ROME GLADIATORS

Gladiators of Rome ï ¿½ Iginio Straffi / Studio Rainbow

On October 18th, a new computer graphic animation film entitled "Gladiators of Rome" will be released in all Italian cinemas.
This film, distributed by Medusa, is a totally Italian product, both in production (the company that created the whole film is Rainbow CGI, the same that produced the series of Winx Club and which is based in Loreto) and directed by Iginio Straffi (who is also the producer together with Michael J, Wilson), the music is by Bruno Zambrini, while the executive producer of the feature film is Joanne Lee.
The main feature of this film is the very high care of the reconstruction of the scenarios in which the story takes place, from the clothes to the houses to finish the wonderful reproduction of the Colosseum and can be seen both in the classic form developed in CGI, and with the effects in 3D in the enabled rooms.
The story takes place in ancient Rome, at the end of the first century AD and has as its main subject the art of gladiators, and more precisely the gladiator school of Chiron, a retired gladiator who also became general of the Roman imperial legions.

Timo Gladiators of Rome ï ¿½ Iginio Straffi / Studio Rainbow

Chiron has adopted a boy originally from Pompeii, the son of dear friends who died during the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD; orphaned, Timo, this is the boy's name, moves to the school run by Chiron, which is the most important in all of Rome and among the best in the whole empire, even if, contrary to his stepfather's expectations, Timo does not he is at all attracted to that world and tries in every way not to follow the very tiring training sessions that Chiron imposes on his gladiators.
In this aim, Timo is also helped by two of his great friends, known inside the school, Ciccius and Mauritius, and who are the opposites of each other: so big, big and a little slow in grasping the Ciccius thoughts, how thin, agile and lively Mauritius that has only one dream and one fixed thought: to become a gladiator. Timo would have great potential to be able to become a great gladiator himself and this Chiron, who truly considers him as a son, glimpses him immediately, but his listlessness and his laxity, in addition to provoking the outrages of his stepfather, make him alone a "troublemaker" during training, thanks also to the presence of the Baby Gladiators, a group of little pests who admire the world of gladiatorial art and at the same time make fun of the less valid among themselves, making jokes of all kinds.

Lucilla Gladiators of Rome ï ¿½ Iginio Straffi / Studio Rainbow

At a certain point something happens that triggers a sense of revenge and profound change in Timo, and this coincides with the return home of Chiron's daughter, the beautiful Lucilla, who returns to Rome from Greece, where she had gone to study. Timo, in fact, has known Lucilla since Chiron went to visit his family in Pompeii, and he was always impressed by her, feeling very sweet feelings for her and this new meeting gives rise in him the desire to fight for something, to conquer the heart of Lucilla. This, however, returned to Rome as Chiron promised her in marriage to the best of his gladiators, Cassius, grandson of the Emperor Domitian who has the worry of not being able to inaugurate the Colosseum given the various collapses that occur during its construction. Cassio is beautiful, and he knows he is, Cassio is strong, and he knows he is, Cassio is vain, and for all these "qualities" he is not very well liked among the school's gladiators, also because not a moment goes by that Cassio does not humble all of his comrades in any way possible, because he feels he is "too fast and too furius" to compete with the others.

Lucilla, a very sensual and particularly intelligent girl, with thick red hair, is therefore promised to Cassio, even if he has no feelings towards Chiron's daughter and accepts the wedding only to be able to increase his ego, marrying one of the most beautiful girls from Rome; but also Lucilla has more than a few reservations, fueled also by having met Timo again, but she doesn't dare to contradict her father too much; Timo realizes this and decides that in order to win the heart of his beloved Lucilla he must become the greatest gladiator in all of Rome, but he doesn't know what to do until the moment when, walking down the street, he comes across a flyer that advertises a personal trainer named Diana, fascinating and mysterious, who convinces Timo to sustain grueling training sessions not only concerning the physical, but above all the mental aspect. Diana in fact constantly tells Timo that "Your mind, that is your perfect weapon", to make him understand that whatever he wants to do, before doing it he must want it and above all he must think about how to want it. Diana will therefore try to make the clumsy and listless Timo become an agile gladiator, quick with quick reflexes and infallible intuition but most of all gifted with an extraordinary willpower.

Diana Gladiators of Rome ï ¿½ Iginio Straffi / Studio Rainbow

The story between Timo and Lucilla goes on amidst misunderstandings also deriving from the young man's relationship with Diana, bringing Chiron's daughter closer to Cassio out of spite; moreover, the magic of the potions that Circe, Ciccius's grandmother prepares for Timo, is subbentra, to Chiron's great indignation who did not in any way admit the entry of magic into the art of gladiators, as this had to be the result only of fatigue and training. Everything will have its epilogue right at the Colosseum, which the Emperor Domitian will finally be able to inaugurate, with the gladiator combat of the Chiron school and where Circe's potions will transform the show into an unforgettable event.

All the film has been studied in detail, both from a scenographic and photographic point of view, and in the choice of voice actors and in the driving message of the whole plot; the multilevel production in CGI has allowed a digital reconstruction of all the places of ancient Rome with an accuracy and precision not found in other animated films, and even in the dubbing there are some news as for the first time the three characters principal, Timo, Lucilla and Diana, are voiced by neophytes in this field respectively with the voices of Luca Argentero (who with his tonalities renders the transformation of Timo very well), Laura Chiatti who transmits charm and sensuality to Lucilla and Belen Rodriguez, who perfectly embodies the character of Diana: provocative, sexy, foreign in ways and thinking, while Chirone is voiced by Massimo Corvo (former voice actor of Sly Stallone, Bruce Willis and Jean Reno).

The film is the bearer of a very important message nowadays: you must never stop believing in your own possibilities, to make your mind work, the only great ally, and not to submit to expedients that can make you think of a shortcut or help, but which are instead only counterproductive for health (it is clear, for example the reference to doping in sport) or for the community.

by Gianluigi Piludu

Baby gladiators Gladiators of Rome ï ¿½ Iginio Straffi / Studio Rainbow

Gladiators in training Gladiators of Rome ï ¿½ Iginio Straffi / Studio Rainbow

	Original title:	Gladiators of Rome
	Country:	Italy
	Year:	2012
	Gender:	3d animation
	Duration:	95 '
	Directed by:	Iginio Straffi
	Production:	Rainbow Srl
	Distribution:	Medusa
	Exit :	October 18, 2012 (cinema)

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