Marrakech Express
Encyclopedia
Marrakech Express is a 1989 Italian film directed by Gabriele Salvatores
and starring Diego Abatantuono
, Fabrizio Bentivoglio
, Cristina Marsillach
, Giuseppe Cederna, and Gigio Alberti. A classical road movie
, it was the first installment of Salvatores' trilogia della fuga ("escape trilogy"), followed by On Tour (1990) and the Academy Award
winning Mediterraneo (1991). The cast of the three movies is partly the same; most notably, Diego Abatantuono has a leading role in all of them.
The plot revolves around a group of ex-high school friends that reunite in their 30s for a long journey together, and has been compared to Lawrence Kasdan
's The Big Chill
and Kevin Reynolds' Fandango
. The soundtrack, that contributes to the nostalgic atmosphere of the movie, features original songs by blues guitarist and songwriter Roberto Ciotti as well as Italian evergreens from the 1970s such as L' anno che verrà by Lucio Dalla
and La leva calcistica del ‘68 by Francesco De Gregori
.
The screenplay was nominated for Premio Solinas.
(for possession of hashish
), and has sent her over to his old friends to collect the 30 millions lire
that are needed to bribe a judge and return him to freedom. Marco brings together two more members of the old company, Maurizio Ponchia (Abatantuono) and Paolino (Cederna), and they eventually resolve to bring the money to Rudy in Morocco. Ponchia, who is a used car dealer, provides a Mercedes offroad car for the journey. Along the way, they also go and get Cedro, a fourth friend, who has since chosen to live in isolation somewhere on the Alps
(inspired by the reading of Kerouac
's Desolation Angels
). Marco, Ponchia, Paolino, Cedro, and Teresa thus begin their journey through France and Spain and across the Strait of Gibraltar
to Marrakech
.
Once in Marrakech, the four men are shown around by Teresa while they are supposedly waiting for Rudy to get out of jail to meet him. Amongst other things, they experience a turkish bath and have themselves a tattoo
. Meanwhile, Teresa has disappeared, and much to their dismay, they realize the money and the car are gone, too. At the time due for Rudy's coming out of jail, another Italian comes out, Salvatore (Ugo Conti) who knows nothing about Rudy or Teresa, but helps them find out the truth, that Rudy was never jailed, and actually lives in an oasis in the desert.
The friends resolve to go look for Rudy, Teresa, and their money. Having lost their car, they have to adapt to travelling on a local bus and then by bike. As they try to cross the desert towards Rudy's oasis, fatigue and dehydration eventually knocks them off, but they are timely saved by Rudy himself who brings them to his place. Rudy reveals them that he needed the 30 millions to install a drill and start an orange plantation. After a first reaction of anger, the friends enjoy themselves participating in the installation and first activation of the drill, which also marks the end of their journey, and the time to go back to reality.
On their way back, the four friends mention reuniting the group somehow (more specifically, reuniting the futsal
team); but along the way their enthusiasm fades away as they realize that these plans aren't realistic. The group finally disbands as Cedro and Paolino choose to stop over at Cedro's place in the Alps, and Marco and Ponchia drive back home alone.
Gabriele Salvatores
Gabriele Salvatores , is an Italian Academy Award-winning film director and screenwriter.-Biography:Born in Naples, Salvatores debuted as a theatre director in 1972, founding in Milan the Teatro dell'Elfo, for which he directed several avant-garde pieces until 1989.In that year, he directed his...
and starring Diego Abatantuono
Diego Abatantuono
Diego Abatantuono is an Italian cinema and theatre actor, as well screenwriter.-Biography and career:Abatantuono was born in a popular quarter of the city to a father of Pugliese origin and a mother from Como...
, Fabrizio Bentivoglio
Fabrizio Bentivoglio
Fabrizio Bentivoglio is an Italian cinema and theatre actor and a screenwriter.Fabrizio Bentivoglio was born in Milan . After only one season in the juvenile team of Inter,...
, Cristina Marsillach
Cristina Marsillach
Cristina Marsillach is a Spanish actress.She was born in Madrid and is the daughter of Adolfo Marsillach and sister of Blanca Marsillach, also a Spanish actress....
, Giuseppe Cederna, and Gigio Alberti. A classical road movie
Road movie
A road movie is a film genre in which the main character or characters leave home to travel from place to place. They usually leave home to escape their current lives.-History:...
, it was the first installment of Salvatores' trilogia della fuga ("escape trilogy"), followed by On Tour (1990) and the Academy Award
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
winning Mediterraneo (1991). The cast of the three movies is partly the same; most notably, Diego Abatantuono has a leading role in all of them.
The plot revolves around a group of ex-high school friends that reunite in their 30s for a long journey together, and has been compared to Lawrence Kasdan
Lawrence Kasdan
Lawrence Edward "Larry" Kasdan is an American film producer, director and screenwriter.-Life and career:Kasdan was born in Miami, Florida, the son of Sylvia Sarah , an employment counselor, and Clarence Norman Kasdan, who managed retail electronics stores.His Brother is the writer/producer Mark...
