In the belly of the enigma, review and interview with Pupi Oggiano

In the belly of the enigma

We live in the age of streaming cinema, and yet during the pandemic, one of the things we have missed most of all is certainly going to cinemas, closed due to containment health restrictions, but little by little we will be able toa> return to this magical place. We did it after these two years with Nel ventre dell'enigma, the new film by Pupi Oggiano (subject and direction) written by him together with Corrado Artale and Antonio Tentori (whose last novel we also reviewed The child who played with the dolls) and in addition to the excitement of returning to the room, we got involved in the strong ones we felt in this very introspective thriller set in magical Turin. Are you ready to go back to the room?

In the womb of the riddle, the new parables

During the vision of In the womb of the riddle, we had the impression that - at first with the writing of Antonio Tentori and then Pupi Oggiano as director - the film wanted to convey messages similar to new parables, staged by stories that see the eternal challenge between good and evil, life and death and questions and answers. Speaking of this last contrast, where the question mark is the protagonist, in In the belly of the enigma mysteries and rebus are the standard bearers of everything that is narrated to us by the powerful voice of Diego Casale.

With a format well run, the film offers four stories, Friendship, Christmas, Love and Game which have in common a series of ferocious murders that have Turin in the background. The first enigma is precisely the identity of the black-cloaked killer who executes his victims quickly and silently. But above all, something links the killer with the school in which some boys seem to be engaged in an exam, under the supervision of the enigmatic headmaster (played by Diego Casale) where their own lives seem to be at stake.

The film runs rapidly alternating deaths and messages addressed to the public on the meaning of life, love, friendship, but also on selfishness and the horror of not having a future as and with whom we want it . To convey these themes, the authors used a series of enigmatic elements that recur throughout the duration of the film.

The profound knowledge of us, the perception of reality mirrored in fiction, the face that turns into a mask , the good that does not exist without evil just as black does not exist without white. Is reality therefore the mirror of our dreams and nightmares, or are they reality themselves and we the mirror that outlines the contours?

- from the novelization of Gabriele Farina

The cast returned an excellent performance, which surprised us with the vitality - or mortality - imprinted in the scenes, worthy of the greatest productions, with a production all Made in Italy and Piedmontese excellence, starting from Diego Casale and following with Daria Baldassare, Alessia Bechis, Giorgio Caleca, Giorgia Campo, Maurizio Carlini, Chiara Cupitò, Tiberio Ferracane, Alessia Gagliano, Michele Gentile, Samuele Giglio, Elisa Giorgio, Tita Giunta, Francesca Guidotti, Manuela Marascio, Athena Privitera and many others.

The music of the piano and guitars still composed by Pupi Oggiano with Stefano Lori's arrangements, put the audience in an immersive condition made of sweetness, despair and power, which accompanies them for the entire duration of the film, including the end credits. One of the highlights of the entire production, together with the direction and the choice of timing.

We would like to highlight how Nel ventre dell’enigma stands out from other thriller and horror films for some clear and distant choices. For example, despite the bloody themes dealt with, it never transcends into the most gore and free horror splatter, with strong and minimal photography choices at the same time always linked and functional to the stories. Furthermore, elements such as the usual jump scare are completely absent which, more than catching the viewer by surprise, will never have the impressive power of a well-told story as done by Pupi Oggiano and Antonio Tentori to whom our applause goes. br> Having participated in the premiere of the film in the hall of the Cinema Massimo in Turin, which also hosted the production among its audience, we took the opportunity to have a chat with director Pupi Oggiano.

Interview with Pupi Oggiano

After having had the honor of meeting Antonio Tentori, writer and screenwriter who boasts important literary and film awards, having worked with Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci and Joe D'Amato, who we will also host in our Craven column Road on the Twitch channel of Cultura Pop, on 7 June, we took the opportunity to chat with Pupi Oggiano, director of the film.

How the idea behind Nel Ventre dell'enigm was born to ?

The belly of the enigma is part of a cycle of six films, the titles of which will form a sentence linked to a concept on genre films linked to my point of view. We started with the film "The fear trembles against" which is the first film of this series, but it is also the manifesto of this project, then we continue with "A few more steps", then with this new film "In the belly of the enigma "And" All the darkness around "which is the fourth ... coming to the fourth part. All the films are self-contained, but they are linked by a common red thread that is revealed at the end of the sixth film.

These films are all set in Turin: how is the city presented to the viewer?

It is a Turin proposed always with a different perspective. The first film "La Fear rema contro" is a 'fanta-horror' and therefore the Turin we have framed is different from how it normally appears and in the other films, you do not see the large squares or other distinctive elements, in short, it is not the usual "postcard Turin", indeed presenting all the particular structures. In the second film, “A few more steps”, we see a more “Argentinian” Turin, with highly recognizable monuments, the most famous squares, a much more elegant Turin. This third film that has just arrived in theaters is a thriller with a mother location, which is a decadent and dilapidated school, alternating with a dark and hidden Turin that goes very well with the themes of the film, so there is a big commitment to find the right locations that best lend themselves to the film.

Being fictional perspectives, ranging from dark horror to Dario Argento's Turin, they are all historically well suited to this city. So it plays a key role within your project.

Definitely. Then I was born from Dario Argento's cinema as a filmic love, so over the years we have also created the “Tour location of Dario Argento”, taking people around the places where Dario shot his seven Turin films. Once I try the cinema myself, I have Argento and Torino as key elements from which to draw inspiration.

Don't you think it is a good sign today to be here at the opening of this cinema with an independent film after the closure due to the pandemic?

For us it is very important to be able to make a first screening of all our films in theaters, always making the "sold out", so this bodes well. Then came this pandemic that blocked us, in fact this first vision was supposed to take place in February and when things still seemed very difficult instead today we are here, even if with a limited entry in the room and reduced for health safety measures. But the important thing is to come to the cinema, not so much to see my films, but because it is an irreplaceable format that can only be accompanied by streaming platforms. The two things can coexist, one must not exclude the other, perhaps it will be comfortable to stay at home on the sofa with the cover and popcorn, but the beauty of a film in the hall cannot be replicated. So let's hold on and hope to get back to the way we were two years ago!

We thank Pupi Oggiano and Antonio Tentori and we suggest you see Nel Ventre dell’enigma as soon as possible (and recover the first two films "The fear trembles against" and "Still a few steps"). In addition, we point out that you can also read the novelization of the same name of the film written by Gabriele Farina available on Amazon.