Director Rosi Shines a Spotlight on Unconventional Lives

The GRA, a ring road approximately 70 kilometers long, encircles the vast metropolis of Rome. 'Sacro GRA' shines a spotlight on the lives of the slightly eccentric, yet earnest, people who live around this vital artery. The film, lauded at the Venice Film Festival, is now set for its Japanese release.



Inspired by Italo Calvino's fantastical novel 'Invisible Cities,' a masterpiece of modern Italian literature, this film takes its cue from the story of Marco Polo recounting tales of 55 wondrous cities to Kublai Khan. By focusing on the nameless, ordinary people of Rome and capturing fragments of their lives, the film transcends the boundaries of documentary to become an ambitious work.

This exceptional film is the creation of Gianfranco Rosi, a director known for his acclaimed documentaries, including 'El sicario - Room 164' (original title), an interview with a former cartel assassin in Mexico, which earned him the International Critics' Award at the Venice Film Festival. Rosi has crafted a mosaic-like work, tracing the GRA ring road through the fragments of his subjects' lives.

Lovable Lives Flourish Around the GRA Ring Road

The GRA ring road, with its 160,000 vehicles passing daily, encircles the great city of Rome. Beyond the highway, a world of beloved individuals unfolds, their lives unknown to the passing travelers.



A botanist dedicated to studying the world of 'sound' within trees. A fallen aristocrat living a fabricated existence, masquerading as a bourgeois. An elderly gentleman and his daughter, living aimlessly and chatting in an incongruously modern building. An ambulance paramedic who performs life-saving rescues at accident scenes nightly, while also caring for his aging mother. An eel fisherman, upholding tradition but lamenting the lack of successors.

These individuals live earnestly, unseen by the spotlight. Peering into their lives reveals joy, anger, sorrow, and dreams. —The "stories," imbued with poetic charm despite their documentary nature, present us with a new style of documentary filmmaking.



'Sacro GRA'
Opens Saturday, August 16th, at Human Trust Cinema Yurakucho and other theaters nationwide.
Director, Cinematography, Sound | Gianfranco Rosi
Distribution | Synca
2013 | Italy, France | 93 min
http://www.roma-movie.com

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