Venice: Veronesi's "God Laughs" Closes the Festival with a Comic Drama

The Venice Film Festival concludes tonight with the out-of-competition screening of "God Laughs," the new film by Giovanni Veronesi. The director, known for comedies, presents a dramatic work that has comedy as its theme, defining it as "a serious matter." Set in the 17th century and loosely inspired by real events, the film stars Pierfrancesco Favino as a joyful friar and Silvio Orlando as an inquisitor sent from Rome to suppress what is considered a dangerous heresy.

At the heart of the story, the clash between the two characters transforms into a confrontation that calls unshakable convictions into question. Veronesi explained that he was encouraged by the words of Pope Francis, who said, "You can even laugh at God, as long as you continue to love Him." The exceptional cast also includes Carlo Cecchi, in his final role, as Pope Innocent X, and Paolo Rossi.

Giovanni Veronesi is an Italian director and screenwriter best known for successful comedies. The decision to make a dramatic film about comedy represents a significant turning point in his career. The inspiration came two years ago, when Veronesi, describing himself as "secular, non-believing, and almost excommunicated," began to approach religious themes and the concept of a power based on faith with both fascination and terror, something he finds difficult to understand.

The film follows in the footsteps of the great Italian comedy and references works such as "The Name of the Rose." Veronesi admits that in "God Laughs," many echoes of current events resonate, with the intention of sending a message, especially to younger generations, about the importance of saying "no" to the impositions of power in any form. The choice to set the story in the seventeenth century, a period of strong conflicts between faith, science, and ecclesiastical authority, serves to explore these universal themes in a specific historical context, but with clear parallels to the present.