Basilicata Coast to Coast

Year: 2010
Country: ITALY
Run Time: 105 minutes

Who wouldn't love a band that raps about their Mammas' omelet sandwiches? These guys dig all things real, including family, friends, and homeland. They're lucky: their homeland is the stunningly beautiful region of Basilicata in the instep of Italy's boot, which stretches from the Tyrrhenian to the Ionian Sea. These native sons are a ragtag bunch of charmers: Nicola, a frustrated math teacher whose wife runs a boutique hotel; Rocco, a TV actor whose career has seen better days; Salvatore, who ditched his medical studies in their final hour; and Franco the bass player, mute since the death of his lover. Outfitted with a horse and cart topped with solar cells, the band undertakes a journey across Basilicata – on foot as a publicity stunt leading up to their performance in a local music competition. Accompanying them is Tropea, a reluctant journalist assigned to document their journey. As the little band trudges eastward, they camp out, evade authorities, deal with crazy agents and over-protective brothers, and fall in love again. Spoken word and jazz performances on hillsides and in local villages make BASILICATA COAST TO COAST a funky delight of a road movie. (In Italian with subtitles) –B.B.

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