Fausto Russo Alesi has become, especially in recent years, one of the pillars of Marco Bellocchio’s cinema. Actor and director mainly of theatre (winner of three Ubu awards), he made his debut for Bellocchio in 2009 with Vincere. Since then he has returned to the Piacenza-born director’s sets for five other films: Blood of my Blood, Sweet Dreams, The Traitor (as Giovanni Falcone), Esterno Notte (as Francesco Cossiga) and, this year, in Kidnapped where he plays Salomone Mortara.

“Fausto, what kind of man is Momolo to you?”

“So, for me, Momolo is, first of all, a man; beyond any historical, political and religious location. He’s a human being who finds himself living a tragedy, a dramatic, unjust, terrible, and, unfortunately, historically real experience. He was the victim of abuse because he was deprived of an essential human right: that of being able to raise his son as a father. Specifically, Momo Mortara, for what we know from the testimonies of the time and for how he returned it to contemporaneity in the movie by Marco Bellocchio, is a mild man. A reactive man who will try in every way to get his son back and who has fought throughout his life against this obsession relying, probably, on the deepest parts of his religious beliefs; but also on the peaceful weapons of dialogue, patience and prudence. In honour of something greater that is the son, Momolo is willing to do everything; even to compromise but not out of weakness, out of love. Indeed, then, he will not; he will not compromise but will nevertheless consider the possibility of setting aside any religious and political issue or foundation in honour of something greater than his love for his son. This is very moving, something that for me opens the door to the resolution of the conflict that is part of the Jewish creed. It’s something that moved me and I really believe in it. “

“What did you feel you had to give back to Momolo and how did you prepare for the role? You were talking, for example, about this Jewish belief… Is this something you are aware of or have you worked in a particular way with the Jewish Community of Rome?”

“I prepared myself by studying the Mortara case. I was aware of other cases like that that happened at that time but I didn’t know the Mortara case specifically so I researched their history. For me, the encounter with the script is always fundamental because it is the basis on which to build everything: the cut and the choices made within it. Obviously, this is also essential in the relationship with a master, director and wonderful artist like Marco Bellocchio who every time puts us in a position to relate to strong themes; themes that he addresses in his films in a way that is as open as possible; trying to dig into the meshes, contradictions and complexity of human beings, but also trying to inhabit the most mysterious and most suspended areas, those in which the human being is faced with great questions and great sorrows in which the possibilities of reaction are many. This is a fundamental aspect of our way of being inside the film. Then there was a whole preparation with the Jewish community. We were followed by a consultant who was always with us; this was necessary in the meantime to know a culture that is not ours and then to try to return all those rituals and those moments of daily life that there are in the film and that needed to be shown. We were guided by the various Jewish communities: that of Turin, Bologna, Milan and, of course, Rome because it was necessary to try as much as possible to return what the script and this story required. Of course, then, as to say, the issues we are talking about are certainly complex. Kidnapped is a film that brings out the complexity of religious and political issues, but we must not forget that there are people behind it. What we tried to do was get to the human heart. Marco Bellocchio immediately directed me towards a clear line in the film. Each character tells a part of the story. There has been a long period of preparation with Barbara Ronchi playing my wife and with “our children” in trying to rebuild the intimacy of this family.”

“In an interview, you said that you really like to dialogue with your characters to understand their university and to make them alive. What did you and Momolo say to each other when you met?”

“When Momolo and I met, we said that a tragic story that puts you in a state of weakness can happen to everyone, so you have to try as much as possible to put yourself in the shoes of others just when you are in another position. Then we said that the identity of each person is fundamental because there is rooted your history, your roots, your daily life, what supports you; but also your gaze towards the future, your hopes for tomorrow. We must therefore be able to confront each other without ever putting ourselves in a situation of power over the other, have the respect to always be on equal terms, try to understand and respect each other in differences, this is fundamental.”

“Kidnapped is a story set in Italy that has however aroused interest and international involvement because those told are issues that do not know borders and barriers. What do you think is the university aspect of this story nowadays? Do you think we are still at the mercy of certain temporal, spiritual, political powers that can make it present? What is there, in your opinion, about modern society within the film? “

“In my opinion, the need for power is rooted within the human being. The need for power is not something that is linked to the past, it is something that is part of us, it is something that dwells in us and that surrounds us. History is absolutely universal and resounds in the present because human beings, although it is no longer 1858, especially from a religious point of view, tend to repeat the same mistakes, and is still a slave of the need to prevail over the other. Kidnapped moves in the complexity of this, of the conflicts between human beings. I believe that a film, if it can move and excite, happened to me as a spectator, then it is a film that has the power, through truly extraordinary scenes by Marco Bellocchio, to be able to be the engine of an idea of possibility of dialogue. I think, for example, of that beautiful scene of Christ coming down from the Cross. I think it is a film that should go beyond the borders of Italy and meet the whole world. In fact, as we said before, this story aroused international interest. Everyone moved in favor of this injustice. A small case that concerns a family; but at the same time manages to go and tell a universal condition. This is what Marco Bellocchio can do: from a case that concerns a family he can tell a universal passion.”

“We said before that working with Master Bellocchio means working on strong themes that put the actor, but also the director himself, in question. Do you think that this is the basis of his association with some actors, for example with you, with his son Pier Giorgio, with Paolo Pierobon, with Barbara Ronchi,… What can you tell me about this experience that now lasts from different films with Bellocchio?”

