Skip to main content

A Conversation with Human Capital's Shining Star- Giovanni Anzaldo

Based on a novel by American writer Stephen Amidon, "Human Capital" is a story of intricate emotions and human qualities. Its characters are complicated, fragile and flawed. They struggle to succeed, to find their passions, to love, to leave, to stay and to live. Yet within each of them is a longing for stability and normalcy, to live life to the fullest while being cradled in the love and support of the people closest to them.

The film begins at the breakdown of a banquet when one of the servers is run off the road while riding home on his bicycle. What follows is a series of chapters in which director Paolo Virzì vividly takes us through the lives of several key players directly or indirectly involved in the accident. This analysis uncovers the secrets and struggles of the story’s characters. The film offers a side of Italian society that we don’t often see in Italian films released in the U.S. Virzì sheds light on Italy's high society of CEOs, financial advisors, investors living lavishly in their urban sky scrapers, mansions and tennis courts. There is not one Italian stereotype in this film. The reason for this is perhaps the fact that it was originally an American story written by an American author.

The cast is comprised of A-list Italian actors that give top-notch performances. However, the performance that I felt was the most powerful and heartfelt comes from a newcomer named Giovanni Anzaldo. His performance blew me away. He gave so many beautiful attributes to his character, Luca Ambrosini, and created a layered, complex, sensitive young man hiding in the guise of a simple but troubled kid.

Luca Ambrosini enters the story as a mischievous teenager waiting to see his therapist. He then appears every so often running into one of the main characters. Then towards the end of the film, his personal story unfolds and we are presented with this outstanding performance that brings us right into the life and complete mess of this beautiful character, making us long for more, wishing he was introduced sooner.

I contacted Anzaldo shortly after seeing his performance. In talking with him, I discovered the layered character he created in "Human Capital" is not far from the layered character he is in life, one that speaks in metaphors about his art, struggles and dreams for the future.

Born in Torino to Sicilian parents, Anzaldo told me that he dreamed of becoming an actor when he was in elementary school but waited until he was older and more mature to pursue acting as a profession. Sometimes discouraged, he considered changing professions at various times through the years due to lulls in work, “living intense moments followed by gaps and silences” that caused him to question his choices. His short-term remedy to those questions is “a couple of beers." He describes his temperament as “typical of the South” but if asked where he is from, he will tell you Torino because, “I love that city.”

Anzaldo has worked on both sides of the camera, and is also active in theater and television. He landed his first role in 2009 on Mediaset’s crime series, "Distretto di Polizia." Following that project, he worked in theater for a few years and then landed a coveted role in Marco Tullio Giordana’s 2012 film,"Romanzo di una strage." The following year, he was cast as Alessandro Gassman’s son in "Razzabastarda." Written and directed by Gassman, "Razzabastarda" is the story of a father who made a career out of crime and wants a better life for his son. Anzaldo won the Premio Gallio for Best Actor.

Then along came "Human Capital" and the amazing opportunity to be part of what would be a wildly international success. “The film has deserved all the success it has had," explains Anzaldo. “It’s a story about one province, but told in a universal, modern and emotional way. The first screening I saw made me shiver. I almost could not believe it had become such a beautiful jewel. For once, I did not point out my imperfections as an actor (and there are many). I just let myself be carried away by the historic moment in which I was living.” As for the film’s director, Paolo Virzì, Anzaldo describes him as, “a great leader. He reels you right into his game, engages you, and makes you feel important. For him, the actors are everything. He cares for them and pampers them. He cared a lot for "Human Capital." He invested all his energy right up until the end.”

Giovanni Anzaldo with his girlfriend, actress Giulia Rupi
Anzaldo continually goes back and forth between theater and film. He refers to theater as “the lifeblood of this business. I think an actor should always have a relationship with the stage and with the audience.” He describes theater as “a continuous flow, which starts at 9:00 in the morning and ends at 10:00 at night. One scene in a film can turn into ten hours, and you must always be effective. What I love most about cinema is the narcissistic aspect.”

Anzaldo is as busy as ever these days. He has three films which will be released this year. He dreams of one day writing and directing a film. Anzaldo possesses a poetic innocence when he speaks of his dreams, saying, “they’re called dreams because you do so with your eyes closed, but when you open them and pursue them, you can only hope they will make someone else happy.”

I am sure that he will make many people happy through his immense talent and passionate outlook on life. Thanks to Paolo Virzì for adapting this captivating book into a beautiful film and for introducing international audiences to one of Italy’s brightest rising stars. 

