Family sagas often tell of illustrious characters who have left a mark in history, in a succession of alternating fortunes. The one told in Before us, the new series broadcast on Rai 1 from 4 January for five Sundays, instead it talks about poor, humble people, defeated by great history, but also resistant, struggling between misery and feelings, chasing dreams on the one hand or wallowing in their own limitations on the other.
It all begins during the First World War: on a farm in Friuli, close to the front, only the women remained. When Maurizio shows up, a drifter, clearly a deserter, Nadia sees in him the possibility of leaving the narrow confines of that valley and building a dream future together. Maurizio, angry at the world and tormented by guilt, lets himself go to that almost feral and so total feeling, but when Nadia discovers that she is expecting a child, that fear that never abandons him makes him flee once again. But Nadia doesn’t like it and goes to get it back… The story then goes on, child after child, with her remaining the rock of the family and him remaining stuck in his cowardice, and then continue generation after generation until a grandson tries to find out who his grandfather really was. In the role of Nadia there is Linda Caridi, face of many series and films, Sicilian and Calabrian origins on the part of her parents, but born in Milan, where she graduated from the Paolo Grassi Civica Scuola di Teatro.
Nadia is a great mother. Did you draw on your personal experience to characterize the character?
«In reality the opposite happened. I was not yet a mother during the filming of the series and this role allowed me to discover, also through the feedback of my younger and older colleagues who played my children, that I was able to feel and convey a strong sense of motherhood. And some time later I really became a mother.”
Nadia has not studied, but loves to draw. Does this innate talent help you deal with the dramas of your life?
«I believe that art is a way to stay in touch with oneself and therefore be able to draw on one’s inner resources. For her it is a tool of resilience and regeneration.”
On the one hand she is an energetic woman, capable of great efforts, on the other she always remains a bit of a child…
«What characterizes her is amazement, which she fuels with small magical rites, as if she were reading life like a fairy tale. With a light in his eyes and a desire for happiness that he also tries to pass on to his children and grandchildren. For me, Nadia represents the daily heroism of our grandmothers.”
The figure of Nadia’s husband is very striking, so far from patriotic rhetoric, and so fragile…
«His problem is not desertion from a war he did not want, a choice about which he had also developed ideological convictions. Out of fear and weakness, he continues to desert life, running away from responsibilities from time to time, without ever forgiving himself for his non-choices. A damned man who can’t even enjoy the great love of Nadia who continues to repeat to him over the years: “You’ll see that we’ll find a way to love each other”.
Was it difficult to act in Friulian?
«The series gave me the opportunity to get to know a wonderful land. They entrusted me with one vocal coachSara De Mezzo, who did not limit herself to teaching me the Friulian language but hosted me in her elderly parents’ house in Codroipo and made me discover how, beyond the apparent wall of coldness, those populations are capable of great affection and hospitality.”
Her career began with the role of a courageous young woman, Denise, Lea Garofalo’s daughter.
«It was an intense role, alongside the excellent Vanessa Scalera. I couldn’t meet Denise because she is a protected witness, but I knew she had read the script and seen and enjoyed the film Leah. Then, through the agents of her escort, who were present at some events organized by Libera, I had the opportunity to send her my regards.”
Instead, in the role of Viviana in The last night of Loveall his light side emerged. Another woman with incredible resources…
«She is a loving and devoted wife, but when she discovers that her policeman husband has ended up in terrible trouble she is neither surprised nor shocked. He simply does what he has to do to save him, walking on the edge of a precipice with an unexpected coolness and lucidity, always with that slightly light-hearted air.”
