Italian actor, writer, and producer Giuseppe Fiorello (The Talented Mr. Ripley, Terraferma) makes his feature directorial debut with Fireworks (Stranizza d’amuri), an aspirational LGBTQ+ romance that successfully imitates its predecessors in mood and visual style. Set in Sicily in the early 1980s, the film is loosely inspired by the story of Giorgio Giamonna and Antonio Galatola, two gay men who were murdered in 1980. The incident, known as the “Giarre murder” or “the crime of Giarre,” played a significant role in the Italian gay rights movement. Fiorello worked with Andrea Cedrola (Orlando) and Carlo Salsa (Arianna) to adapt the story for the screen, changing the names of the young men and focusing on their relationship rather than their murder. The film stars Gabriele Pizzurro as Nino, a kind and optimistic teenager who works for his father setting up fireworks for various festivals in their community, and Samuele Segreto (My Body Will Bury You) as Gianni, a quiet and introspective young man who faces constant harassment from his demanding stepfather and local machismo bullies. Nino and Gianni collide (literally) in a storybook-perfect meet cute that changes the course of their lives and dramatically alters their relationships with their families and communities.
L-R: Gabriele Pizzurro (Nino) and Samuele Segreto (Gianni) in FIREWORKS. Photo courtesy of Cinephobia Releasing.
Fireworks boasts a strong sense of place that’s rooted in the family-oriented, blue-collar town in which Nino and Gianni live. The setting may not be a flashy one, but it’s certainly beautiful in the right light. As Fireworks leads us through open dirt roads, dry fields, crowded living rooms, hazy village streets, and cozy hilltops overlooking weather-worn roofs, cinematographer Ramiro Civita (The Girl by the Lake) transforms the pale, dry, and dusty little town by bathing it in warm light. Even the night time scenes are captured under the glow of amber-colored streetlamps that put a romantic and dreamy filter over the town. There’s something magical about the setting as Civita captures it, and it’s romanticized through the eyes of hopeful teenagers as they discover who they are and where they belong. We can recognize the boys’ need for freedom in the wide open spaces just outside of their town, and we can recognize their fondness for their families in the cozy, intimate scenes inside their homes. With cohesive and romantic imagery that emphasizes the beauty of this town, Fiorello shows us that community and family make up a huge part of who these boys are — which is why it’s all the more tragic that there’s such a large rift between their personal identities and their community.
L-R: Antonio De Matteo (Alfredo) and Gabriele Pizzurro (Nino) in FIREWORKS. Photo courtesy of Cinephobia Releasing.
The dreamy imagery helps to set a romantic mood that persists throughout the story, even in moments when the plot gets dark. Fireworks is peaceful, serene, and a little bit magical. You can feel the mood in the soothing music that cuts in and out of the story. You can feel it as Nino’s fireworks light up the night sky. You can feel it as Civita captures everyday moments in the boys’ homes, drawing our attention to the sensory details that make those moments memorable. Civita’s cinematography and the general production design create the perfect space for a story about first love.
L-R: Samuele Segreto (Gianni) and Gabriele Pizzurro (Nino) in FIREWORKS. Photo courtesy of Cinephobia Releasing.
But for all that Fireworks has to offer in terms of imagery and mood, the story itself never hits its own emotional stride. The romantic mood is just right, but the romance itself is lacking. The story is set up perfectly (perhaps almost too perfectly), and it takes all the right turns as Nino and Gianni’s friendship turns into something much more. And yet, even with a tried and true formula, Fireworks struggles to convince us that Gianni and Nino are in love. When they talk to each other, their conversations are emotionally restrained and shallow. There’s little to no flirting, tension, or vulnerability to suggest that something is brewing between the two boys. Gianni says and does a few things to express his interest throughout their friendship, but Nino seems uninterested. Then, out of nowhere, he suddenly is interested. The two characters go through all the right motions, but they’re missing that spark and connection that makes romance stories work. They’re more like stand-ins who represent the general idea of two people being in love in a vague and conceptual way. Segreto and Pizzurro are likable and perfectly natural in front of the camera, but they’re also emotionally restrained. Perhaps they were given a limiting script and misguided direction, or perhaps, as younger and newer actors, they treated their roles with too much caution (it’s likely a combination of the three). As the story unfolds, Fireworks certainly makes us care about Nino and Gianni as individuals. But without a romantic spark or any emotional vulnerability between them, it’s more difficult for us to care about them together. So, when their relationship is threatened, the stakes feel surprisingly low.
L-R: Alessio Simonetti (Turi), Giuseppe Lo Piccolo (Emanuele), and Samuele Segreto (Gianni) in FIREWORKS. Photo courtesy of Cinephobia Releasing.
However, Gianni and Nino’s relationship isn’t the only one at play. Fireworks also explores the boys’ relationships with their families and community, and it portrays these relationships much more effectively. The dialogue between Gianni and his mother is much stronger than the dialogue between Gianni and Nino. When Nino’s mother, Carmela (Fabrizia Sacchi) begins to suspect that there’s something going on between the boys, the look on her face is much more impactful than any look shared between Nino and Gianni. The sequences in which the two boys are alone seem emotionally hollow, but the sequence in which Nino’s nephew, Totò (Simone Raffaele Cordiano), tags along with the two boys is marked by subtle and effective tension.
L-R: Samuele Segreto (Gianni) and Simona Malato (Lina) in FIREWORKS. Photo courtesy of Cinephobia Releasing.
Fireworks has strong supporting cast members who give nuanced performances and add life to the film as they illustrate the difficulties of family relationships. As the spunky nephew, Totò, Cordiano (I racconti della domenica) commands the screen and adds humor to the story with his expressiveness and precocious attitude. Even as a part of the supporting ensemble, Totò is a much stronger character than the two protagonists, and he steals the spotlight in almost all his scenes. Antonio De Matteo (Ocean’s Twelve), Fabrizia Sacchi (Sirley), and Simona Malato (The Macaluso Sisters), who play Nino’s father, Nino’s mother, and Gianni’s mother, make the most of their screen time by leaning into the qualities that make their characters both good and frustrating parents. They build up trust with their warmth and charm only to break that trust with coldness and hate, illustrating the complex relationships between growing children and imperfect parents. The powerful and well-executed conflicts between the two boys and their families are the strongest and most memorable elements of Fireworks. The family members are so well-defined and narratively effective that they overpower the boys, who should be the stars of the movie.
Samuele Segreto (Gianni) in FIREWORKS. Photo courtesy of Cinephobia Releasing.
Good storytelling matters because it can change people’s minds. It can make people feel less alone, and it’s the closest that we’ll come to experiences that we’ll never have. Fireworks doesn’t do much in terms of illustrating romantic love, but it can get us thinking about the fear that a gay teen might feel when they come out to disapproving parents. It reminds us of the importance of family and community while also showing us the negative effects that families and communities can have on individuals. Perhaps with more dynamic and compelling lead characters, Fireworks could have fully lived up to its aspirations as an LGBTQ+ film.
Available on VOD and DVD January 18th, 2024.
For more information, head to the official Cinephobia Releasing Fireworks webpage.
Final Score: 3.5 out of 5
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Categories: Home Video, Reviews, streaming
This review is off the mark in my opinion. The relationship between the two young men reads very true to their age and inexperience. There is testing of bounderies while each of them try to determine if the other is interested. There is a slow build, but the spark between the two in palpable through out the film. The rest of the cast is also strong. This is a well crafted and well acted film. Go see it.
Ditto!