Martin Eden

A vibrant, award-winning lead performance from Luca Marinelli dominates this drama about education, class status and the spirit of socialism. Based on a Jack London novel but relocated to Italy in an unspecified period, the film follows Martin (Marinelli), a low-born and under-educated young man who sets out to "better" himself. His journey, which has rough parallels with London's own, encompasses political awakenings, romantic fallouts and, eventually, some measure of success as a writer. Director/co-writer Pietro Marcello heightens the dreamy nature of his epic by shooting on lush 16mm film with eye-popping colours. But it's Marinelli's show; charismatic and believable, he leaps off the screen even in the film's saggier sections. By the final act, our hero has grown despondent over his apparently diminished authenticity, and Marinelli reshapes his performance accordingly, which makes for an altogether more unsettling experience. This shift, which Marcello matches with smart, melancholic pacing, provides an extraordinary conclusion to Martin Eden's hypnotising journey.