Golden Door – Nuovomondo (Emanuele Crialese – 2006)

The latest film by director Emanuele Crialese (who also did 2002 Respiro) is a fine example of modern Italian cinema at its best – amazing photography, supported by clever screenplay and pounding soundtrack that will keep you relishing the experience days after watching. [youtube width=”615″ height=”461″]http://youtu.be/-NkoJXHiQTc[/youtube] The film vividly tells the story of Italian emigration… Continue reading Golden Door – Nuovomondo (Emanuele Crialese – 2006)

Umberto D. (Vittorio De Sica – 1952)

In one of the greatest accomplishments of the Neorealist film movement, Vittorio De Sica dedicates this film to his father and effectively captures the grim life of the elderly in post-war Italy. The film paints a vividly emotional picture of Umberto D. (Carlo Battisti non-proessional actor – a university professor from Florence), an older man… