Piano 17

If there is one film that revealed to the film industry the talent and poetics of the Manetti Bros., it was certainly Piano 17. Their challenge was to shoot an action film, full of shootouts, special effects and lots of suspense, on an extremely low budget, practically all self-financed by the directors, crew and actors. The premise is a winning idea: three characters who suddenly find themselves stuck in a lift and one of them is carrying an explosive device that is about to detonate. How will they get out? Through a flashback narration, the Manetti Bros. succeed in the feat of constructing a claustrophobic and yet, liberating film, managing to mix the most disparate genres: crime, comedy, action and thriller. Comical and moving, Piano 17 leaves one with bated breath and a feeling that what is narrated on screen was produced with at least three times the budget than it actually was, with the ambition to compete with Hollywood cinema and cult series like 24. (International Film Festival Rotterdam)