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It's a knockout
A young Italian boxer pushed to the limit by his Sicilian father in the backstreets of modern-day Perth may not sound like the typical Aussie film, but the small team behind this production are confident they've got a hit. Two Fists One Heart is a film written by and based on the life of Perth boxer Rai Fazio, who finished the script almost seven years ago.
"I drew on incidents from the past and emotions and the problems I had with my father,"¯ Fazio said. "In a way, this film expresses everything that I ever wanted to say to him, but couldn't. He's a hard-headed man; he dedicated his whole life to being a trainer. Trainers are so much more than mentors, they're marriage counselors, they're financial advisors, and they're best friends. What young boxers learn in the gyms is what they go on to use in life. My life growing up was a lot tougher than what I wrote in this film, but I had less than two hours to tell my story, so I chose what I thought were the best parts."¯
Drawing parallels to Sylvester Stallone's portrayal of a young boxer in the Rocky films, Fazio knew that his life was one he had to share with others. But it was a chance meeting with Hollywood actor Harvey Keitel in a New York café which made the project come together.
"I told him about my idea and he told me I had to write it. He told me he'd read my script and give me advice. We became mates and when I got back to Australia I locked myself in my room and three months later I had the first draft,"¯ Fazio said.
A mutual friend then introduced Fazio to award-winning producer David Elfick (Rabbit Proof Fence, Newsfront), who was so impressed with Fazio's script that he jumped onboard, bringing in the support of Disney to handle the distribution of the film.
"This is the first screenplay that Rai has ever written, and the first time I saw it I knew its potential,"¯ Elfick said. "It has some great raw energy combined with the passion of the characters, the Italian aspect of it and the fact that it's about boxing. It's a cross-cultural drama that works very well."¯
The team wanted to keep the story as authentic as possible, so Perth was immediately down as the filming location. As far as the not-so-consistent success of Australian films to date, Elfick thinks Two Fists One Heart has an edge.
"It has visual energy; it says something about violence in a contemporary society. I think too many Aussies are trying to make quasi-American films, but this has a definite European feel, and I think that it will show. I think that Americans make so many films that it's silly to copy their films in terms of style."¯
The film stars Italian actor Ennio Fantastichini and a host of emerging Aussie actors, including Daniel Amalm in the lead role, Jessica Marais, Louisa Mignone, Paul Pantano as well as Fazio himself playing the boxing nemesis. Tim Minchin, the successful Australian musician and comic now based in London, was also written a part in the film to provide the comic relief.
"You don't necessarily have to understand boxing to get into this film. It's one of those films that can teach you a lot,"¯ Elfick said. "It will help audiences learn about the world it's depicting, and that's why I think this will have mass appeal. The relationships it deals with are the day to day relationships that everyone has, between fathers and sons, lovers, husbands and wives,"¯ Fazio agreed.
Despite being so close to the end of a very long journey, Fazio is hesitant to let himself breathe easy just yet. "I'm quietly confident, but I've got a huge responsibility to myself. I wrote it for my dad but also, like Stallone, I want to use my film as a vehicle to act. Only when I see that it's been a success I will allow myself to look up and be excited about it."¯
Two Fists One Heart is due for release in June 2008.
