This largely awarded film by Gabriele Fabbro is about Roxanne, a lonely and aggressive 50-year-old woman, working on the restoration of an organ in the church of a small northern Italian village, during the Covid pandemic. Forced by the manager of the church to hire an assistant, Roxanne finds herself sharing her time with Lucia, a mute girl. Annoyed by Lucia’s presence, Roxanne soon recognizes her talent and gradually has mixed feelings toward her.
The Grand Bolero was actually filmed during the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions: this is in fact a film about a seclusion both real and ideal. The small narrative structure, the substantial unity of place, and the small number of characters – typical elements of small productions, but also of so much cinema productions in pandemic time – are integrated with the psychological portrait of a female character who despite her adulthood and maturity has never found a way to communicate with others.
The film can be found on streaming platforms such as Amazon Prime Video.
