Ultimo schiaffo, the long-awaited second feature film by Matteo Oleotto, more than ten years after his debut Zoran, il mio nipote scemo and following its screening in the Panorama Italia section at Alice nella Città, is finally ready for the general public: The film, an Italian–Slovenian co-production with Rai Cinema and Staragara I.T., will be released in Italian cinemas on 8 January 2026, distributed by Tucker Film. Ahead of its official release, a preview screening is scheduled to take place in Rome on 4 January at 11:15 a.m. at the Quattro Fontane cinema.
Oleotto’s story unfolds along a fine line between bitter comedy, drama and noir, following the lives of Petra and Jure, two mountain handymen siblings living in a snowbound Friulian village, grappling with a daily existence marked by hardship, odd jobs and dreams of escape from a destiny that seems frozen in ice.
The chance to try to change their fate comes with the disappearance of a dog, which appears to promise a generous reward… but the search soon turns into a tragicomic journey through a provincial world suspended between hope and despair.
In the cast, Adalgisa Manfrida and Massimiliano Motta give body and soul to the lead roles of Petra and Jure, alongside Giuseppe Battiston, Giovanni Ludeno, Davide Iacopini, Carla Manzon and Rossana Mortara.
A key element contributing decisively to the atmosphere of Ultimo Schiaffo is the cinematography by Sandro Chessa, CCS: the blinding whiteness of the snow, the greyness of the Friulian landscapes and the slow drift of winter light become silent protagonists, capable of expressing an existential condition as powerfully as the characters’ dialogue and actions. Chessa succeeds in transforming seemingly remote locations into spaces charged with emotional tension, where the cinematography does not merely capture the scene but becomes a fundamental narrative register, heightening the contrast between the external coldness and the human warmth that emerges from the bonds between the protagonists.
Speaking about the film in a recent interview, Oleotto described Ultimo schiaffo as “a kind of cinema that is born of my land and returns home, blending comedy, drama and a touch of thriller, where the characters’ reality is deeply reflected in the environment that surrounds them.”
The specialist press has largely welcomed the film with positive reviews, highlighting its ability to move naturally between different genres without ever losing coherence, and praising the use of the snow-covered landscape not as a mere aesthetic backdrop but as a narrative device that amplifies the characters’ inner contradictions.
Ahead of its official release, the Rome preview screening on 4 January at the Quattro Fontane cinema will offer audiences the chance to see Ultimo schiaffo.
