featuring @anarchy_pr @italianfilmfest
There is something instantly familiar about Classmates, even for those of us who have never stepped inside a classroom in Rome. At its heart, Umberto Carteni’s Italian dramatic comedy is a story about education, second chances and the complicated lives that students bring with them through the classroom doors.
Set in Rome’s Rebibbia neighbourhood, the film follows an English teacher who finds herself assigned to one of the school’s most difficult classes. Her students are dealing with broken families, difficult circumstances, drugs, first loves and a growing belief that the world outside their school has little to offer them. Rather than simply presenting them as troubled teenagers, Classmates gradually looks beneath their behaviour to understand the people behind it.
Anna Ferzetti is excellent as the teacher, she brings an appealing mixture of nervousness, determination and empathy to the role. She isn’t portrayed as a flawless educator who walks into the classroom with all the answers. Instead, she is frightened by the challenge in front of her and often unsure about how to reach these students.
What makes Classmates work particularly well is that the students aren’t simply treated as supporting characters in their teacher’s story. The film gives the class its own identity, allowing different personalities, relationships and personal circumstances to emerge. Fabio Bizzarro, Zoe Massenti, Sara Silvestro and the rest of the young ensemble help create a believable sense of camaraderie within the classroom.
The film also understands that teenagers can be contradictory. They can be rebellious, funny, selfish, vulnerable, frightened and surprisingly compassionate, sometimes within the same scene. Rather than reducing them to stereotypes, Carteni attempts to show how their surroundings and experiences have shaped them. Carteni maintains a warm tone without completely ignoring the harder realities surrounding these young people. There are moments of humour and genuine tenderness alongside more difficult material, giving the film an accessible balance between comedy and drama.
Adapted from Gaja Cenciarelli’s autobiographical novel, Classmates has quite a few moments where the story feels somewhat familiar, and the film doesn’t completely escape the conventions of the inspirational school drama. Some of its emotional beats are predictable. But there is enough sincerity in the performances and enough affection for its characters to make those familiar elements feel worthwhile.
Classmates may not reinvent the classroom drama, but it does find it’s stride in its warmth, its humanity and its belief that one person taking the time to listen can sometimes be the beginning of something much bigger.
Screening as part of the St. ALi Italian Film Festival.
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