The Embalmer

The Embalmer (L'imbalsamatore, also released as The Taxidermist) is a 2002 Italian noir drama directed by Matteo Garrone. Its story draws on real events: a Roman newspaper case about a homosexual taxidermist, known in the press as the "dwarf of Termini," who was murdered by a friend and former employee in 1990. Ernesto Mahieux plays Peppino, the middle-aged taxidermist who takes a handsome young man, Valerio (Valerio Foglia Manzillo), under his wing; the arrangement grows tense when Valerio's girlfriend Deborah (Elisabetta Rocchetti) enters the picture. Shooting took place in Villaggio Coppola near Castel Volturno and in Cremona. The film screened in the Directors' Fortnight at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival under the title L'étrange monsieur Peppino. Mahieux won the David di Donatello for Best Supporting Actor, and the film also received the David di Donatello for Best Screenplay plus two Nastro d'Argento prizes.