Italy: Love it, or Leave it

Log-line

After their award winning documentary, Suddenly Last Winter, Luca and Gustav are back. This time they have to decide – should they stay in Italy, or leave it, like so many of their friends have done already. Looking at some defining Italian icons , they go on a emotional trip through Italy to look behind the clichés and to discover what’s left of the famous Italian way of life, confronting a glorious past, a shaky present and an uncertain future.

scene from loveitorleaveit on Vimeo.

from loveitorleaveit on Vimeo.

Synopsis

Luca and Gustav are a couple of Italians in their thirties who have witnessed a recent exodus of their friends to Berlin, Barcelona, New Zealand. Creative young people have been leaving in droves, frustrated by the politics, the lack of good jobs, the high cost of living and what seems like reactionary thinking. Gustav thinks of doing the same but Luca wants him to stay. But why should they stay after all?

To find out, they start a trip through their country, in an old FIAT 500. Luca is keen on convincing Gustav about the beauty of Italy, its history and - last but not least – Italy’s world famous pop-icons which he would miss badly if they left their homeland. Icons, which are an expression of the unique Italian way of life and which foreigners in particular still associate with the idea of Italy: Pizza, espresso, the Fiat 500, the Vespa, fashion, Cinecittà, Sophia Loren, the Latin Lover.

From his side Gustav wants to wake Luca up to some of the many difficulties their country is facing.

Little by little, the two Italians will explore the realities beyond the icons and deconstruct them. They will make a journey of discovery through a country that may well be very different from their respective expectations. Will they discover a country they can continue to love or after all, is the real Italy, which in 2011 celebrates its 150 anniversary, so diminished, that they’ll join their friends in exile?