Rome so that the owner can give it to her daughter and new husband. What now? Why not move into that section of the run-down palace willed to him many years ago? Though no one has lived there for two decades, it is truly an alternative.
Astolfo drives out into the country in his modest sedan and comes to an ancient village of narrow cobbled streets. He is seen by the inhabitants and even remembered. But in his absence, his neglected property has also been taken advantage of. Now a squatter camps out in his private quarters and the priest and mayor have taken the spoils of what they assumed had been abandoned.
There is no electricity and a long-broken gutter from the priest’s apartment empties into Astolfo’s stove. Complicated and humorous, but true, as is the bricked up doorway that once led into an elegant dining room. What lies beyond the cinder blocks he is soon told, by the priest, was God’s gift to the parsonage, a space for a music room. Finally, in his once prized oak grove sits the mayor’s house.
This is Italy’s version of man versus all that makes the establishment: the government and the church. Poor Astolfo seems to have no agency or power to regain what is rightfully his.
So what is he to make of his life? Astolfo, despite his enduring kindness to others, is blocked from the simplest of conveniences, like electricity and a working stove as well as legal documents asserting his claim to this one section of the palace.
What can possibly bring him joy in beautiful, architecturally romantic, seasonally warm Italy?
Director/writer Gianni Di Gregorio is also the star, Astolfo. He succeeds in portraying the common man, the unpretentious, kind human who is prevented from factors beyond his control to advance himself. He is kept in his place by forces entrenched in privilege and power. But in true Italian spirit, love may be his chance for liberation.
“Never Too Late for Love,” billed as a comedy, showcases natural acting and beautiful scenery. Though Astolfo says at one point he is cursed, the audience sees this is the fate of the normal human. It is only through finding love that he can be redeemed and made whole.
Credits
Director: Gianni Di Gregorio
Writers: Gianni Di Gregorio and Marco Pettenello
Cast: Gianni Di Gregorio, Stefania Sandrelli
Language: Italian with subtitles
Released: Oct. 27, 2023 (limited US)
On DVD: Dec. 12, 2023
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