Luca is a film about the friendships that change our lives, the childhood summers when we discover ourselves. Created by Enrico Casarosa, Genovese by background, it is set in fictional Portorosso, a picturesque borgo in Liguria which is a combination of Porto Venere and Monterosso.
The land explored by Luca and Alberto, once they have taken human appearance, is a wonderful world perfumed by trenette al pesto and tasting of summer ice creams; it is crisscrossed by colourful Vespas, enlivened by significant encounters, such as that with their peer Giulia and, threatened by bullies “terrified” by anything different. The pair of them are different, fish out of water, and they soon begin to realise this, forced to confront their fears and fragility. Their first impact with the inhabitants of this new world takes place in the square of a small village on the Levante Riviera: behind them, a sign reads “focacceria” and beside them the San Giorgio dairy echoes the heraldic shield of the city of Genoa (the red cross of St George on a white background).
The film is an homage to Italy, to her light, that stretch of coastline between sea and mountain that is the Cinque Terre, her food and the popular hits of sixty years ago. It even nods to the films of the boom years, it is not hard to find references to masterpieces such as Roman Holiday or Bicycle Thieves in the streets of Portorosso.
Luca is a film about the friendships that change our lives, the childhood summers when we discover ourselves. Created by Enrico Casarosa, Genovese by background, it is set in fictional Portorosso, a picturesque borgo in Liguria which is a combination of Porto Venere and Monterosso.
The land explored by Luca and Alberto, once they have taken human appearance, is a wonderful world perfumed by trenette al pesto and tasting of summer ice creams; it is crisscrossed by colourful Vespas, enlivened by significant encounters, such as that with their peer Giulia and, threatened by bullies “terrified” by anything different. The pair of them are different, fish out of water, and they soon begin to realise this, forced to confront their fears and fragility. Their first impact with the inhabitants of this new world takes place in the square of a small village on the Levante Riviera: behind them, a sign reads “focacceria” and beside them the San Giorgio dairy echoes the heraldic shield of the city of Genoa (the red cross of St George on a white background).
The film is an homage to Italy, to her light, that stretch of coastline between sea and mountain that is the Cinque Terre, her food and the popular hits of sixty years ago. It even nods to the films of the boom years, it is not hard to find references to masterpieces such as Roman Holiday or Bicycle Thieves in the streets of Portorosso.
Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Pictures
