Il Maestro

Teenage tennis prodigy Felice is destined for greatness but when a flamboyant new coach steps on the court the stoic teachings and training regimes of his dad begin to falter. Italian acting icon Pierfrancesco Favino plays the troubled alpha coach with sly machismo and gusto.

Teenage tennis prodigy Felice (a very locked-in Tiziano Menichelli) was taught by his overbearing dad Pietro that the best offence is a good defence. Against the backdrop of a sunsoaked 1980s Italy, his dad now forces Felice to make it to the big league with his The Art of War-styled conservative strategy – an approach that immediately falters once Felice’s new tennis coach Raul “the Cat” Gatti steps on the court. Played with sly machismo by Italian acting icon Pierfrancesco Favino, this washed up and womanising former tennis talent hides his troubled inner life behind bravado. He steps up as the freewheeling dad Felice never had, instead of as the committed coach you would expect.

Out of the unconventional friendship between a stoic teen talent and his alpha male coach, actor turned director Andrea Di Stefano crafts a sweet and sour coming-of-age buddy film. Ultimately, Il Maestro shows that it’s the real life experiences you bring to the court that fuel your success, winning a match is only a means to an end, winning in life – whatever that might mean for oneself – is much more important.   

– Hugo Emmerzael 

Trailer

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