The forbidden city, 10 curiosities about Gabriele Mainetti’s film

10 years after the sensational debut with They called him Jeeg Robot, Gabriele Mainetti catapult us The prohibited city: The new Kung Fu Multicultural Movie set in Caput Mundi. Written together with Stefano Bises and Davide Serino, the film follows the story of Mei (Yaxi Liu), a mysterious Chinese girl, expert in martial arts, who arrived at the Aquiline in search of the missing sister. Here he meets Marcello (Enrico Borello), a young cook determined to follow her for the Capitoline criminal undergrowth, between a showdown and two steam ravioli dishes.

After having electrocuted us with a borgata superhero and, subsequently, with a group of mutants in the Second World War (Freaks out), the 48 -year -old Capitoline director returns with Furore, staged an extraordinary Wuxia Lady in Piazza Vittorio. In addition to the two emerging stars, the cast boasts first level interpreters such as Sabrina Ferilli in the role of Lorena, Marcello’s mother, e Luca Zingaretti In Alfredo’s, the absent father who disappeared with his youngest lover leaving his family in the middle of the debts. Marco Giallini He gives face to Annibale, a small local offender, while Shanhan Chunyu is Mr. Wang, neighborhood boss and owner of the Chinese restaurant that gives the title to the film. Here, 10 curiosities about the spaghetti gongfu of the Culto director.

The prohibited city

The forbidden city was the Central Palace of Beijing which was the residence of the Chinese emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for almost 500 years, from the 15th century to 1912. Its name derives from the severe access restrictions imposed in the past. Today it is a UNESCO museum and site, open to visitors around the world. In Gabriele Mainetti’s film, he gives his name to the Chinese restaurant in the center of the plot. The title coincides with that of the 2006 Zhang Yimou period, The prohibited city.

From China with fury

The prohibited city He draws a lot of inspiration from the Kung Fu Movie of Bruce Lee, of which Mainetti was a fan since he was a boy, in particular Chen’s scream also terrifies the West.

Rome neorealist Rome

Mainetti’s cinema is deeply linked to the eternal city, with obvious neorealist influences: from the Tiber where Claudio Santamaria falls in They called him Jeeg Robot (recalling Beggar of Pasolini), to the capital occupied by the Nazis in Freaks out (Rome open city of Rossellini). In his latest film, the references to this iconic cultural movement are not lacking; see the more and more maternal ferilli, more and more Mom Rome.

The Revelation Yaxi Liu

The prohibited city

Yaxi Liu, the protagonist of the film The prohibited city.

Marco Provvionato / IPA-Agecy.net

Ready to leave for the land of the Dragon, looking for a revenge lady for her Roman Chinatown, Mainetti runs on a King of Instagram showing a Chinese girl who fought in a fluent and extraordinary way. His name is Yaxi Liu, 33 years old, profession stuntwoman. He studied martial arts since he was a child and got noticed as a stunting of Liu Yifei in the live action Disney of Mulan.

The Fight Coordinator by Tom Cruise

For the spectacular combat sequences, Mainetti has been entrusted to an exceptional Fight Coordinator, the Chinese talent Liang Yang who has already worked in Skyfall, Star Wars: the awakening of force And Mission: Impossible – Fallout.

Giallini to Kung Fu lessons

The prohibited city
Maurizio D’Avanzo / IPa-Agecy.net

To prepare for the role of Annibale, the legendary Marco Giallini underwent a rigorous training of Kung Fu, facing the challenge with great enthusiasm.

Who is Enrico Borello

The prohibited city

Enrico Borello and Yaxi Liu.

Maurizio D’Avanzo / IPa-Agecy.net

The Roman actor, graduated in psychiatric rehabilitation and originally from Santa Croce in Jerusalem, conquered the public by interpreting Gabriele Galetta, the beloved cousin of Rocco Siffredi in the Netflix series Supersex.

The Prince of Rome

In 2022, Borello played Giallini as a young man in the film The Prince of Rome.

The provisional title

The prohibited city

The director Gabriele Mainetti.

Marco Provvionato / IPA-Agecy.net

The temporary title of the film was Kung-Fu at the Amatriciana.

The budget of the movie

The overall budget of the film amounts to 16,882,672 euros, about five million more than the previous one Freaks out.

Source: Vanity Fair

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