Nobody like Antonio Albanese. Born on 10 October 1964 in the province of Lecco to Sicilian parents, from the beginning of the 90s he became a permanent presence on our small and big screen, after a long apprenticeship at the legendary Zelig in Milan and in Bologna, Antonio Albanese established himself as one of the best, most complete and loved comedians and actors on our scene. It is very difficult to find a definition for him, given that he knows how to do everything: cabaret, parodies, imitations, but also dramatic and committed roles, as demonstrated by a career unique in terms of variety and audacity. His characters have become among the most famous and popular, his films have always been able to stand out thanks to his interpretations, his ability to vary register in a unique way to say the least. What follows is a selection, a Top 5, dedicated to the best of his cinema, with which to celebrate the 60 years of an artist who was able to become a point of contact between innovation and tradition. In his own way, Antonio Albanese is also a historical witness of what has changed in Italy and what has remained the same.

Freshwater Man (1996)

In that magnificent decade for our comedy that was the 90s, “The Freshwater Man” written and directed by Antonio Albanese, represents something unique and unrepeatable. Underrated upon its release, today it is instead considered one of the most absurd examples of slapstick and mime comedy in our history, a sort of black sheep that completely distances itself from what our cinema offered in that period. The protagonist is Antonio (Antonio Albanese), a school teacher who, due to amnesia, actually disappears, leaving his pregnant wife Beatrice (Valeria Milillo), and reacquiring his amnesia which ended five years later. Crazy, absurd film, halfway between dream and reality, parody and metaphor, “Freshwater Man” is a set of gags, dialogues and unlikely and at the same time incredibly realistic situations. Often disturbing due to its hallucinatory, melancholic and grotesque atmosphere, the film however also knows how to provide torrents of laughter, while deconstructing the myths of Berlusconi’s Italy of those years, with its pop culture, its careerism, its pathetic, materialistic humanity and selfish. To date, perhaps, if not the most beautiful film by Antonio Albanese (who here condenses many of his television characters into one) certainly the boldest and most original.

The Language of the Saint (2000)

Carlo Mazzacurati was a great director, one of those who unfortunately passed away too soon. Antonio Albanese made three films with him, all notable, but “The Language of the Saint” is without a doubt the best, perhaps even in the career of the director from Padua. Inspired by the theft of the Relic of Saint Anthony which occurred in Padua in 1991, it sees Antonio Albanese play Antonio, a former failed rugby promise. His friend in thefts and survival is the melancholic Willy (Fabrizio Bentivoglio), a former representative, like him, unemployed and an outcast in that city where there is no shortage of money, but mercy is scarce. One night the two, almost by chance, steal the language of Saint Anthony from the Basilica of the Saint in Padua and go into hiding, hoping for a fabulous ransom. “The language of the Saint” is a bittersweet comedy, it pushes its travel nature to the limit halfway between laughter and drama, to tell us (like almost every Mazzacurati film) about the contradictions of the rich and wild Northeast. Antonio Albanese gives us an almost childish character, made of improvisation, recklessness, courage and contempt for danger, which contrasts with Bentivoglio, under the lines, almost straight out of a neo-noir. The film shows us these two desperate people on a poetic and at the same time popular journey, it is painful yet full of hope, it is a story of friendship and a heist movie, which embraces the Coen’s cinema on humanity divided between heaven and earth.

Whatever (2011)

Almost as if he wanted to accompany Berlusconism towards its final agony, sanctioned by “La Grande Bellezza” by Paolo Sorrentino, Giulio Manfredonia guides Antonio Albanese in a wild, ferocious and merciless comedy in the role of his iconic Cetto La Quale, a Calabrian politician and entrepreneur who makes a total blot. Born on the small screen at the beginning of 2000, Cetto La Quale is here the protagonist of a sort of race for power and personal salvation, while he takes on every possible hypocrite (old or new) of our country, of our bigoted, lazzarona, thief politics , liar and manipulative. Film that rests almost completely on the shoulders of Antonio Albanese, launched at full speed, who with a vocabulary made up of a thousand entities, brings to the gallows of ridicule the many improvised, ignorant, populists and people leaders, especially Berlusconi (whose spirit hovers throughout throughout the film) was a prophet and symbol. Great success with the public, the beginning of a trilogy with which Antonio Albanese reminded us that he is a sumptuous comedian, of how laughter has always been the best way to laugh at ourselves, of this country that continues to prefer Cetto La Quale because, for better or worse, it prefers to remain a temple of chaos.

Like a Cat on the Ring Road (2017)

Another comedy of manners and society for Antonio Albanese, who directed by Riccardo Milano and alongside an extraordinary Paola Cortellesi, seven years ago with “Like a cat on the ring road” gave us a perfect film to pay homage to the great bittersweet comedies of our tradition, from Lina Wertmuller to Mario Monicelli, from Dino Risi to Vittorio De Sica. Albanese plays Giovanni, the classic Roman liberal bourgeois who finds himself in difficulty when his daughter Agnese falls in love with Alessio, who comes from the infamous neighborhood of Bastogi, son of the crackling Monica. It will be the beginning of a forced acquaintance that will cause two universes to collide, that of “high” Rome and that of the suburbs, with outcomes that are both exhilarating and actually filled with a melancholic sensation of isolation and frustration, mirroring the disastrous modern society. “Like a cat on the ring road” is one of Antonio Albanese’s best films, whose chemistry with Paola Cortellesi and the rest of the cast is simply perfect, providing great laughs, embarrassing moments but also the right amount of feelings that can make the difference. Great success with the public, it had a sequel, released in the midst of Covid, with which to continue a story that reflects the new modern classism.

Days and Clouds (2007)

Antonio Albanese is not only a great comedian, but he has always, since the days of “Vesna goes fast” by Carlo Mazzacurati, been able to challenge dramatic and more committed cinema with a disarming confidence. “Giorni e Nuvole”, directed by Silvio Soldini , is a painful and profound film about poverty, about how shocking it can impact our lives. Albanese plays Michele, a Genoese entrepreneur who finds himself broke from night to morning because of his partner. His life, that of his wife Elsa (Margherita Buy) and his daughter Alice (Alba Rohrwacher) as wealthy and privileged, becomes a progressive slide to the margins of society, which will literally put their psycho-emotional balance and their marriage under siege. “Giorni e Nuvole” is a difficult but important film, which talks about the ruthless centrality of materiality in our present, how losing a job can become a nightmare with no way out and the mental fragility that all this entails. A profoundly existential film beyond the reference theme, it is a fresco of everyday life of exemplary refinement and sensitivity, with an intense, very credible and very inspired Antonio Albanese. It remains one of the most beautiful films ever made in Italy on the theme of precarious employment, naturally understood not only as work but also as human.