NEW YORK, NY Jan. 26 (DPI) – A small ($11 million budget) Italian comedy has raced out to become the highest grossing movie so far of 2016, and though early reviews aren’t great and it hasn’t reached the US yet, it’s likely to gain a following here, especially as its political themes resonate with US audiences this election year.
“Quo Vado” is a farce about an Italian government employee who clings to his public-sector job for its benefits and security, only to find there’s more to life than “his secure yet parasitic” existence:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quo_Vado%3F
Checco was born into a life of relative comfort and privilege among his peers in his small town in southern Italy. He is one of the lucky few to have a posto fisso, or guaranteed job as a public servant. When a new reformist government vows to cut down on bureaucracy, Checco is forced to accept ever-worsening public-sector postings in order to maintain his guaranteed pay, benefits, and lifetime employment. Dr. Sironi is a representative of the new government who is tasked with downsizing the public sector by offering buyouts to targeted government employees in exchange for their resignation (seeconstructive dismissal). She takes a special interest in Checco who eventually becomes the last holdout, choosing to masturbate polar bears at the Italian arctic research station rather than surrender his public employee status.
While on assignment at the north pole, Checco meets Valeria and falls in love. Valeria lives in Norway and introduces him to a whole new way of life. He becomes enchanted not just with Valeria, but also with her progressive, merit-based society. Ultimately Checco must choose between his secure yet parasitic place in Italy, or a new and uncertain life with Valeria.
As a Jan. 1 2016 release, “Quo Vado” isn’t competing with the latest Star Wars release, which hit theaters in December. Early reviews aren’t so hot though; one on IMDB called it “boring and repetitive”:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5290524/reviews?ref_=tt_ov_rt
The Hollywood trade press has already recognized that Quo Vado has taken in 70 million euros this month, primarily in Italy. And it’s likely to be a hit elsewhere, even in the US, where the problem of a bloated public sector – and its attendant political power – has become a growing issue.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/italy-box-office-local-hit-851830
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_films