L’ammiratrice

Francesca, a journalist, poses as a fan of Neapolitan singer-actor superstar Nino D’Angelo to get close to him – and the two fall in love. But soon, tragedy strikes. A musical melodrama so gut-wrenching that rivers of tears will flood the cinemas.

The sceneggiata is a popular theatre specific to the city and culture of Naples: heavy melodrama interspersed with comedic interludes, plus lots of songs, all in the local dialect. Invented around 1918, the plays were adapted for the movies right away, seeing to a first period of feverish production during the 1920s, and then an even larger period in the 1970s and 80s. One of its biggest stars is Nino D’Angelo who plays (a version of) himself in L’ammiratrice, an early work of true people’s poetry.

Francesca, a journalist, poses as a fan of Nino to get close to him – with the two falling in love. How could they not? But soon, tragedy strikes. Romano Scandariato, who’d pen two more equally excellent Nino D’Angelo-sceneggiate, pulled out all the stops here: the romance delivered sweet as Tupelo honey, the comedy broad and folksy, the melodrama so gut-wrenching that rivers of tears flood the cinema. Naples, all the while, shines in its ancient, unchanging glory that turns paupers to queens and kings. Popular cinema at its finest.

– Olaf Möller