“I always feel very lucky to be involved in his projects, in his works. For me, it is always an honour. I believe that Marco Bellocchio is a director who loves depth and therefore the possibility, when you can find a common ground for dialogue to deepen film after film, to also be able to work within a film family. The history of Bellocchio’s cinematography has always moved in this direction, so for me it is an absolutely unique way of working, in the meantime for the great artist he is, but also for the great freedom he has in dealing with cinema. And this freedom is a freedom that also dwells in the relationship with the actor. It’s beautiful to feel followed inside the film by Marco Bellocchio in this secret and mysterious dialogue that often passes through a few words but that, thanks to a unique understanding, tries to orient itself in a millimeter way within the great world that he can reconstruct. I’m really grateful that I have the opportunity to face rich, complex, and diverse characters, to make me the bearer of something that resonates in our present and I am happy to have made a great journey with Simone Gattoni and Kavac Film and with Beppe Caschetto and IBC Movie “

“In these months you have worked a lot with Kidnapped, in the sense that you started from Cannes and then recently you also brought him to Bobbio and now even overseas. Was there a particular encounter with the audience, something that particularly impressed you?”

“It was a really amazing promotion. It was wonderful to be there because I think it is fundamental, today more than ever, to follow the films and be able to talk about them. It is a way to continue to inhabit the film and give it a life that is born just from the way it is received, from the reactions that it makes spring in the viewer. When a spectator reads to you something you may not have thought of, he makes you go even deeper into the work you have done and leads you to something else. The meetings with the Jewish communities were wonderful, they were very heartfelt evenings. We were very excited to see how much passion and dedication Marco Bellocchio has done and continues to do“.

“You were awarded with The Starlight Award for Best Actor in Venice. Did you expect this recognition?”

“Let’s say it’s a very rich year. A year that started with Esterno Notte, from the nominations that were very exciting for me and then there were these awards that arrived unexpectedly: first the prize at the Lamezia Film Festival, then the prize at the Ischia Festival, the Starlight in Venzia and, a few days ago, the Premio Ritratti di Territorio. They were awards that moved me, so different from each other. Behind an award there is always someone who thought of you, who looked at you, who worked to be able to reward you; there is the work that is recognized. It is, therefore, a great emotion and all this I certainly owe to the small steps, the small big steps made throughout my artistic path but, I owe it in particular to Marco Bellocchio and to these three great gifts that he made me: Falcone, Cossiga and Momolo. I was very happy to receive these awards, some even in difficult places where it takes a lot of passion and dedication to be able to come to life, and if it happens it is only thanks to the authenticity of the people. I am therefore honoured to have received them.”

“You told Sky about great meetings that are fundamental to your evolution. Do you think it was more meetings with colleagues and directors or those with the characters that made you evolve?”

“Both. And I also add life and, in particular, human relationships; but also cinema, theatre, literature. What I am is part of the meetings I’ve had. The great encounters in my career have made me what I am today, both with colleagues and with characters. I have learned a lot from colleagues, artists and directors like Serena Sinigaglia, and from the great Masters in theatre like Luca Ronconi and Marco Bellocchio to whom I really owe a lot. We are evolving beings, so I believe a lot in encounters that last over time because of the desire to cultivate that relationship.”

“What will remain with you of your journey with Momolo?”

“Surely there are important issues that serve, in my opinion, to accompany us in our daily lives. Without any doubt, confronting our choices, our free will, our remaining responsible for our freedom and being able to pursue it in spite of everything. I think this is a great teaching. I recognize in every film that I have made with Marco Bellocchio a great authenticity, a great sincerity, honesty and clarity of intent inside an artistic container that is also impregnable in its grandeur.”

“About your work with Bellocchio, is there a character who was a real challenge for you?

“With Marco Bellocchio, the bar is always very high and the themes are always very strong and you have to relate to them. All the characters have the peculiarity of being characters that really exist. Momolo no, but Falcone and Cossiga are characters who are in our imagination so, in that case, the challenge is to be able to return those fundamental characteristics recognizable to the public but, at the same time, be able to get rid of this and to go beyond the role that these characters have played; go beyond the public dimension and enter the most intimate and private dimension and give something: a point of view, or a look, of colors, sensations, emotions new to the character. All this is necessary not because there is a need for novelty; but simply because they are characters who are emblematic, who are symbolic, metaphorical and therefore must be re-interpreted and, by doing this, it keeps alive what they had important to tell us or what to start from. As for Momolo, however, it is not a character that is part of our historical meoria but it is all that the Jewish people suffered therefore, the possibility that a film makes you want to go deeper or to know something that maybe you knew less, becomes fundamental. With this I also talk about the encounter with the new generations that I consider very important. Each character was a real possibility of growth. Each time it was a different challenge and it is right that it should be so. There comes a time when you surprise yourself in roles and suddenly find something you didn’t know and didn’t expect, feeling completely unarmed and powerless in the face of what is happening there, I think this is what these characters taught me, as did the relationship with Marco Bellocchio: surrender and disappear into that role.”

“In Venice, I was struck by the moment when, in an interview, you said that, perhaps because they studied at school, you had difficulty convincing your older daughter to see The Traitor. This made me think about how, in fact, the new generations with whom I work, are tied to what we also bring to the cinema in the classrooms and how they have an image of some historical characters from which they do not want to depart…”

“Yes, definitely. I believe that in this sense the involvement of the public can serve and here we return to ourselves, to the meeting with the public and to what you say about bringing the cinema and the theatre into schools thus bringing the stories and then the artists who interpret them. I believe that this is a very concrete way to meet the new generations; but, above all, to solicit what is their interest and need to know. It’s in these meetings that come the most unsettling questions. It happened to me with my youngest son watching the trailer for Kidnapped or an interview with Marco Bellocchio. Questions come up that are so surprising that we realize that their curiosity is something that needs to be cultivated. This possibility to work on what turns on instead of standing on a general drowsiness. Try to ignite the new flame of discussion with another generation, especially in moments of life when we are, in fact, more culturally fertile.”

Kidnapped, out now in cinemas