Kill me if you can

Movies
Directed by Director's notes
  • Alex Infascelli
Year
  • 2022
Length
  • 1h 30'
Directed by
  • Alex Infascelli
Year
  • 2022
Length
  • 1h 30'
Synopsis

On 31 October 1969, TV programmes across America were interrupted by a news flash: a man armed to the teeth has taken control of a TWA jet from Los Angeles to San Francisco, new final destination: Rome. Thus begins the longest hijacking in aviation history. While America is glued in front of the TV sets to follow with bated breath the odyssey of TWA flight 85, FBI agents identify the boy. His name is Raffaele Minichiello, 19, who emigrated to the USA from Irpinia in Southern Italy after the 1962 earthquake, a Marine decorated for bravery in battle. In the meantime, Italy too has begun to follow their compatriot’s joust through the skies. When he reaches Rome, Minichiello tries to escape in a police car but is caught and arrested… Kill Me If You Can is the incredible story of Raffaele Minichiello, a life scanned by earthquakes, bombings, wars, personal tragedies and all sorts of troubles, but always marked by an invincible will to live, or rather, to survive, despite a fate that seems to be raging against him.

Director's notes
  • In my two previous documentaries, I dealt with the (complex) simplicity of two men like Emilio D'Alessandro and Francesco Totti. In telling the story of Raffaele Minichiello – Mini to his friends – I had to recalibrate my narrative approach, because here I was faced with an enigma. Raffaele, in his formally simple way, is not only indecipherable but also the unwitting bearer of truths that even he doesn't seem to possess. For the first time, I found myself without a written ending, a designated landing place, or perhaps in this case it's better to say: a safe runway. Instead, I chose to document our encounter, building around it a resonant tableau, not to embellish – I believe the interview alone would have been enough – but to understand, to catch my breath. The surprising archival material I found during years of research highlights how, even before me, others had already found his story interesting, and important to observe Raffaele in his world, so detached is he from it. In fact, whether he's framed in a B/W still shot in 16mm in the 60s, or a Rai video from the 80s, Raffaele always seems disconnected from the context and immersed in his own world, his own time, his own dimension. In this continuous "zooming in" and "zooming out" from the character, what emerged is the most honest of my works, not only in terms of approach or empathy with the protagonist, but from a narrative point of view. Some discoveries or plot twists appeared to me while I was already editing. And so, I let them fall where I chronologically found myself.
Screenplay
  • Alex Infascelli
  • Vincenzo Scuccimarra
Produced by
  • Fremantle Italia
  • The Apartment
  • Rai Cinema
Distributed by
  • Wanted Cinema
Director's notes
X

In my two previous documentaries, I dealt with the (complex) simplicity of two men like Emilio D'Alessandro and Francesco Totti. In telling the story of Raffaele Minichiello – Mini to his friends – I had to recalibrate my narrative approach, because here I was faced with an enigma. Raffaele, in his formally simple way, is not only indecipherable but also the unwitting bearer of truths that even he doesn't seem to possess. For the first time, I found myself without a written ending, a designated landing place, or perhaps in this case it's better to say: a safe runway. Instead, I chose to document our encounter, building around it a resonant tableau, not to embellish – I believe the interview alone would have been enough – but to understand, to catch my breath. The surprising archival material I found during years of research highlights how, even before me, others had already found his story interesting, and important to observe Raffaele in his world, so detached is he from it. In fact, whether he's framed in a B/W still shot in 16mm in the 60s, or a Rai video from the 80s, Raffaele always seems disconnected from the context and immersed in his own world, his own time, his own dimension. In this continuous "zooming in" and "zooming out" from the character, what emerged is the most honest of my works, not only in terms of approach or empathy with the protagonist, but from a narrative point of view. Some discoveries or plot twists appeared to me while I was already editing. And so, I let them fall where I chronologically found myself.