‘Under the Riccione Sun’: Netflix's Italian dramedy is a delightful blend of friendship, love and heartbreaks
What good is summer without beaches, beers and of course, friends? Netflix’s latest Italian drama-comedy ‘Under the Riccione Sun’ which dropped on Wednesday, July 1, brings to you multiple tales built around romantic relationships, friendship, and a whole lot of drama surrounding tweens, who find one another by the beach, under the Riccione sun.
The movie begins by introducing Ciro (Cristiano Caccamo), an aspiring musician who ends up working as a lifeguard at the beach when his attempt at winning a talent show fails. When he starts working at the beach, he crosses paths with a bunch of teenagers who are looking for someone to fill up the empty spot in their volleyball team. The group consists of Guenda (Fotini Peluso), the popular girl, whom another member of the gang, Marco (Saul Nanni), loves unconditionally, but has never been able to gather the courage to express his feelings. And there’s Furio (Davide Calgaro), the not-so-popular son of the main lifeguard, who is desperately trying to have a chance with a woman for a long time.
Meanwhile, Vincezo (Lorenzo Zurzolo) is a blind teenager who comes with his mother Irene (Isabella Ferrari) to Riccione to spend the summer and ends up becoming friends with Furio and gang, who help him find the love of his life, Camilla (Ludovica Martino), through an online dating app. Marco shares room with Tommy (Matteo Oscar Giuggiolo), a carefree boy living with his stud of a grandfather Gualtiero (Andrea Roncato), who takes a bit too much pride in sleeping with five women in a single day, back in time when he was young and served as a lifeguard.
Another main character that we come across in ‘Under the Riccione Sun’ is Ciro’s girlfriend’s best friend, Emma (Claudia Tranchese). The movie navigates Ciro and Emma’s relationship as they realize their feelings for each other stretch beyond just being good friends. As the movie progresses, we get to see the characters grow and become close friends from known strangers, who stick together through thick and thin, building a strong bond that seems to last for more than just one summer, a lifetime perhaps.
Although there are one too many stories narrated in ‘Under the Riccione Sun’, the movie most skilfully focuses on each one of them, doing justice to every character. Their characteristic may be world apart, but every aspect associated with it equally appeases the audience. For a movie that terms itself a comedy, the creators of ‘Under the Riccione Sun’ have done an excellent job in showing the generation gap using a couple of present-day references that the targeted audience can relate with while enjoying a hearty laugh.
Despite involving a large number of teenagers, who are mostly driven by emotions and act in the spur of the moment without thinking twice, the movie sticks to realism by not overdoing the drama. While the cute little romantic moments tug at your heartstrings, a wave of emotions sweeps through when the movie touches upon the nuances of human relationships through the eyes of its character. Be it for the sort of bond Vincezo shares with his overly protective mother Irene or the manner in which Marco confesses his love for Guenda, the story of ‘Under the Riccione Sun’ leaves you with a lot to remember it for.
‘Under the Riccione Sun’ is available for streaming on Netflix.