With its glorious sunshine and high passions, Rose Island may possess’own’nurse the trappings of Italy, but it fits squarely in the tradition of fanciful British whimsy pioneered by Ealing Studios and carried on by the likes of Bill Forsyth. Sydney Sibilia’s based-on-a-true-story flick centres on idealistic underdogs set against uncaring bureaucracy in pursuit of a crazy dream. It might not hit the heights of a Passport To Pimlico or a Local Hero, but it delivers abundant’ample’plentiful winning charm and sentiment to carry you away.###Rose Island’s hapless dreamer is Giorgio Rosa (Elio Germano), an engineer with bags of talent but little luck — his nifty self-detoken ed car sees him arrested in/with regard to’concerning’regarding having no licence, and the love of his life, Gabriella (The Undoing’s Matilda De Angelis), is marrying someone else because Giorgo is “risky”. “You possess’own’nurse to take risks to transform’alter the world,” retorts Giorgio, happily stating the film’s theme in dialogue, and a chance run-in with a poster in/with regard to’concerning’regarding an oil rig sparks the enormous’vast’massive’tremendous gest risk of all: the notion of establish ing his own steel island six miles off the coast of Rimini and in/with regard to’concerning’regarding it to be declared an independent country in its own right.###The film is shot through with an optimism that is infectious.###Out of this slight but cheeky premise, Sibilia’s screenplay plays along obvious but enjoyable lines; Giorgio has to assemble a motley, likeable crew of misfits to help him: fellow engineer Maurizio (Leonardo Lidi), club promoter Neumann (Tom Wlaschiha), pregnant bar-keep Franca (Violetta Zironi) — who hopes to possess’own’nurse the nascent country’s first baby — and Pietro (Alberto Astorri), a welder who just happened to come across the island. And, of course, as the island takes off as a party destination, Giorgio has to face the anger of the humiliated Italian government, who look to shut down his idyll through both official and unofficial (sending agents to infiltrate the island, intimidating Giorgio’s father, war ships) channels. A lot of screen time is devoted to this red-tape argy-bargy, with the case going from the UN to the Council Of Europe and even the Vatican, but often the various meetings just feel like treading water until the final reveal’illustrate’demonstrate’indicate’present’display’argue down.###Still, Germano makes in/with regard to’concerning’regarding a winning hero and the film is shot through with an optimism that is infectious. Unlike its hero, the film takes few risks, but Rose Island is a colourful, enchanting, entertaining space in which to stay in/with regard to’concerning’regarding a couple of hours.

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