Gerardo Scala

Thus Spoke Bellavista

In Naples, Professor Bellavista is a retired man, passionate about the philosophy and thought of Ancient Greece. Every day, in his luxurious apartment, he teaches his lessons of life to the poor-nothing (his friends), who are dazzled by his reasoning. One day, however, the quiet life of the building of Bellavista will be disturbed by the arrival of a director of Milan. Between Naples and Milan there contrast, because the Neapolitans are accustomed to enjoy a quiet life, always based on the "philosophy of pleasure and delay", while the northern Italians are very strict and punctual.

32nd of December

Three episodes about the relativity of time.

A Leap in the Dark

Mauro, a judge, is worried about his older sister Marta, who took care of him since he was a boy, and now suffers from mental illness and suicidal thoughts. She seems to recover from her depression when Mauro acquaints her with Giovanni, a brilliant actor at the edge of legality. However, Mauro becomes unconsciously jealous of their relationship.

Café Express

An Italian laborer foils anyone who tries to stop him from selling espresso on the Milan-to-Naples night train.

Where's Picone?

During a debate in Naples' town hall in the early 1980s, Pasquale Picone, a former steel-worker who has recently lost his job, sets himself on fire in front of the Municipal Council.

Scugnizzi

Everything revolves around a musical theater production staged by a modest Sicilian director who has to direct young inmates at the juvenile detention center in Nisida. However, the rehearsals, the performance at the San Carlo Theater in Naples, and the real and touching events of the city alternate without any consistency.

Package, Double Package and Counterpackage

Life in Naples is tough, so Neapolitans invent ways to get by. Whatever works, conning mostly, tricking the IRS, the university, the landlord, cruise ship passengers, even conning victims three times with the same ruse.

Il Mistero di Bellavista

A doorman and a street cleaner, intrigued by the passage of Halley's Comet, ask Professor Bellavista if they can observe the sky through his telescope. The two, instead of observing the comet, end up framing a window of the apartment opposite and believe they have discovered a crime. So they set out in search of the body.