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The Great Spirit

Name: The Great Spirit
Director: Sergio Rubini
Released: 2019
Duration: 113 min

Representation Score

7.6/10

Good

2019

Director

Sergio Rubini

Runtime

113 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

The Great Spirit is a character-driven dramedy that explores the edges of social norms. By focusing on a thief and an eccentric, the film avoids typical heroic clichés and delves into moral relativism and unconventional bonds. Though the film doesn’t broadly represent diverse demographics, it successfully dismantles traditional archetypes. Using an industrial, working-class setting, it critiques systemic pressures and institutional authority, favoring a subjective view of identity and morality. Ultimately, the film examines outsiders. It challenges viewers to rethink normalcy by highlighting characters who exist beyond conventional social and legal structures.

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Category Breakdown

Does The Great Spirit have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film doesn't include explicit LGBTQ+ characters or non-straight relationships. Instead, it focuses on an unusual friendship between two men.

How does The Great Spirit portray gender?

Fair

Male characters drive the story, but the film challenges traditional masculinity. Tonino shows vulnerability, while Renato embodies a non-conforming identity that defies societal norms.

How racially and ethnically diverse is The Great Spirit?

Fair

Renato identifies as a Sioux Indian, exploring his identity through a psychological lens within an industrial environment. This internal perspective highlights the 'other' in society.

How does The Great Spirit represent religion and culture?

Good

The film critiques industrial capitalism and social order through its working-class setting. It emphasizes personal transformation and situational ethics over traditional moral codes.

Does The Great Spirit include disability representation?

Good

Renato represents neurodivergence or psychological uniqueness. The film gives him significant influence by making the plot revolve around his non-standard perception of reality.

Present on Screen

Challenges traditional masculine stereotypes through vulnerable and non-conforming character portrayals.
Gives significant influence to neurodivergent characters rather than using them merely as plot devices.
Employs a localized industrial setting to critique systemic social pressures.

Limited or Absent

Lacks explicit LGBTQ+ representation or non-straight relationships.
Narrative focus remains heavily centered on male perspectives and experiences.
Racial themes are presented as psychological constructs rather than authentic indigenous representation.

Official Synopsis

In a neighbourhood on the outskirts of Taranto, high upon the rooftops framed by the Ilva steel factory, we meet Tonino a.k.a. “Barboncino” (poodle). Tonino has just committed a robbery and, in a moment of foolishness, ﬂed from his accomplices, taking the entire loot for himself. He escapes upward, clambering from roof to roof, until he can go no further and must take refuge in an old water tank. Here he ﬁnds Renato, a strange and eccentric man who believes he is an American Indian from the Sioux tribe. Trapped with no other choice, Tonino is forced to team up with Renato. A strange and crazy friendship is formed, and Tonino learns to see things from a very different perspective.

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