Michele Placido's 'L'ombra di Caravaggio' Hits Italian Theaters

Michele Placido's film 'L'ombra di Caravaggio' (The Shadow of Caravaggio) premiered in Italian cinemas on November 3, 2022, distributed by 01 Distribution. The film, which Placido conceived 53 years ago after writing a theatrical text where Caravaggio meets Giordano Bruno, was developed five years ago with screenwriter Sandro Petraglia. Placido portrays Caravaggio as a provincial and revolutionary artist obsessed with depicting truth, who frequented prostitutes and criminals rather than high society. The director draws parallels between Caravaggio and Pier Paolo Pasolini, noting that art critic Roberto Longhi—who organized a major Caravaggio exhibition in Milan in 1951 and considered the painter contemporary—was Pasolini's teacher. The film follows Caravaggio's flight to Naples after a death sentence for killing a rival in a duel, while Pope Paul V dispatches a secret agent called 'l'Ombra' (the Shadow) to investigate whether to grant him a pardon. Riccardo Scamarcio stars as Caravaggio, with Isabelle Huppert as Costanza Colonna, a noblewoman who protected the artist, and Louis Garrel as the fictional Shadow. Huppert described Caravaggio as a borderline rock star akin to Kurt Cobain or Jim Morrison, while Garrel modeled his character on Elvis Presley. The narrative emphasizes Caravaggio's use of street people as models for biblical scenes, described as 'neorealism ante litteram.'