User:Gapolania/Sandbox2
| River | |
|---|---|
 Worldwide theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Aurelio Sinca |
| Written by | Aurelio Sinca |
| Screenplay by | Natanael Todou |
| Produced by | Aurelio Sinca Eusebio Conti |
| Starring | Elodie Masarnù Alberto di Mentio Luca Pavionini Cristiano Bolca Maria Teofila Sagèse Gervasio Sal |
| Cinematography | Luca Eusoni Caspar Levantè |
| Edited by | Marta Umbro-Sentèra |
| Music by | Antonio Masarnini |
Production company | Cinema Nassea |
| Distributed by | Sintra |
Release dates | |
Running time | 122 minutes |
| Country | Gapolania |
| Languages | Vespasian, Chanuche |
| Budget | €1.4 million |
| Box office | €6.7 million |
River (Fiume) is a 2021 Gapolanese folk horror film written and directed by Aurelio Sinca and starring Elodie Masarnù, Alberto di Mentio, Luca Pavionini, Cristiano Bolca, Maria Teofila Sagèse and Gervasio Sal. It follows an elderly couple, Betta and Salvador, who, during their 50th anniversary on a boat trip, meet a secluded Chanuche village, witnessing a series of paranormal events.
A Gapolanese production, the film tackles several important issues, with some of them relatively controversial in the republic, such as women's role in society, history of colonial-indigenous relations, neopaganism and sex activity among the older people. The film was entirely shot on location in the governorate of Fangaria, including the Bagnura National Park. The governorate funded nearly half of the movie's predicted budget, aiming to increase its tourism output. The music was composed by Antonio Masarnini, a Jossian-Gapolanese compositor.
River was released on 18th March 2021 in Jossia and Gapolania by Cinema Nassea and worldwide on 5th May 2021 by Cinema Nassea and VINTULI Group. It grossed over 6.7 millions €, being one of the best-selling Gapolanese films in the history. It received mostly positive review from critics, with many praising its unique, eerie atmosphere and Masarnù's performance.
Plot
Betta and Salvador are a couple of retired bankers from Nestaia celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. While planning on their party, they find a leaflet stuck under their doormat from an unknown tourist company advertising a boat trip to Bagnura, a densely forested and swamped area of the country with hundreds of wild rivers cutting the landscape. Attracted by a possibility of an adventure, they decide to cancel the family meeting and buy the tour. The address written on the leaflet leads them to a small town named Fuoio, laying on two sides of a wide, lazy river. Meeting Gabo, the company's guide designated to them, they learn that they can be either given a slow, peaceful trip by a ferry to another town 20 kilometres away or they can be given a wooden boat and sail there independently. Hesitant, they choose the latter option and, after inspecting the boat, enter the waters.
Initially calm journey is disrupted when Betta takes a wrong turning at the river fork and, as the sun sets, the couple realizes they are lost. Panicked, they hear a quiet, rhythmic noise imitating a heart beat coming from the forest and follow it only to arrive at a secluded Chanuche village. They are welcomed by a group of people led by an elderly nukemachi called Ailen. The couple is invited for a dinner and offered a place to stay the night. Recultantly, they agree and head to a large wooden hall, where they are given food and drinks. As the time goes by, they realize that the meals were drug induced and they both experience a psychedelic experience. They dream about dancing around the fire, seeing an old man nailed to a tree with his chest cut open and Ailen giving birth.
When they wake up, their boat is gone - Salvador, believing the rope was cut deliberately, lashes out at the villagers and decides to search for a way back through the forest. He only stops after Ailen assures them they can use fisherman's boat once he returns from work. The couple stays at the village, with Betta admitting to Salvador that she enjoys their unexpected stay, claiming she has never had a better adventure. When the fisherman doesn't return and the pair is sure to sleep another night in the village, Salvador refuses to eat the meal together with the locals and instead takes Betta back to their hut. Pretending to be asleep, the man crawls out of the house to observe and eavesdrop on the feasting villagers. While he witnesses them performing some kind of a ritual, he's suddenly hit on the back of his head and falls unconscious.
Waking up, he finds himself laying in the front of a large tree. An old man with his chest open is tied to it and the deep noise he and Betta heard befote is actually the man's heartbeat. He realizes none of the events were just a dream and shrieks in terror as his wife is brought before him.