We all know how fanatical the Italians are about their football, but I suspect that for most viewers this one will come right out of the blue. It certainly did for me. For, away from the goal-grabbing glamour of Serie A, the residents of Siena have a sporting passion thats all their own: the annual horse race, or Palio.
In this strange little film from Dutch documentarist John Appel, were introduced to the weird and wonderful residents of Civetta, a district of Siena where the absence of a Palio victory in the last quarter-century appears to be driving everyone slowly mad. These people are quite literally obsessed with winning the thing, but a combination of bad luck, dodgy dealings and just not being very good at horse-racing leaves them wanting year after year after year. Its against this backdrop that we get to meet characters such as the stable-boy who seems ridiculously bitter for a man in his early 20s, and a batty old pensioner who in one fantastic laugh-out-loud moment manages to make an entire group of German tourists feel awkward with just one mention of the War.
The film kicks-off six weeks in advance of the latest Palio, leading us through the districts rigid preparations and right up to the race itself, during which the locals are reduced to tears, before ritualistically kicking the crap out of one another seconds later when its all over. It makes for fascinating viewing, particularly as from my own personal point of view it focuses on people whose entire lives are consumed by the build-up to an event which up until seeing this film Id never even heard of. Whats more, Civetta is a beautiful setting, with the tiny, picturesque streets of the town looking as if they could have been lifted straight out of a Dolmio ad.
Disappointing, though, is Appels approach to the material. He presents it as a snapshot in time rather than an historical essay. It means we get to learn little of the races ancient background, which could well explain why the locals frothing obsession with the race always feels more like its being presented as an object of fun than a serious attempt at teaching us about them. Also, the stench of race-fixing appears to hang permanently in the air, but Appel chooses only to hint at it rather than actually attempt to uncover anything. With or without any snooping though, its clear that theres much more to the Palio than the director allows to meet the eye.