Luzzu

Name: Luzzu
Genre: Drama
Released: October 15, 2021
Duration: 94 min
Rating: 78
Cast: David Scicluna, Frida Cauchi, Jesmark Scicluna, Michela Farrugia, Stephen Buhagiar

2021

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Generally favorable reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews

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Generally favorable reviews based on 4 Ratings

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7.0	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 4 Ratings

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Luzzu (US Trailer 1)

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Movie Details & Credits

Kino Lorber | Release Date: October 15, 2021 | Not Rated

Starring: David Scicluna, Frida Cauchi, Jesmark Scicluna, Michela Farrugia, Stephen Buhagiar, Uday McLean

Summary: A hardworking Maltese fisherman, Jesmark is faced with an agonizing choice. He can repair his leaky luzzu – a traditional, multicolored wooden fishing boat – in the hopes of eking out a meager living at sea for his wife and newborn son, just as his father and grandfather did before him. Or he can decommission it in exchange for an EU payoutA hardworking Maltese fisherman, Jesmark is faced with an agonizing choice. He can repair his leaky luzzu – a traditional, multicolored wooden fishing boat – in the hopes of eking out a meager living at sea for his wife and newborn son, just as his father and grandfather did before him. Or he can decommission it in exchange for an EU payout and cast his lot with a sinister black-market operation that is decimating the Mediterranean fish population and the livelihoods of the local families who depend on it. [Kino LOrber]… Expand

Director: Alex Camilleri

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 94 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Carlos Aguilar

Oct 22, 2021

Sun-drenched Luzzu is an unaffected triumph with a simmering power, the type of deceivingly familiar film that helps us sail into a place and a lifestyle most of us ignore but that are made vividly compelling in the hand of a new storyteller with classically honed sensibilities. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Sheila O'Malley

Oct 15, 2021

Luzzu is a moving portrait of a world in flux, and one man attempting to survive the changes thrust upon him by a baffling outside world. Read full review

Matthew Anderson

Oct 14, 2021

Luzzu is a slender, rather bleak but tough, rough-cut little jewel that deserves your time and attention. Read full review

The Observer (UK) Wendy Ide

May 29, 2022

The magnetic Scicluna is a Maltese fisherman in real life, and part of a cast predominantly made up of non-professional actors. His performance is impressively complex. Read full review

IndieWire Ryan Lattanzio

Oct 14, 2021

Luzzu is beautifully shot, if at times emotionally restrained, in its centering around a man who’s occasionally hard to read. But it boast a true discovery in the casting of Jesmark Scicluna, a real fisherman who plays a version of himself, and here playing a struggling parent trying to eke out a living along the docks. Read full review

Guy Lodge

Oct 14, 2021

An honest, affecting slab of working-class portraiture, altogether bracing with its thorny labor politics and salty sea air. Read full review

Lucy Vipond

Jun 10, 2022

Clearly taking inspiration from Italian neorealism, Camilleri never embellishes or trivialises the landscape of fishing in Malta but rather presents it as it really is. Luzzu is a foreboding warning with no climax. A quiet call to action in the vein of Andrea Arnold’s Cow. Read full review

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Brent_Marchant

Dec 22, 2021

While the narrative of this engaging Maltese offering may seem somewhat familiar (at least superficially), there are plot developments that defy formula and take the film in unexpected directions. Add to that the picture's fresh locale and little-known subject matter, and you've got a trulyWhile the narrative of this engaging Maltese offering may seem somewhat familiar (at least superficially), there are plot developments that defy formula and take the film in unexpected directions. Add to that the picture's fresh locale and little-known subject matter, and you've got a truly intriguing release. But what's perhaps most impressive about this debut feature from director Alex Camilleri, a nominee for the Independent Spirit Awards' Someone to Watch Award, is the strength of the performances he's managed to evoke from a cast consisting of many nonprofessional actors, including protagonist Jesmark Scicluna, winner of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Award for Acting in the Dramatic World Cinema competition. In dealing with powerful universal themes like tradition vs. progress, weighing the expediency of need fulfillment against the preservation of moral values, and knowing when to hold on or let go, all as seen through the lens of the Maltese fishing industry and the struggles of a young married couple trying to manage the challenges of being new parents, the film paints a captivating picture on a variety of fronts, one that never becomes muddled and succeeds at wrapping up all of its story threads by movie's end. "Luzzu," the Maltese term for a traditional, brightly colored, wooden fishing boat, has thus far largely flown below the radar, playing primarily at film festivals and in limited theatrical release. However, as one of the better films in an otherwise-disappointing year at the movies, this is definitely worth your time now that it's available for streaming. Indeed, this is one fish story you won't want to miss.… Expand

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