Il Maestro: game, set and match Pierfrancesco Favino! (critical)

The Italian actor shines as a bully tennis coach whose cracks become more and more gaping in this Italian film, in perfect balance between drama and comedy, depicting his relationship with a young hopeful whom he must train.

For her fourth feature, Andrea Di Stefano (Last Night in Milan) has chosen to go against the famous dogma according to which the viewer must be hooked from the outset or risk losing them forever. And he takes the time to reveal the multiple facets of a story that becomes increasingly rich, endearing and poignant as the minutes go by. The beginning of Il maestro, set in the 80’s, fits into all these sports films centered on father-son relationships and the way in which the former experience the rise of the latter by proxy.

This is the case of Felice, a young tennis player whom her father only sees at the top and gives himself the means by hiring Raoul, ex-star of the little yellow ball as a coach. And it is the arrival of this coach, a bully who is as irresistible as he is a slapstick, who will take the film elsewhere. First by the shock of the contrasts that he creates with the reserved Felice then by the mirror effect that emerges between the two, as Raoul’s cracks pass from shadow to light.

Between drama and comedy, Il Maestro becomes a declaration of love to all those who have aimed too big, to losers without panache. There is some Little Miss Sunshine in these anti-heroes who are too imperfect to take center stage. But the real Maestro is Pierfrancesco Favino, as striking in his flamboyance as in his darkness.

By Andrea Di Stefano. With Pierfrancesco Favino, Tiziano Menichelli, Giovanni Ludeno… Duration: 2h05. Released March 11, 2026