Fasting in Italian

The fact that the discussion about integration, adaptation and prejudice does not always have to be conducted in an aggressive tone and with anger or even hatred in the belly, but can also be approached humorously, is extremely entertainingly demonstrated with the French comedy "Fasting in Italian".

"Sch`tis"-star Kad Merad plays the successful car dealer Dino Fabrizzi, who is loved by his boss, by his customers and by his girlfriend. What nobody suspects: Dino has a big secret. His real name is Mourad Ben Saoud and he is an Arab. To his family in Marseille, on the other hand, he pretends to have made a career in Italy on a grand scale. Only his sister knows the truth. But when his father collapses with a heart attack shortly before Ramadan and the doctors forbid him to observe the fasting period prescribed by his faith, Mourad alias Dino finds himself in serious trouble. He has to promise his sick father that he will observe Ramadan in his place. And that is difficult to reconcile with his "italian" lifestyle. And so it's only a matter of time before his painstakingly built facade begins to crumble...

Director Olivier Baroux has a long friendship with Kad Merad. As a comedy duo, the two made a career for themselves on radio and television before pursuing independent careers in cinema. Now they are working together again in "Fasting in Italian", Merad in front of the camera and Baroux behind it. The fact that the two are a well-rehearsed team is clearly evident in the film, as the timing of the jokes is perfect.

But what makes the film particularly successful is its amusing, yet not trivializing, treatment of a rather serious subject. After all, Mourad pretends to be Italian because as an Arab he has to fear prejudice and hostility. At the same time, however, the film also shows that integration doesn't work if people only stay in their own microcosm in a foreign country and don't approach each other. And this is precisely the point at which integration fails in many cases: success is not guaranteed by unilateral efforts, but must come from both sides. But Mourad's behaviour also suggests that the fears he has of his colleagues or even his girlfriend are no less terrible racist prejudices. It is very pleasant that the makers just do not limit themselves to one-sided blame, make the poor Arab the victim of everyday racism, but show that he is trying to function in a society that is determined on all sides by prejudices - even if they are only those that do not actually exist.

It's a real art that while this film is thought-provoking, it still leaves the viewer with a smile on their face and slightly cramped, because overused, laugh muscles. Here, said prejudices are slightly exaggerated and thus given to their actual ridiculousness, without making fun of the protagonists themselves and their quite realistic problems. This makes "Fasting in Italian" not only a good, but also an intelligent comedy and perhaps even one of the most worthwhile contributions to the integration issue par excellence. Finally, no melancholy consternation cinema, but really nice good mood cinema with an important message - and therefore absolutely worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp