Matteo Garrone's REALITY - exclusive clip
Aniello Arena stars in the Gomorrah director's look at the dark side of celebrity culture
Award-winning Gomorrah director Matteo Garrone is back with another dark Italian offering, this time a satirical look at celebrity culture and those coveted five minutes of fame.
REALITY follows Luciano, an Italian fishmonger who is seduced by the notion of becoming a celebrity. As he strives to be accepted onto a reality TV show, Luciano's grip on reality starts to slip and his life with his loved ones is thrown into the balance.
As dramatic as the film itself, if not more, is the fact that Garrone's fame hungry Luciano is played by real-life former mafia hitman Aniello Arena. Arena, who is currently serving life in prison for three counts of murder, was spotted by Garrone in a prison play and was granted guarded day release in order to shoot the film.
Of the film, Garrone has said: "This is a film about how we perceive the real, the story of a man who departs from reality and enters into his own fictitious dimension. I think of Luciano, the star of the film, as a modern-day Pinocchio, one of childlike innocence and naivete. I followed him with my camera as if he were living a fantastic adventure."
The exclusive clip below sees Luciano sell his business because he is so certain he will be selected as a reality TV contestant:
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Here's a trailer:
REALITY is released in the UK on 22 March
