VENICE 2021: Django & Django
VENICELuca Rea's documentary Django & Django is a wonderfully tender celebration and informative documentation on the cinema of Sergio Corbucci – dubbed the second-best Italian director of spaghetti westerns – with an impassioned narration throughout from fan and filmmaker Quentin Tarantino.
The love and passion within this documentary are clearly on show. Director Luca Rea incorporates two matters of footage to intertwine a narrative: one is primarily with director and pseudo narrator Tarantino and the other footage of Corbucci and his cinema, with the latter spliced into interviews and additional footage behind the scenes. The narrative splices work well, and the fluidity of the piece craft an immersive and entertaining experience. Tarantino's passion is verbally on display and an element that, in hindsight, crafts said immersion at its highest applicable output. Again, the passion and enthusiasm is infectious and detailing the work of Corbucci becomes intoxicating.
If it is not Tarantino discussing in detail his use and influence of Corbucci in his latest feature Once Upon a time in…Hollywood or directing contemporaries Ruggero Deodato detailing stories of Corbucci’s craft and influence, then there is the acting icons under his wing with Franco Nero detailing working experiences within their collaborations. The amount of detail that is delivered from a whole host of influencers and direct working relationships adds brilliant insight but depth into the character and mind of this mad genius.
The other material present of behind the scenes work is effective, albeit on the shorter side but understandable considering the era in which these films were created. The interviews with the filmmaker Corbucci himself, if not on televised platforms or one on one, are consistently interesting to hear the director detail his thoughts on feeling. Alas, it does get to the point in which his work is far too contextualised by others rather than footage having Corbucci document it himself. However, the narrative angle of this documentary to praise and highlight the incredible work from Corbucci again would put such a point into context.
If anything, when it is all said and done in Django & Django, Rea's feature feels as if it could go on forever, and the viewer would still find the material ever so interesting and endearing. Rea's film is an absolute breeze to watch at a tight running time of just under eighty minutes, crafting an intimate, accessible, and entertaining documentary that should be watched by all western Italian fans and, most importantly, fans of Sergio Corbucci, who is finally given the plaudits he deserves.
