Tonight's fare was the documentary/docudrama The True Legend of Tony Vilar. In the 1960's Antonio Ragusa changed his name to Tony Vilar, and became a huge teen idol in European and South American music. He was on top of the world, until one fateful day when he just disappeared. His friends and relatives seemed to know where he had gone and why, but they weren't saying. Now a young Italian singer (himself a distant relative of Tony's) has decided to track down the man and find out where he went and why.
It's tough to fit this film into a particular notion of type - it's more like a dramatization of a documentary with a lot of comedy and musical numbers thrown in. And yet, it's a true story and describes real events. And the cast of strange and endearing characters really fill this movie out nicely. The screening itself was a hoot - the audience was about 98% Italian (the Q&A with the director was in Italian, with a translator for the rest of us) and seemed to all know each other - it really felt like somebody's family reunion. Which, as it turns out, it sort of was. See, in the movie, the young song writer finds Tony Vilar, once again Antonio Ragusa and now a used car salesman. As the movie unfolds he reveals that he had lost his hair at the age of 24, and, while passing through a mob of fans one night, had his toupee ripped off. Tony believed that he couldn't be a singer and be bald, so he moved to America, leaving his identity behind and starting over as Antonio.
In talking with the young singer, though, Antonio decides to give it one more try. And not only is this shown in the film, but Tony Vilar was at the screening and sang a little! He also thanked the filmakers for "bringing him back to life!" All in all, a fantastic and bizarre time.
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