Even if you are not familiar with Rocco Granata or his hit single Marina, you will probably enjoy this biopic. In the mid-50s, young Rocco is forced to follow his father Salvatore from Calabria to Limburg, where he found work in a coal mine - as did lots of Italian immigrants.
Rocco learns Flemish and falls for a local, blond girl, whose name he never gets to know until very late. Salvatore is the stereotypical Southern man, jealous, violent and possessive and keeps his family under an iron fist. His redeeming feature is that his job is pretty awful and Salvatore doesn't want Rocco to follow into his footsteps.
Rocco is interested in music but Salvatore is worried about money and doesn't think being a musician will pay any bills. Besides, he's also a bit envious of his son for having it easier than him.
The plot explores the difficulties of Italian immigrants in the Flanders, but also their unique chance to try to do something better with their lives than if they'd stayed home.
After some struggle, inspired by the blond beauty he has admired for over ten years, Rocco writes the song Marina, as a B-side for another single. However, the romance is disapproved by both families and its development remains uncertain. Overall, it's a well made movie with good performances.
Everything rang true to me, because I am Italian, albeit not from the South and I also worked in Belgium and had my share of issues with learning Flemish (and French). It was also interesting for me to discover that Rocco Granata is way more popular in Belgium than he ever was in Italy.
