A Brief Comment on the film, “Life is Life” - (La Vita va Cosi)
- John Bennison, Mountain Shadow Director

“There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” - Leonard Cohen

Whenever a film begins with the opening line, “Based on a true story,” I think to myself that any good film should reflect what is true about our collective human drama. In this case, filmmaker Riccardo Milani’s latest work is a somewhat-comedic recreation of an actual historical event that occurred in his native Sardinia.

In this story, when a wealthy business tycoon and his comany wants to acquire and transform a seaside cow pasture into a seaside resort at any price, an aged shepherd/landowner’s intransigent refusal reminds us of the moral to this tale with the quote above.

After previewing our film selection for this month, I could not help but recall another story that really happened. Not long ago, a wealthy, powerful world leader shared his vision of acquiring the Gaza strip; turning it into what he dreamt could be the “Riviera of of the Middle East” ...

“Money can’t buy happiness.” - a well-known phase uttered by -- among many others --Giga Riva (1944-2024),

In the director’s statement below, you’ll read his film is dedicated to Giga Riva. For those of us unfamilar with Riva’s name, he was a legendary Italian soccer star. After retiring, Riva remained residing in Cagliari, Sardinia, where he founded the first school of football in Sardinia in 1976, which bears his name.

Film Director’s Statement
- Riccardo Milani

“La Vita va Così” is not only the story of a man who had the courage to say no. It is also the tale, based on a real-life case, of a community in our country forced to choose between respecting the land and giving people employment. It is in stories like this that I seek out the humanity that is hidden in each of us, still.

Virginia, Diego, Aldo, and Geppi, were at my side throughout the project. And we all walked alongside the lead actor, Ignazio Loi, an eighty-four-year-old Sardinian as guileless as a child and as wise as the shepherd he was, for seventy years.

I owe everything to all the splendid Sardinian actors, and all the non-actors, who joined me to tell the story that is their own. And it isn’t only about a courageous decision. A courageous voice rings out and says that money can’t buy everything. Which is why the film is dedicated to one of the life lesson teachers whom I had the good fortune to meet: Gigi Riva.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Riccardo Milani (born 15 April 1958) is an Italian film director and screenwriter.

Born in Rome, Milani began his career in 1985 as assistant director for Mario Monicelli in Let’s Hope It’s a Girl. After being assistant of Nanni Moretti, Florestano Vancini and Daniele Luchetti, in 1994 he made his feature film debut with the comedy-drama Auguri professore, and went on to direct many successful comedies on his own. He is married to comedian and actress Paola Cortellesi.

You may recall, Riccardo Milani also directed the film we brought our Mountain Shadow audiences in April, 2025, “A world Apart.” It was the story of an elementary school teacher from Rome who gets assigned to a class in the heart of the Abruzzo National Park. Thanks to the help of the vice principal and the children.