YDALIE TURK, UMBERTO ORSINI, AND BIRBA IN TRIFOLE

Big truffle gets away

The Langhe (Italian: [ˈlaŋɡe], Piedmontese: [ˈlɑŋɡe]; Latin: Mons Langa et Bassa Langa), usually Langa when referring to each of its subdivisions, is a historical hilly area to the south and east of the river Tanaro in the provinces of Cuneo and Asti in Piedmont, northern Italy. - Wikipedia.

What is authentic about this little film is its milieu, that region in Piemonte, the province of Piedmont, an area of little hills and woods where the splendid Italian white truffles are to be found, though the old man in the story has seen the woods adjoining his small property taken down to make more space for vines for the big wine companies of Italy. Also authentic is the truffle hunting dog, Birba, who never produces a false snuffle and in a sense is the true star, as are the truffle hunting dogs of the other movies about this subject of which they are the real stars.

As for the plot, the filmmaker Gabrielle Fabbro is a fabulist. She and her co-writer Ydalie Turk, who also has the very energetic lead role - she runs around a heck of a lot (but let's remember: running isn't acting) - are not even very sure what their story is. They fill in preposterous events and then toss them away when we've started to believe them. This affects the believability of the two main characters.

What is also true is, one supposes, that the career of forager (for Italian white truffles) is fragile and threatened. Such a person is Igor, who is played by Umberto Orsini, a Italian actor who is now ninety years old. He is an impressive actor and would be tremendous in a better film. His passion, weariness, and sheer age shine out from the screen, but like everything else he's flipped around and is unstable as a character. He seems indomitable and his effort to find the truffles whose sale will pay overdo rent and save him his house seems relentless. But then he appears to give up. Dalia (Ms. Turk, who in real life is South African and Lebanese) arrives, Igor's granddaughter, a young women who has failed as a student and lost her motivation in life, sent from London by her mother, Marta (veteran Italian actress Margherita Buy) to help Igor. Dalia talks to Marta, who works in a London hospital, on her ever-present cellphone.

At first Igor, who has dementia, though it comes and goes, thinks Dalia is a witch, and when he sees Marta on Dalia's cellphone he thinks she is in the room. How Dalia is going to help the old man is uncertain since she remembers hardly any Italian from her youthful visits and Igor knows little English.

In this unpromising situation Birba is a godsend. She saves the day, but not the film, which is full of turbulent and far-fetched events, including the finding, thanks to Birba (and later losing) of an enormous, world-record-sized white truffle, a truffle auction featuring girls in princess costumes, a town fair in period costume with a parade, and all that running around by red-headed Dalia. When the overactive camera follows Dalia into the woods and later over the dales we get a chance to experience the beautiful autumnal countryside of this part of Italy. We also get a sense of weather. Igor's personal theory is that what brings out the truffles is lightning. He has the notebook and diagrams to document this. The arrival of a good thunderstorm seems to mean time to go truffle hunting. Failing physically, Igor persuades Dalia to forage with Birba in his stead, armed - would you believe it? - with her cellphone and his arcane notebook, whose images miraculously coincide.

This is a farrago of nonsense, but it shows us a beautiful place steeped in natural interest and rich Italian history. These surroundings aren't completely lost in the foolishness. Italy is a beautiful place and the silliest movie can't hide that, and moreover at times it's intentionally joking around.

Trufile, 100 mins., opened Oct. 17, 2024 in Italy. It was shown at Palm Springs in Jan. 2025 and Santa Barbara Feb. 2025 and is scheduled for limited US release Nov. 14, 2025, opening at Quad Cinema NYC via Cohen Media Group.

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©Chris Knipp. Blog: http://chrisknipp.blogspot.com/.