Blog
Il Sorpasso
April 22, 2016
The clue for the surprising ending of this movie is precisely its title, Il Sorpasso, and for that very same reason I won’t give you the right translation. I’m very aware that you can easily look it up helped by all the wonderful devices available at the tip of your fingers, but dictionaries or translation programs are not enough to understand culture—you need to know how the language works from inside out.
Il Sorpasso (1962), directed by Dino Risi, and co-written with Ettore Scola, and Ruggero Maccari, still is a vibrant work of art in black and white, which can reach many audiences because it’s a timeless story that manages to take a piece of the Italian culture and make it universal, helped by the wonderful cast that includes, Vittorio Gassman, Jean-Louis Trintignant, and Catherine Spaak.
In Rome, two Italian men from different social class, and totally opposite personalities—one defined as a “playboy”, Vittorio Gassman, and the other a bookish, reserved law student, Jean Louis Trintignant—embark on a trip. The fast-paced narration takes you along, and shows, with complete generosity, how two strangers can get close, and at the same time, how dangerous that path is—an innocent desire for a good time can lead to the most unexpected of outcomes. To be sincere, that’s not completely true. The ending shouldn’t be that surprising since, from the very beginning, they insinuate what is really going to happen. But, you don’t want to acknowledge it, and want to keep following this two “spensierati” (lay back, free-from-worries men) until the end gives you a real slap on the face.
Looking at it from today’s perspective the movie looks more like a document that attests real events, instead of what it really is—a fictional story that grabs you and doesn’t let you go.
It reminds me of the times when I was six years old and went around with one of my brothers on his Vespa. He was twenty years older than me. I have many photographs in black and white of a very handsome young man, more handsome than Vittorio or Jean-Louis. He left me behind when I was six, or so I felt when I was that age. I saw him later in Italy, but it was never the same, and years later he died in a motorcycle accident near Milan, Italy.
Il Sorpasso reminds me of him, and of the relationship we could never have. In a way, we had become two strangers long before his accident, and today the only thing that keeps him alive in my mind is the memories in black and white of the two of us on his Vespa. We still go for rides on Sunday mornings. I’m still 6, he; 26. I wear my best dress, my brother; his blue jeans and a pristine white t-shirt. His curly hair is very short, and his sunglasses hide his blue eyes. Sitting on the Vespa, with his hands on the handles, he accelerates more and more. I’m standing between his legs looking forward, and the wind plays with my hair, so much so that at times it impairs my vision.
Il Sorpasso forces me to think about what could have been, and pushes me to rethink the way I want to live my life. For better or for worse, who I am today is the product of all those little experiences, together with the Italian culture, which I think is not only in part mine, it’s also the cultural patrimony of everyone in the world. Italy is a constant reminder of strength, creativity, and profound love for life, no matter the reality of things.
Posts by date
2025
Jan 23 The War of the Words V
2024
Oct 09 Kamala and The Tree of Knowledge
Jul 11 About Writing III
Jul 11 Actresses 101
Mar 06 What Linklater Got Wrong
Feb 09 Techno-Heaven
2023
Dec 25 Peter Panish
Sep 01 Pleasure or Paradise?
Aug 21 The War of the Words IV
Aug 16 Indicted
Mar 11 Witch Hunt
2022
Sep 15 Optics II
Jul 16 The War of the Words III
Mar 26 Irrational Minds
Feb 05 Ursula's Path
Jan 16 Predicting the Future
2021
Sep 11 Con-Science
May 26 The War of the Words II
May 26 Halston
Mar 19 The War of the Words I
Jan 12 January 6th, 2021
2020
Nov 02 Separated
Aug 26 Optics I
Jul 27 Name Calling
Jul 13 About Writing II
Jul 04 Mr. Shallow
Jun 11 Hidden Figures
Jun 03 9 Minutes
Apr 21 Signaling
Feb 18 ToKyoTokyo Series Part III
Jan 16 ToKyoTokyo Series Part II
2019
Dec 20 ToKyoTokyo Series Part I
Nov 04 Mr. Power
Oct 10 Today Is a Good Day
Sep 05 Inspiration Point
Aug 08 The Ones Who Walk Away
Jul 25 On Feminism
Jun 16 Marie Colvin in a Private War
Jun 12 About Writing I
Jun 06 Nureyev
May 31 Nora and Her Neck
Apr 24 Home Less
Apr 11 The Passion Side of Love
Mar 25 Gloria Bell
Mar 03 Mary Shelley
Jan 12 Mr. Fart
2018
2017
Dec 05 Breaking Away
Nov 30 Julieta and the Despair of Being a Woman
Oct 24 Stupro
Oct 04 The Painter
Aug 05 A Quiet Passion… No More
Jul 27 Worst-Case Scenario
Jun 15 Catfight 2016
May 17 From Girl to Woman Boss
Apr 17 South
Mar 29 The Forgotten
Mar 03 In
Feb 22 Lost
Feb 04 2017
2016
Nov 10 Hillary Lost
Oct 10 Trump, Trumpettes, and the Politics of Hate
Sep 11 September 11th, Laura Rodríguez, and the Haunting Past
Aug 19 Hillary
Aug 13 Striking Gold
Jul 25 What Is in the Name
Jul 09 Free in Dallas
Jul 02 Carol and Orlando
May 31 Reality and Reality Perception
Apr 22 Il Sorpasso
Apr 19 Lena Dunham and Kitty Genovese
Feb 25 December in California
2015
Dec 02 My Italian and I
Nov 29 Three Different Geographical Points; One Basic Premise
Nov 28 I’m a Woman
Nov 23 From My Childhood to Our Last Day
Nov 22 Paris
Nov 22 Films, Filmmakers, and Writers
Nov 18 I Live in Texas
Posts by series
About Writing
Optics
The War of the Words
Mar 19, 21 The War of the Words I
May 26, 21 The War of the Words II
Jul 16, 22 The War of the Words III
Aug 21, 23 The War of the Words IV
Jan 23, 25 The War of the Words V
ToKyoTokyo
Dec 20, 19 ToKyoTokyo Series Part I
Jan 16, 20 ToKyoTokyo Series Part II
Feb 18, 20 ToKyoTokyo Series Part III