Dark Corner (Pugni in faccia)

Synopsis

Mirco Ricci grew up in a poor neighborhood of Rome, where drug use and violence were the order of the day. When he was six years old, his teacher filmed him at his elementary school. The footage shows a clearly troublesome but disarmingly tough kid dreaming of becoming a boxer.

Fifteen years later, Fabio Caramaschi—his former teacher—picks up where he left off and starts filming again. Mirco has grown into a strong young man, and he’s just getting started with his boxing career. In the years that follow, he fights his way up to become light heavyweight champion, but his hot temper and excessive drinking get him into trouble time and again. Things go better for a while after his girlfriend gives him an ultimatum, but in 2016 he finds himself behind bars.

Scenes from his daily life and boxing matches alternate with footage from earlier years and passages from a letter Mirco wrote to Caramaschi from prison. Although Mirco has a close relationship with him, he still finds it very difficult to escape the world he came from.

Production

• FABIO CARAMASCHI