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To Fly!

To Fly!

Representation Score

7.5/10

Good

1999

T

Director

Vittorio De Sisti

Runtime

90 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

To Fly! offers a nuanced look at the friction between a sensitive individual and a rigid, traditionalist society. It succeeds in portraying the psychological toll of social intolerance through the metaphor of flight. However, the film lacks demographic breadth, with a culturally homogeneous setting providing little representation of racial or ethnic diversity within the 1950s Italian landscape. Ultimately, the film is a sophisticated study of gender non-conformity and the struggle to exist outside dominant social archetypes.

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Category Breakdown

Does To Fly! have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film explores a delicate child navigating a world that refuses to accept his nature. While it lacks explicit identity labeling, the subtext highlights a struggle against the assumption that everyone is straight or cisgender and non-conformity.

How does To Fly! portray gender?

Good

The narrative disrupts mid-century masculine hierarchies by centering on a sensitive protagonist. It challenges rigid gendered expectations of boyhood by framing delicacy as a source of internal conflict.

How racially and ethnically diverse is To Fly!?

Limited

The story focuses on a culturally homogeneous Mediterranean environment in 1950s Italy. There is no evidence of significant racial or ethnic blending within this specific social microcosm.

How does To Fly! represent religion and culture?

Good

The film portrays traditional 1950s social structures as sources of hardship and harassment. It uses the dream of flight to critique how established social orders can obstruct individual flourishing.

Does To Fly! include disability representation?

Fair

The protagonist's delicate nature suggests neurodivergence or heightened emotional sensitivity. The film focuses on the psychological experience of being different rather than depicting a physical disability.

Present on Screen

  • Provides a sophisticated look at gender non-conformity and sensitivity.
  • Uses powerful metaphors to critique restrictive mid-century social norms.
  • Explores the psychological impact of living in a non-accepting society.

Limited or Absent

  • Lacks significant racial and ethnic diversity within the narrative.
  • Does not provide explicit identity labeling for the protagonist's orientation.
  • Focuses more on psychological difference than physical disability representation.

Official Synopsis

1950s. Gege (Giuseppe Cristofaro) is a delicate child who lives in a hard world that does not accept it. He thus takes refuge in the dream to escape the many small daily harassment. His desire would be to become an airplane pilot and for this the notes of "Volare" by Domenico Modugno accompany his days.

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