The characters and events shown are imaginary
The social and environmental
context is real

Fracesco Rosi’s outrageously bold social realism film ends with the above condemning statement. The film offers a unique over the shoulder view into the world of political deal making and corruption in Naples of the early 60’s. Rod Steiger effectively plays the ruthless, power-hungry [...]

Several days ago we saw Cinema Paradiso at the House of Italy. Clearly the film centers on the relationship of projectionist Alfredo with Salvatore (Toto), both as child and as adolescent. A question that always comes back to me is why Alfredo insists so forcefully that the adolescent Salvatore leave and never return and never [...]

Take a close look at the this picture. What do you think is happening?
A lot has been written about this neorealist modern fairy tale from Vittorio de Sica – the director of ‘The Bicycle Thief’. If you haven’t seen this masterpiece yet, pick one of your gloomy days (we all have a few) and watch [...]

Can a social class gap prevent two people from having a relationship? According to Pupi Avati’s highly-acclaimed film Incantato – no for a while, but then again yes in 1920’s Bologna.

In this context, Nello a young and sensitive professor (Neri Marcorè) from Rome is sent to teach in a notable college in Bologna and most [...]

In a recent post, Laura commented on Nanni Moretti’s acting style – calling it “flat” – in the film The Son’s Room. Well, here is a short clip from the movie, just hit play to watch:
True, this is just a clip, but to me he seems pretty expressive. What is your verdict? Flat or [...]