's The Big Chill
The Big Chill (film)
The Big Chill is a 1983 American comedy-drama film directed by Lawrence Kasdan, starring Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Mary Kay Place, Meg Tilly, and JoBeth Williams. It is about a group of baby boomer college friends who reunite briefly after 15 years due to...
and Kevin Reynolds' Fandango
Fandango (1985 film)
Fandango is a 1985 American film directed by Kevin Reynolds.It was originally a 30-minute black and white student film titled "Proof" made by Reynolds while he was attending USC film school. It was a parody of Greek life at his alma mater Baylor University...
. The soundtrack, that contributes to the nostalgic atmosphere of the movie, features original songs by blues guitarist and songwriter Roberto Ciotti as well as Italian evergreens from the 1970s such as L
Lucio Dalla
Lucio Dalla is a popular Italian singer-songwriter and musician. He also plays clarinet and keyboards.He is the composer of Caruso , which has been covered by numerous international artists...
and La leva calcistica del ‘68 by Francesco De Gregori
Francesco De Gregori
Francesco De Gregori is an Italian singer-songwriter. He is popularly known as "Il Principe Poeta" , a nickname referring to the elegance of his lyrics.-1970s:...
.
The screenplay was nominated for Premio Solinas.
Plot
Marco (Bentivoglio) is visited at home by a girl named Teresa (Marsillach) who claims to be the girlfriend of Rudy (Massimo Venturiello), an old college friend of Marco's; she also claims that Rudy is in jail in MoroccoMorocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
(for possession of hashish
Hashish
Hashish is a cannabis preparation composed of compressed stalked resin glands, called trichomes, collected from the unfertilized buds of the cannabis plant. It contains the same active ingredients but in higher concentrations than unsifted buds or leaves...
), and has sent her over to his old friends to collect the 30 millions lire
Italian lira
The lira was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. Between 1999 and 2002, the Italian lira was officially a “national subunit” of the euro...
that are needed to bribe a judge and return him to freedom. Marco brings together two more members of the old company, Maurizio Ponchia (Abatantuono) and Paolino (Cederna), and they eventually resolve to bring the money to Rudy in Morocco. Ponchia, who is a used car dealer, provides a Mercedes offroad car for the journey. Along the way, they also go and get Cedro, a fourth friend, who has since chosen to live in isolation somewhere on the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
(inspired by the reading of Kerouac
Jack Kerouac
Jean-Louis "Jack" Lebris de Kerouac was an American novelist and poet. He is considered a literary iconoclast and, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac is recognized for his spontaneous method of writing, covering topics such as Catholic...
's Desolation Angels
Desolation Angels (novel)
Desolation Angels, published in 1965, yet written years earlier around the time On the Road was in the process of publication, is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Beat Generation author Jack Kerouac, which makes up part of his Duluoz Legend...
). Marco, Ponchia, Paolino, Cedro, and Teresa thus begin their journey through France and Spain and across the Strait of Gibraltar
Strait of Gibraltar
The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Spain in Europe from Morocco in Africa. The name comes from Gibraltar, which in turn originates from the Arabic Jebel Tariq , albeit the Arab name for the Strait is Bab el-Zakat or...
to Marrakech
Marrakech
Marrakech or Marrakesh , known as the "Ochre city", is the most important former imperial city in Morocco's history...
.
Once in Marrakech, the four men are shown around by Teresa while they are supposedly waiting for Rudy to get out of jail to meet him. Amongst other things, they experience a turkish bath and have themselves a tattoo
Tattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
. Meanwhile, Teresa has disappeared, and much to their dismay, they realize the money and the car are gone, too. At the time due for Rudy's coming out of jail, another Italian comes out, Salvatore (Ugo Conti) who knows nothing about Rudy or Teresa, but helps them find out the truth, that Rudy was never jailed, and actually lives in an oasis in the desert.
The friends resolve to go look for Rudy, Teresa, and their money. Having lost their car, they have to adapt to travelling on a local bus and then by bike. As they try to cross the desert towards Rudy's oasis, fatigue and dehydration eventually knocks them off, but they are timely saved by Rudy himself who brings them to his place. Rudy reveals them that he needed the 30 millions to install a drill and start an orange plantation. After a first reaction of anger, the friends enjoy themselves participating in the installation and first activation of the drill, which also marks the end of their journey, and the time to go back to reality.
On their way back, the four friends mention reuniting the group somehow (more specifically, reuniting the futsal
Futsal
Futsal is a variant of association football that is played on a smaller pitch and mainly played indoors. Its name is a portmanteau of the Portuguese futebol de salão and the Spanish fútbol de salón , which can be translated as "hall football" or "indoor football"...
team); but along the way their enthusiasm fades away as they realize that these plans aren't realistic. The group finally disbands as Cedro and Paolino choose to stop over at Cedro's place in the Alps, and Marco and Ponchia drive back home alone.