‘Petra’ is back on Sky, aka Paola Cortellesi: “She is really free”

The debut of the new stories of the Genoa furniture inspector Petra Delicato, alias Paola Cortellesi, who for the second consecutive season will be the protagonist of the Sky Original series, ‘Petra’, together with Andrea Pennacchi who will take on the role of her deputy Antonio Monte. Directed by Maria Sole Tognazzi, who also leads the set for this second season, the two actors are accompanied, in the cast, by Manuela Mandracchia and Francesco Colella, respectively in the roles of Beatrice and Marco, two new characters who will revolve around the lives of Petra and di Monte, while the psychoanalyst Riccardo is played by Sergio Romano. Exclusively on Sky Cinema Uno and Sky Cinema 4K, streaming only on Now and available on demand (also in 4K quality) every Wednesday at 21.25 starting from 21 September, four new stories that will have the episode ‘Serpenti in Paradise ‘. Petra is still Petra, free without flaunting it and paying the consequences, but who, apart from being women or men, wouldn’t want to be a bit like Petra? “Of course, because it is the maximum expression of freedom – says Paola Cortellesi – Whoever does not allow himself to be influenced by the judgment of others is a free person. It is very difficult to reach this degree of freedom. We are however constantly conditioned, some more or less, in one way or another, from the judgment of others, from parents, to family, to peers, to society. If we could achieve it, the highest form of freedom would be this. Of course, there are consequences and this character is wonderful because he doesn’t care about the consequences. He accepts them, pays them serenely, but nothing manages to undermine his idea of ​​freedom which is very clear in his head and he fights for this too “. The news, for this character as well as for Monte, however, are not lacking. In the second season of ‘Petra’ comes love. So what is about to begin is the season of love? “The main problem – says Paola Cortellesi – also for a matter of timing is the estrangement due to the love that Monte (the deputy inspector played by Andrea Pennacchi, editor’s note) is the first to meet. An inevitable departure from what for Petra he has become a bit of a life partner. He is the ideal companion: the one with whom he does not share the boring and even tiring things that a stable relationship entails, those that require a certain amount of patience “. “Monte is a life partner with whom to share the joys and sorrows of his work, with whom he has the opportunity to talk about himself. This is an ideal companion – says Paola Cortellesi – who does not involve all the other difficulties that exist in a couple. however she finds a love and then inevitably moves away. This is the first problem. Petra is a woman who for her freedom has also given up certain relationships, it is her distinctive trait. Now her certainties are wavering, because she is alone. She finds herself a bit lonely and this on the one hand is a choice, which she persuasively continues to pursue; on the other hand, loneliness is loneliness, there is nothing to do, so what so far has been a deterrent in choosing a union, a coexistence with a man, now maybe it can become not an opportunity but something acceptable, to try to share something beautiful with another person “. In ‘Petra’ we still investigate happiness and the freedom to change even radical choices, without fearing the judgment of others. Why do we tend only to desire that freedom from characters like Petra, therefore on the screen, rather than making it become the reality of every day? “Perhaps – observes Maria Sole Tognazzi – the characters of the films, the heroines of the novels serve precisely this: to act as a mirror and, I hope, to make people, readers and viewers find courage, also through the example that they receive from a character, from the protagonist of a story. It would be wonderful, it would mean that films, books, in addition to making someone spend a pleasant time, can also be, who knows, a reason for courage, to try to be like the character. they can be a stimulus for everyone. Does the actor also learn something from the characters on stage? What remains of them? “It is the beauty of this job, which stimulates you and gives you new things, new food for thought in your personal life – explains Paola Cortellesi – On the set we debate and talk. When Maria Sole Tognazzi guides us in a scene, she still has another vision of hers on how to stage it, certainly not far from what we understand, but the suggestions she gives us on the set may have to do with small nuances, which concern things she saw and I didn’t see or Andrea didn’t see. The richness of a character also depends on the amount of nuances he has, and these characters have a lot of them. “Andrea Pennacchi also had an instructive experience playing the deputy inspector Antonio Monte:” Beyond the beauty of staging it, I made things better understood. Petra was already very well written in the novel. It has allowed me to see things that I would not have considered in the same way before, it has broadened my point of view on many things, including the life of policemen, who face terrible things every day and then no one wonders what effect it will have. on their newspaper. It’s nice to see how Petra and Antonio support each other in this too, when at the end they make this little ‘recap’ of the day, they support each other, after having seen the most terrible things. It was also interesting to meet the consultants, who helped us in the work on the cases, who are police officers or otherwise experts. Normal people, far from American superheroes, but dedicated to what they are doing, with a care and humanity that is interesting to see “.