Bad Tales

"Once upon a time there was a dream that now exists no more"

2020 1h 38m IT

👍

6.7

SOLID

★6.7TMDB · 620

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In a small suburb on the outskirts of Rome, the cheerful heat of summer camouflages a stifling atmosphere of alienation. From a distance, the families seem normal, but it’s an illusion: in the houses, courtyards and gardens, silence shrouds the subtle sadism of the fathers, the passivity of the mothers and the guilty indifference of adults. But it’s the desperation and repressed rage of the children that will explode and cut through this grotesque façade, with devastating consequences for the entire community.

“Once upon a time there was a dream that now exists no more”

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Cast

Elio Germano
Bruno Placido
Tommaso Di Cola
Dennis Placido
Giulietta Rebeggiani
Alessia Placido
Gabriel Montesi
Amelio Guerrini
Justin Alexander Korovkin
Geremia Guerrini
Barbara Chichiarelli
Dalila Placido
Lino Musella
Professor Bernardini
Ileana D'Ambra
Vilma Tommasi

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Fabio D'Innocenzo
Writers: Fabio D'Innocenzo, Damiano D'Innocenzo
Languages: Italian
Countries: Italy, Switzerland

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 6 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Italy, Switzerland.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Directed by Fabio D'Innocenzo, shot by Paolo Carnera. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Editor Esmeralda Calabria shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Elio Germano and Tommaso Di Cola and Giulietta Rebeggiani carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Once upon a time there was a dream that now exists no more".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt8526370 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Fabio D'Innocenzo directs. Paolo Carnera behind the camera. Esmeralda Calabria cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Italy, Switzerland. Dialogue in Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 6 years ago.
2International production across 2 countries: Italy, Switzerland.
3Directed by Fabio D'Innocenzo, shot by Paolo Carnera. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Editor Esmeralda Calabria shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Elio Germano and Tommaso Di Cola and Giulietta Rebeggiani carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "Once upon a time there was a dream that now exists no more".
7IMDB entry: tt8526370 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Paolo Carnera
Editing: Esmeralda Calabria
Production design: Emita Frigato
Costume design: Massimo Cantini Parrini
Makeup / hair: Cristina Amadio
Stunt coordinator: Emiliano Novelli
Runtime: 98 min · 1h 38m
Status: Released
Original language: IT
Certification (US): MA 15+
IMDB: Bad Tales (2020)

Also by

Fabio D'Innocenzo

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2026-02-12
★ 6/10
This is a fairly savage indictment of suburban family living. Set on the outskirts of Rome - but it could as easily be London or Paris, this swaps the role normalcies of aspects of parenthood and visits the perceived sins of the parents back on themselves by way of their own children. Having been brought up in a comfortable enough swamp of ennui and uninspired hopelessness, it’s the children who decide that vengeance will be their’s as they, often entirely independently, plot revenge on those whose physical and cerebral inertia they feel has condemned them to perpetuate the mundanity of their parent’s lives. The theme is also quite portentous as although these families live in close proximity, there is little sense of community here. Instead, we have quite a potent sense of isolation that is only going to be exacerbated by social media trends that further negate the need for these youngsters to physically interact with anyone face-to-face. The parents range from the lovingly indifferent to the selfishly unbothered whilst the kids manage to come up with some remarkably grown up strategies to inflict their revenge, and along the way we expose and sometimes reinforce sexual stereotyping that does nobody any favours. Honestly, save for Barbara Chichiarelli’s powerful performance as “Dalila”, I didn’t find the acting or writing talent here especially noteworthy, but I’d probably edge the youngsters like Tommaso Di Cola as working harder to actually create personas that are more natural and deserving of our sympathy, or at least our engagement. It’s really the emotional aridness and almost auto-pilot nature of daily existence that raises the hairs on the back of your neck. Perhaps it’s familiarity? This has something of a documentary look to it as it sums life up as little more than a plodding precursor to death, with little to motivate the upcoming generations whose societal attitudes are already worryingly introspective.

Production companies