Peter Greenaway’s Lucca Mortis: The Rebirth of a Cinematic Vision in Italy

DCS
August 18, 2023

After being postponed for four years, Peter Greenaway’s drama movie “Lucca Mortis” is now again actively in development. The Tuscany region of Italy’s Lucca is where the movie will be shot, but the specifics of the filming schedule have not yet been made public. The official synopsis of the movie reads, “A writer takes a sabbatical and leaves his home in Little Italy in New York City to travel to Lucca, Italy in order to trace his ancestral roots and tidy up the loose ends in his life. He realises his last big adventure will very likely be death.”

The plot of “Lucca Mortis” was initially revealed in October 2019, and Morgan Freeman was confirmed to play the lead. If the 86-year-old actor is still involved with the project is not yet known. In addition to Ellis Redding in “The Shawshank Redemption,” Detective William Somerset in “Se7en,” Nelson Mandela in “Invictus,” Lucius Fox in “The Dark Knight” trilogy, Eddie Dupris in “Million Dollar Baby,” and Azeem in “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,” the Academy Award-winning actor has also played a number of other notable roles.

Along with Greenaway, Lori McCreary, and Kees Kasander, Freeman was also slated to produce “Lucca Mortis.” Lucca, which has previously been the filming location for “The English Patient,” “The Portrait of a Lady,” “Miracle at St. Anna,” “Like Crazy,” “Lovers and Other Relatives,” “The Triumph of Love,” “The Last Fighter,” “The Wayward Wife,” and “Pilgrim of Love,” was supposed to host the start of the movie’s production in March 2020. However, for unclear reasons, the movie was postponed. The cast of the film hasn’t yet been made public.

“Walking to Paris,” Greenaway’s most recent full-length film, is about a 27-year-old artist named Constantin Brâncuși who walks from Bucharest to Paris in 1903 and 1904 as training and a precursor to becoming the most significant sculptor of the 20th century. Emun Elliott plays Constantin Brâncuși, Remo Girone plays Brâncuși’s son, Carla Juri plays Lucy, and Marcello Mazzarella plays Auguste Rodin in the movie “Walking to Paris.” ‘The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover,’ ‘The Pillow Book,’ ‘The Tulse Luper Suitcases’ trilogy, and ‘The Draughtsman’s Contract’ are just a few of Greenaway’s prior critically lauded works.

Prior collaborations with McCreary and Freeman include “Invictus,” “5 Flights Up,” and “The Story of God with Morgan Freeman.” When the movie was first announced, McCreary told Variety, “Morgan and I have been fans of Peter’s work for years and we feel incredibly grateful to have this opportunity to actually work with him. Regarding Kasander, the producer is well-known for producing “Fish Tank,” “Over Your Cities,” “Who the Devil Can See in the Dark,” and “The Domino Effect” and has worked frequently with Greenaway.