Pink buttons.

‘Diamanti’[1], by Ferzan Özpetek [2].

How much could have worked a man who gets to sanction his father mistake so civilly, lucidly, inexorably ?

Work immediately presents not so easy, not comforting paths : but only work can offer concluding goals, and not to expose to madness however decorated. Özpetek lands on directing not without having fought and been wounded : but he reaches the finish line of his very recent ‘Diamanti’ with a feeling of commotion, without victorious emphasis. The old costume designer lady admits well the real mistake of her life in having trusted - or not - on istinct: simply because istinct doesn’t exist, the character realized it too late, but with an unsuspected recovery and with no foregone conclusions. Nothing human can free oneself from a judgement on the reality offered, inevitable like a date.

Alberta - right she – as an icy, talented co-owner of an excellent small Haute Couture tailoring workshop, knows how to carry the relay to the finish line high, careful as she is described in recognizing, clearly and without deviations, the appointments of life even when these are not easy, nor reassuring.

And “Pink buttons…!” remains the most controversial line of the film, but disentanglable for anyone who gets to work on it: absolutely not a warning, nor a threat.

Marina Bilotta Membretti / Cernusco sul Naviglio – February 4, 2025

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[1] ‘Diamanti’ (2024), subject and direction by Ferzan Özpetek. Among the interpreters : Stefano Accorsi, Luca Barbarossa, Geppi Cucciari, Anna Ferzetti, Milena Mancini, Vinicio Marchioni, Paola Minaccioni, Luisa Ranieri, Carmine Recano, Elena Sofia Ricci, Lunetta Savino, Vanessa Scalera, Jasmine Trinca, Mara Venier, Milena Vukotic.

[2] Ferzan Özpetek (Istanbul, 1959) moved to Rome, not without disagreements with his father, getting to graduate in  ‘Storia del Cinema’ at ‘Sapienza’ University while attending the courses of Direction at the ‘Accademia Nazionale d’Arte Drammatica’ and the courses of ‘Storia dell’Arte e del Costume’ at the ‘Accademia di Costume e di Moda’ and also beginning to work in theatre. He started in cinema as an assistant director with ‘Scusate il ritardo’ (1983): then director he himself in ‘Hamam’ (1997), ‘Harem Suare’ (1999), ‘Le fate ignoranti’ (2000), ‘La finestra di fronte’ (2003), ‘Un giorno perfetto’ (2008), ‘Mine vaganti’ (2010), ‘Allacciate le cinture’ (2014), ‘Rosso Istanbul’ (2017) and in other films unti ‘Diamanti’ (2024), for many of which he received recognition from public and critics : he is also author of the subject in most of his work. He directed lirics works too, for events like ‘Maggio Fiorentino’, and for the ‘San Carlo’ theater in Naples.