How is it possible to fit everything Francesco Totti has achieved into two hours?
The man spent 25 years of his life playing for just one club. His club. His Roma.
It is rare for a professional footballer’s career to last that long, let alone with just one team. But Totti was destined to do it, and was almost always at the top of his game.
Thus, narrowing down that career into 120 minutes of footage would be a thankless task for most. There may be countless highlight reels of his goals, skills and backheels on social media, but Totti wanted something that would really tell his full story.
Hence, he teamed up with director Alex Infascelli to narrate his life in front of the silver screen. The resulting film, Mi Chiamo Francesco Totti (‘my name is Francesco Totti’), recently made its way onto UK screens. The ensuing two hours did not disappoint.
Tracing his life chronologically, Totti reflects on the many highs and few lows of his career. Given its running time, it’s a whistle stop tour, but the way it has been put together does not feel like the narrative is rushed. The pace of the film has a perfect balance.
Totti passes through becoming Roma captain, winning Serie A, lifting the World Cup with Italy and more. Everyone knows what happened in his career, but it still evokes the strongest emotions.
Embed from Getty ImagesFor those who watched his career from start to finish, it is a fitting reminder of that journey. For those who were born after he made his debut in 1993, it helps piece together all the great moments they were aware of into one coherent story.
The thing that makes Mi Chiamo Francesco Totti command respect is how it does not shy away from his darker moments. It paints the full picture of the man, who deserves respect for reflecting on his flaws and coming to terms with his regrets. It is perhaps the closure he wished for.
But overall, such negative moments were just blips on his outstanding record. His story was one of the most remarkable that football has ever told.
And yet, he tries to be as honest as possible. There are moments of his narration that may come across as somewhat arrogant to those who do not know him. But Totti knows what he is good at, and has no reason to make a secret of it. Kicking a ball is what made – and still makes – him happy.
Embed from Getty ImagesOn the other hand, he does not mention being Roma’s all-time top scorer or leading appearance maker. When he refers to outscoring every single player in Europe in 2006-07, barely any of the goals are shown.
Yes, there are moments of bravado, but sometimes what is not there tells as much of the story as what is – and that is where a sense of humility shines through.
One thing that is not there, which may leave some Roma fans disappointed, is a lack of Daniele De Rossi. The pair spent most of their careers together at their same boyhood club. While their stories are not inseparable, it may have been nice to hear more from Francesco about the man who followed in his footsteps.
But one relationship that is rightly given significance is his marriage with Ilary Blasi. Their loyalty to one another is almost as valuable as his loyalty to Roma.
Totti was never expected to last long with Ilary, but here they are more than 15 years and three children later. He gives plentiful insight into how she has helped shape him.
Embed from Getty ImagesTotti also discusses his relationships, good and bad, with the likes of Vito Scala, Marcello Lippi, Giuseppe Giannini and, of course, Luciano Spalletti. But while everyone knows the latter will end badly, thus overshadowing the latter stages of Totti’s career, those emotions all come back thanks to how the film is crafted. The viewer still agonisingly wishes for a happier outcome.
For all the cinematic moments that make the film so enthralling, though, what really enhances it is the use of the Totti family’s home videos. They show the man behind the myth – a theme Francesco is keen to construct throughout.
Totti wants to show himself as just a human. But when he stepped onto a football pitch, he became something else. And as all his career highlights in the film show, that will always be unavoidable.
Thus, by the end of the film, the viewer is left wanting to rewind, as Totti does at various points, just to re-live the whole spectacle one more time.
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