The Illusion

Roberto Andò’s films have a strong yet distant relationship with Sicilian literature. Here, in addition to Luigi Pirandello and The Leopard, homage is paid to “Il quarantotto,” a short story by Leonardo Sciascia from which Toni Servillo’s opening lines are drawn (“I believe in honest Sicilians, who suffer and are consumed from within”). The political discourse remains in the background, as does the theme of failed revolution, though the disillusionment toward the Risorgimento emerges behind the twists and turns of the plot. The protagonists are two Sicilians who, for less-than-noble reasons, join Garibaldi’s volunteers to liberate Sicily from the Bourbons and immediately desert, then end up enlisted in a diversionary maneuver to feign a retreat and facilitate the Garibaldians’ entry into Palermo. The film unfolds a story that then becomes another and yet another, featuring a perfect Servillo and a captivating duo of comedians, Salvatore Ficarra and Valentino Picone.