Presented at the Rome Film Festival in the Alice nella Città section and set in Trento, One Day at a Time tells an adolescent love story capable of alternating lightness, irony and emotion without ever falling into melodrama. His message is simple but powerful: live in the present, without letting the fear of the future, amplified by social media or by the adversities that life presents you with, prevent you from loving.
THE PLOT
The protagonist is Marco, a shy, anxious nineteen-year-old who is now close to his high school exam. In a world dominated by social networks and virtual relationships, he almost seems like a boy out of time: he dreams of authentic love, made up of real encounters and sincere feelings. He lives with an exuberant mother, always with a smartphone in hand, and with his older brother Andrea, an aspiring singer.
Destiny leads him to meet Aria, a sweet, intelligent and energetic girl who faces every day as if it were her last. Behind her smile lies a painful reality: she is suffering from Steinert’s disease, a rare degenerative disease that makes her future very uncertain. Marco initially ignores his condition and a spontaneous and sincere feeling is born between the two which will soon be put to the test by illness and the fear of losing what they love.
The screenplay avoids turning the disease into the absolute center of the story. Nicola Conversa instead chooses to use it as a starting point to reflect on the value of time. The theme of the film is not how much time we have ahead of us, but how we choose to live it. This is why One Today at a Time talks above all about growth, second chances and the ability to find happiness even in small everyday things.
One of the most successful aspects is the tone of the narrative. Despite tackling a sensitive topic, the film maintains a constant balance between comedy and drama. The school situations, friendships and dialogues are credible and close to the language of today’s children, while the more intimate scenes arrive naturally, without seeking easy tearful effects. And in fact the film was successful at the box office.
Excellent performance by the young Tommaso Cassissa, making his debut as a film protagonist after his success on the web. His Marco is awkward, genuine and easily recognisable, qualities that allow the viewer to immediately empathize with him. Next to him, Ginevra Francesconi shines, intense and delicate in the role of Aria, capable of conveying strength and fragility with great spontaneity. Katia Follesa is also very convincing, giving lightness to the story without being caricatural.
CURIOSITY’
Among the most interesting curiosities is the origin of the love story. Conversa said he was inspired by an episode that actually happened to a friend of his who, after having mistakenly written down the telephone number of a girl he met in a nightclub, ended up falling in love with the person who answered that wrong number. A small mistake that completely changed his life and which in the film becomes the symbol of how much chance can influence destiny.
The director also cites Il ciclone, Ovosodo and Questione di tempo among his main inspirations, influences that are found in the mix of romanticism, irony and reflection on time that runs through the entire film.
