As our second official club meeting of the semester, the Italian American Association here at Bryant University hosted an event to view the Italian film Tutti Contro Tutti, which can be translated into English as Everyone Against Everyone. While, for once, technology was on our side and we did not have any difficulties showing the film, the characters in Tutti Contro Tutti seemed to find much difficulty among
one another.
Tutti Contro Tutti follows the story of a family living in a rented apartment building on the outskirts of Rome. Agostino, the main character and father in this family, lives with his wife Anna, their two children Erica and Lorenzo, and the grandfather Rocco. One day, while the family is out attending Lorenzo's First Communion, the Rizzuti family moves into their apartment. When Agostino and his family return, they are shocked to discover that they no longer have a place to live, and that all of their things were left for them in the hallway.
Agostino immediately reports to the police about his problem, only to find out that the landlord he has been paying each month does not actually own the apartment building. Even worse, Agostino does not have a contract to show for his apartment lease, and therefore has no right to living in the apartment. After spending a night with his in-laws Romana and Sergio, Agostino decides he is determined to get their apartment back.
The next day, Agostino and his family set up their belongings outside of their apartment in the hallway, serving as an example to all of the other tenants that the very same thing could happen to them. As Agostino and the Rizzuti family continue to battle for the apartment each day, Lorenzo begins to fall behind in school, Anna is losing sleep and under-performing at work, and Erica is getting teased by her boyfriend and others at school. As if everything else is not already falling apart, Agostino loses his job renovating a villa.
Anna, who is sick of waiting for Agostino to find a new home, takes the children and returns to stay at Romana and Sergio's home. Rocco and Agostino do not give up on getting back the apartment. They discover that their supposed landlord has set fire to a camp of homeless gypsies, leading to the unjust death of one person. Agostino then confronts the landlord, and, in addition to a confession by the landlord's son, he is arrested for this crime.
After some time away from home, Anna begins to miss having her family all under one roof and returns to Agostino ready to give up on finding a new apartment. Agostino and his family partner with the other families in the building to devise a plan to get the Rizzuti family out of the apartment. The group is successful in taking back the apartment from the Rizzuti family, with Sergio finding himself alone in the apartment. He then informs Agostino through the door that he will be occupying the apartment from now on because Romana is expecting another child and their current apartment is too small. Agostino is then left to live in Romana and Sergio's old apartment.
Once the film was over, our IAA E-board led a discussion explaining some background information about realities in Italy today and through asking a series of questions to the attendees. We emphasized how it is important to always have a contract as proof of any deal or exchange, as well as how many people in Italy today experience this very situation of home loss. Some of the viewers felt that the film demonstrated the state of desperation that Agostino endured while trying to get the apartment back for his family. Others felt that
Tutti Contro Tutti exemplified how important a home is to a family, and how it acts as more than just a place to live.
Thank you to everybody that helped make this film event a success; we look forward to our next IAA film event!
