Cinema Italian Style: The Best Reward (La cosa migliore)
November 15, 2025
Mattia is a teenager from small-town Italy. Tormented by guilt over his brother’s death, he drops out of school, starts to work at a local factory, and converts to Islam. Will he avoid the trap of isolation and violence?
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Saturday, November 15, 2025
Mattia is 17 years old. The son of a trade unionist and an overprotective homemaker, Mattia is vulnerable and angry, and he expresses himself through hip-hop until the tragic death of his big brother, an event which feeds into his sense of guilt and leads him to leave school and music behind in order to work in a factory. His friendship with his Moroccan colleague Murad and his brother Rashid, and a subsequent trip to Morocco, bring him closer to Islam, which he sees as a path towards a more meaningful life. But Mattia’s inner and family conflicts persist, slowly leading him towards isolation and radicalisation. Bouyed by some terrific performances, Ferrone’s solo debut film holds the audience’s attention while asking us to think about how certain moments and actions – seemingly casual or irrelevant – can lead to totally different endings.
- Original Language Title: La cosa migliore
- Director: Federico Ferrone
- Principal Cast: Luka Zunic, Abdessamad Bannaq, Lawrence Hachem Ebaji, Giulia Valenti, Francesca Rabbi, Fabrizio Ferracane
- Country: Italy
- Year: 2024
- Running Time: 97 min.
- Producer: Simone Bachini, Mario Chemello
- Screenplay: Federico Ferrone, Giampiero Rigosi
- Cinematographers: Salvo Lucchese
- Editors: Maria Fantastica Valmori
- Filmography: Debut Feature Film
- Language: Italian
- Has Subtitles: Yes