Alessandro Borghi stars in Italian western 'Testa o croce?' at Cannes

Directors Matteo Zoppis and Alessio De Righi presented their new film 'Testa o croce?' at the Cannes Film Festival, following their earlier work 'Re Granchio' which was selected by the Quinzaine des Cinéastes. The film is a western thriller set in early 20th-century Rome, structured in four chapters. John C. Reilly plays Buffalo Bill, while Nadia Tereszkiewicz portrays Rosa, an unhappy wife of a local lord, and Alessandro Borghi plays Santino, a herdsman who betrays his master. The two characters flee together, fall in love, and face various obstacles. The directors describe the film as starting from a classic western, passing through a mystified representation of Buffalo Bill stories brought to Italy, and evolving into a revisionist western, anti-western, and almost surreal tale. Borghi describes his character Santino as a man who only knows how to ride a horse, lacks emotional and physical skills, and is driven by fragility. Tereszkiewicz notes that her role was an emotional journey, starting with precise line learning and ending with improvisation in Italian, praising Borghi's generosity. The film has divided critics at Cannes but generated curiosity and debate about young, conscious cinema. It will be distributed in Italy by 01 Distribution, with no official release date yet.