Click here to watch "Human Capital" on Amazon Prime. For more information, visit the film’s website at http://humancapitalfilm.com.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

New faces of Italian cinema

Angelo Iannelli With the 2012 film festivals just about wrapped up, we saw a big emphasis this year on newly emerging and independent filmmakers. This was most notable in the Venice Film Festival's Horizon's program, which gave these filmmakers an unprecedented amount of visibility as the program reached out to people all over the world via the internet.  To mark this current trend, I recently caught up with two independent filmmakers in Rome: Angelo Iannelli and Vito Napolitano. Each filmmaker has experience on both sides of the camera. Their origins are based in the south of Italy but they are now living in Rome. Angelo Iannelli was born in Benevento in the region of Campania, while Vito Napolitano is from Lecce in Puglia. What I enjoyed the most about our conversation is the passion with which the two young filmmakers speak about cinema. They are so enthusiastic and about their craft, they reel you right into their dreams. The three of us recently met up at the Li

The Timeless Talent of Stefania Sandrelli

On screen since the tender age of 14, she has captivated audiences for more than 50 years with a compelling combination of strength and vulnerability. She achieved stardom at just 14 years old playing the angelic cousin of a love-struck Marcello Mastroianni in Pietro Germi’s “Divorce Italian Style.” More than half a century later, she is still going strong and remains one of Italy’s most esteemed actors. Stefania Sandrelli was born on June 5, 1946, in Viareggio in the province of Lucca in northern Italy. As a child, she studied music and dance. Then in 1960, she won a beauty pageant and was featured on the cover of Le Ore magazine. Her purity captivated the country and shortly thereafter, movie offers began pouring in. Just one year later, she made her cinema debut in three feature films: Mario Sequi’s Gioventù di notte , Luciano Salce’s The Fascist, and Pietro Germi’s Divorce Italian Style . She instantly became a star and before long was a key figure in Italy’s legendary

Anna Foglietta: Actress and Activist with Old School Elegance

One look at actress Anna Foglietta in her any of her roles, and the Golden Age of Italian cinema comes to mind. Among Italy’s most sought-after actresses today, Foglietta brings to the table a classic eloquence of yesterday while representing Italy’s modern woman. Born in Rome in 1979, Foglietta began her career in 2005 with a role in the RAI television series La squadra . Her character Agent Anna De Luca had a two-year run on the series as she was transitioning to cinema with Paolo Virzì’s 2006 ensemble project 4-4-2- Il gioco più bello del mondo . Since then, she has become one of Italy’s most diverse actresses, transforming herself into interesting, layered characters for comedies and dramas alike. Aside from a small part in Anton Corbijn’s 2010 film The American starring George Clooney, Foglietta’s work began reaching mainstream American audiences in 2015. As Elisa in Edoardo Leo’s 2015 comedy Noi e la Giulia , Foglietta showed her funny side playing a goofball pregn

A Conversation with Actor Mirko Frezza of David di Donatello Winner "Il più grande sogno"

The 2017 David di Donatello award show, which took place on Monday, was an exciting event that celebrated many great contemporary talents of Italian cinema.  I was fortunate to have seen most of the nominees.  Among my personal favorites  is Michele Vannucci's  Il più grande sogno  simply because it is based on one of the most inspiring, beautiful stories I've ever  heard, and the person behind that story is as authentic and down-to-earth as they come. The film won the 3 Future Award, which is determined by the public. With Director Michele Vannucci and Actor Mirko Frezza I first saw  Il più grande sogno last September when it premiered at the Venice Film Festival. I didn't make it to Venice, but thanks to a great online platform called Festival Scope , which offers a handful of premieres to be screened on the web, I felt like I was there. The film itself blew me away, and then when I realized it was based on a true story, I knew that I would have to find out mor

The Sweetness and Genius of Giulietta Masina

Fellini and Masina on the set of "La Strada" As open-hearted and sunny as Federico Fellini was dark and complex, they were perfect counterpoints during a half-century of marriage and professional collaboration.  Nicknamed a  “female Chaplin” and described by Chaplin himself as  the actress who moved him most,  Giulietta Masina confronted the tragedy of her characters with an eternal innocence and enthusiasm that gave Italians hope in the most challenging of times.  Born in 1921 in San Giorgio di Piano, a commune north of Bologna, Masina was the oldest of four children born to a father who was a music professor and violinist and a mother who was a grade-school teacher. Her parents sent her as a child to live in Rome with her widowed aunt while she attended school there. As Masina took an early interest in gymnastics, her aunt saw in her a passion for performing and encouraged her to pursue acting. So after high school, Masina attended Rome’s La Sapienza Universit