The story of the 83-year-old’s life, who arrived in Australia penniless in 1956 from Sicily and became a millionaire. Part biography, part cultural celebration, Madeleine Martiniello’s film traces Cozzo’s personal fortunes alongside those of the generations of migrants who have been drawn to his ornate, ostentatious wares, viewing ownership of them as a sign of success.
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As someone outside of Melbourne who knew nothing about Franco Cozzo, I started off thinking this was gonna be a fun look at a bizarre character, and in many ways it is, but it also very quickly becomes this great cultural celebration and a feel-good look at what it meant and means to be a migrant in Australia, and in general. A couple of really heartbreaking moments at the end, especially when Franco talks about his parents, and how the community he grew up with and seemed to help bring together has moved on, are followed by him giving seemingly everybody a complete runaround when it comes to selling Footscray and that just absolutely rules. What a king. Wish this went a lot deeper but as it stands, I really enjoyed this. Fascinating stuff.