1985
Script:
In a world ravaged by violence and other serious social problems, in Italy a quirky character Joan Lui arrives, preaching for the salvation of mankind, denouncing the hypocrisy and inequality.
With a group of loyal followers, Joan Lui begins his rapid move among the people, rising interest in Judy, a cynical manager of the show business and a left-wing journalist, Tina Foster.
The Lord of the World Jarak, a clear reference to Satan, first attempts to bribe him in the role of a powerful eastern merchant, then hiring a mercenary to kill him with a sophisticated laser, without reaching his goal in either case.
After having exposed the corruption of the governors of the world, Joan Lui goes away, while a dreadful Apocalypse overwhelms the corrupted world.
“Stop programs to reduce the “power of television” is an idea that Celentano processes in 1985 for the fourth and final film that he directed, Joan Lui. Whenever he will propose to Rai the exercise of disobedience in the prime-time he will trigger strong controversy of politics and press. But in movies everything is possible and Joan Lui realizes the dream of interference by surprise, of shock of the raid: “Do not kill!” yells a Jesus superstar returned on Earth to set up an apocalypstical musical, where good and evil are chasing while dancing . The film is a mix of cabaret, dance, music, theater… and factory, a place of creativity and struggle. Adriano anticipates in Joan Lui the choreography of Francamente me ne infischio, experiment of new television that has its roots in a long, sophisticated work in composition between sounds, images and words. The set is designed as a large space at different levels of depth, austere, with walls of bricks, where wonderful things happen at a pace that breaks suddenly with pauses and silences.
Cinema allows the most radical experimentation, the editing and the fluid mixing of genres, and Adriano, between musical numbers, dizzy dialogues appearances-disappearances special effect, abstact gags, he reveals his television forays. “I will try to express myself in simple words… The corporations form a layer of stratified shit on all nations…”.
In the event with the style of Citizen Kane there is also a place for the communist journalist Gilda, played magnificently by Claudia Mori, which expresses, in spite of her political-editorial skepticism, an irresistible attraction to the “drastic rebel”.
Written by M. Ciotta