Massimo Ghini's confessions: "I was mistreated by the left. I never joined the circles..."

Milan, November 11, 2025 – “Get on the buses!” Zavattini repeated it to filmmakers. To keep in touch with the people. With the world.

A lesson Massimo Ghin has learned by heart: big roles but with a public transport pass in his pocket. Maybe that's why people love him . And critics are hesitant . At the theater, however, he's breaking box office records with "The Widower," starting tonight at the Manzoni in Milan . Directed by Ghini himself. He stars alongside Galatea Ranzi, among others. A comedy . Based on the classic by Dino Risi (with Sordi and Franca Valeri). It tells the story of Commendatore Nardi, who lives off his wife Elvira, a brilliant Milanese businessman. It won't end well. Or maybe it will? Sure, it's laughable. A lot. Pure black humor.

Ghini, what is your Alberto Nardi like then?

"It's a man who, along with three other idiots, tries to kill his wife. It's the story of a proto-femicide, if you will, even if we have to immerse ourselves in the reality of 1959. Otherwise, he's the protagonist of one of the very first Italian comedies, those masterpieces that made you laugh with extraordinary jokes for 90 minutes, before a finale that plunged you into emotion, into melodrama."

How does the comparison with Sordi hold up?

“With apprehension. I had already played him in a 1999 Illy Coffee commercial, a spot directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It was a tribute to the White Sheik; I even had the original costume. We were filming in Ostia with a crew that looked like we were making Ben Hur. Alberto stopped by to say hello and said, ‘You can do it!’ And for me, it was as if they were giving me a David di Donatello award.”

But they didn't give it to her.

"Come on! I got my first nomination a few years ago for Gabriele Muccino's 'A casa tutti bene', after having appeared in 120 films. Maybe I should retire and write a book too, if only they'd let me call it: 'Could I have missed it?'"

Let's go back to the Widower.

We reconstructed it to my own specifications, without falling into the trap of masking or imitating. I did, however, keep two quotes: "What's the Marquis doing, pushing?" and "Where's my Elvira?" It was inevitable. My wife calls me "idiots" all the time, a stroke of genius by Franca Valeri. Ultimately, it's a snapshot of Italian society at the time; no one is spared. It's the upper middle class of the economic boom, with its small factories. The kind who would later become Dino Risi's Monsters, not Pasolini's bandits. I'm just sorry to see how cinema has lost its edge in telling these stories.

What does he mean?

"It's a sector undergoing a long, self-destructive process: it's chasing authorship without having the great auteurs today. And this is always to the detriment of our comedies and their potential. But we are not Iranian cinema. And in the meantime, theaters are emptying."

Maybe it's also a scripting problem?

"Definitely. You don't find Benvenuti and De Bernardi, Age and Scarpelli, Lizzani, Zavattini every day. He always said, 'Get on the buses, look at the people.'"

She often went up there.

I started in the theater here in Milan with Strehler, and I worked with international directors and in feature films. Why would I have done otherwise? They called me for TV while I was on stage in Franco Zeffirelli's Maria Stuarda. I also played Enrico Mattei, the founder of Il Giorno. The greatest gift is the love of people. But otherwise, I haven't been treated very well, not even by my political supporters, given that I'm a leftist and everyone knows my views.

Why did they treat her badly?

"As president of the CGIL Actors' Union, I'm a pain in the ass. And then there's a world that looks at comedy with complete disgust. When I made my first Christmas film, it was as if I'd sworn in church, at the altar. Besides, I don't have the restless, emaciated physique of someone who does research; I've just been playing water polo for years, I look like a lifeguard. I would have been perfect for Palombella Rossa, Nanni Moretti even said yes."

But the words weren't that important...

“I’m still here waiting for him.”

Did he get less than he deserved?

"Some people are starting to think so. But I'm proud of filling cinemas and theaters, of having the courage to get on stage and go on tour. You wouldn't know how many people are careful about that. I'm not part of the circle, but kids stop me in the street."

Something you would do differently today?

I collaborated with Virzì on "La bella vita," his beautifully written debut. But then I turned down "Ferie d'agosto," muttering something about not wanting to make an ensemble film. I think this decision fell within that "idiot moment" that affects everyone from time to time. I also regret not having moved to Spain, a country where I continue to work with great quality.

What years were they?

“Early '80s. Imagine, I was in a movie with Banderas, but I was the lead, don't ask me why. I remember one night we were riding around together on a Vespa, racing to the Bernabeu to watch Real Madrid vs. Barcelona. I wanted to move, I was fine, here in Italy we were always in crisis. But then Pál Gábor called me for a film with Ángela Molina and Stefania Sandrelli.”

Strong arguments.

“A lot. Along with Mom’s fresh pasta.”

In the next few months?

"We, Judases," a beautiful monologue by Angelo Longoni. And then cinema, lots of cinema. Including Pupi Avati's new film.