‘Nonostante’ Mastandrea’s souls suspended between Rome and the seashore
Nonostante, second work by Valerio Mastandrea, due for release in theatres on March 27, 2025 (Bim Distribuzione), investigates the mystery of death, or rather, the state of suspension between life and death of people in a coma. The actor returns behind the camera after his directorial debut with Ride (2018).
Written by Mastandrea with Enrico Audenino and co-starring Dolores Fonzi, Lino Musella and Laura Morante, Nonostante was presented at the Venice Film Festival in the Orizzonti section.
The film is produced by HT Film, Damocle, Tenderstories, Rai Cinema: photography is by Guido Michelotti.
Plot
A man spends his days peacefully in the hospital without too many worries. He has been hospitalized for a while but the condition seems the best way to live his life, sheltered from everything and everyone, with no responsibilities nor problems of any kind. His existence is really easy in there and, while some patients feel trapped, he feels freer than anywhere else. His precious routine flows smoothly, unchanging until a new patient is admitted to the ward. She is restless and angry, refusing to accept anything about her state especially the unwritten rules. Unwilling to wait there, she just wants to leave – whether her condition is better or worse. She wants to live as she should or die, as happens to those who end up in there. The man finds her fury overwhelming; he first attempts to defend himself, then he welcomes something incomprehensible. Their meeting will help him to accept that there is no possible shelter, if you choose to truly face your heart and your emotions.
Who are Valerio Mastandrea's 'Nonostante'?
Suspended souls wander the internal and external environments of a hospital. They are the "Nonostante", they observe their bodies from a comatose state, not disdaining a sort of parallel life, watching the world around them unseen with an almost detached interest. They have no names, they seem to feel no emotion, except for their fellows who can, at any moment, inevitably change their state: they may wake up, but "returning" is a disappointment because "when you return it is as if nothing had happened"; or they may let themselves be overwhelmed by the irresistible wind that will take them to the other side, the kingdom of the dead.
"How is it possible to fall in love in this suspended state?", He (Valerio Mastandrea) wonders. He asks himself this when She (Dolores Fonzi) arrives among the suspended souls and overwhelms him to the point where he can no longer hide from his emotions, and is forced to face them.
Locations of 'Nonostante'
The film was shot mainly in Rome, from September to November 2023. The main location, the hospital, has the external features of a building in Via del Serafico that houses regional offices.
"Out of town" trips take the protagonists to the Roman coast, to the seaside resorts of Fregene and Maccarese (in the municipality of Fiumicino), and to the Salto dam in the province of Rieti.