THE SCRUPULOUS TORMENT OF THE POLITE MAN

The Polite Man lives alone; he has not family, friends or vices. He observes the world, struggling to cope with the ultimate problems of human life: such a distress is causing him a loss of hair. No one seems to notice the torment of the Polite Man... Except for the bizarre Narrator, who tells us the story of the Polite Man, offering us a thoughtful, delicate look at the meaning of life. Official Selection at Portobello Film Festival 2008. Watch the short by clicking on the poster! 

CAST and CREDITS

Written and directed by

Alberto Bona

with
Uomo Garbato Carlo Arrigoni

Narrator Alberto Bona

Director of Photography Roberto Magliozzi

Art Director Federico Cicardi

Editor Iago Lopez

Sound Marco Ventura

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT 

This short aims to tackle not only the meaning of words, but also that of life itself. It is of course fruitless to do so either in a patronising or overdramatic, existentialistic way. I thus opted to use a touch of humour, inspired by silent classics and by the Nouvelle Vague (hence the presence of a narrator).

Four minutes of short film took four years to come to life, because of its independent production (or... no-budget). From being almost arrested on the top of the Duomo in Milan (fighting some nasty authorities who did not want us to film... - well at the end I saved the tape with the footage but had to cut it in post!) to changing four editors between video and sound, I believe the making of this short has been an experience as tormented as the life of the Polite Man himself.  

Links:

http://www.portobellofilmfestival.com/2008/09-10_paradise.html