Showing @ Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Thu 27 & Fri 28 Jun

Alicia Scherson / Italy/Chile/Germany/Spain / 2013 / 95 mins

There is a point in Il Futuro when, during one of Manuela Martelli‘s lyrical voice-overs, she claims that all those around her have their eyes closed, whilst her eyes alone are open. But it actually seems that Martelli’s Bianca is sleepwalking through her life and it is the blind Maciste (Rutger Hauer) who eventually helps her to wake up.

When Bianca and her younger brother lose their parents suddenly, Bianca agrees to take responsibility for Tomas (Luigi Ciardo). Bianca finds a job and Tomas begins skipping school to work in a gym. One senses the grief and stress that bubble below the surface but which neither one seem able to acknowledge. Soon two bodybuilders have moved into their small flat and suggest a solution to their problems: Bianca will seduce and rob a blind, reclusive millionaire. And whilst neither sibling seems enamoured of the situation, both seem to accept it without protest. It is only when Bianca begins an affair with the former Mr Universe and film star (Rutger Hauer in a truly outstanding performance) that she begins to come to life. Despite Maciste’s age and idiosyncracies, and Bianca’s original plan to rob him, these two loners gradually grow comfortable with one another, and each finds something they were missing before.

Showing as part of the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2013