Jonas Carpigano's Mediterranea is interesting but all too familiar and while it offers up a distinctive view early in its narrative, it eventually devolves into well-recognised displacement tragedy and violence.
That early part is refreshing in its humour and its horror, finding a compelling through-line in the experience, aided by an exceptional lead performance from Koudous Seihon.
In Italy, the immigrant community pulses and Carpigano presents some humanising parallels between the locals and the new-locals. A touching relationship with two daughters and some sobering comment on Facebook reality vs actuality provide
But then the shit goes down...
Mediterranea escalates quickly and with little regard for the dramatic impact of its implosion. The violence is not given sufficient developmental focus, nor is its fallout sufficiently explored, which is jarring, and in the scheme of the overall work strangely redundant.
An engaging work but far more powerful when it comes at the social divide from the edges.
★★★
Mediterranea screened at the Melbourne International Film Festival 2015.
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