It is a film where a man sings about being an immigrant while wearing a designer suit; where a pizza oven becomes a life raft; where the hero is a coward and the saints are the people he once despised.
argued:
: When a civil war breaks out, Checco is forced to join a group of migrants on a treacherous journey back to Europe.
Key visual gags:
Director (Zalone’s longtime collaborator) shot Tolo Tolo as a road movie crossed with a disaster comedy. The cinematography contrasts the warm, saturated colors of Kenya with the cold, metallic grays of Libyan detention centers.
But what is Tolo Tolo ? Why does the name trigger such passionate reactions? And how did a comedy about an Italian waiter stranded in Africa become the highest-grossing film of 2020 in Italy?
: Unlike his companions who seek safety, Checco’s primary goal is to reach Liechtenstein to exploit its banking secrecy laws and avoid Italian taxes. Production and Creative Shift
Zalone has since announced a new film, Il più grande del mondo (2026), but has stated he will never make another immigration comedy. Tolo Tolo , he says, exhausted him.
Tolo Tolo shattered records immediately upon release, proving Zalone's immense pull even with "heavier" subject matter.
With Tolo Tolo , Zalone set his sights on a more dangerous target: immigration, refugees, and the African dream.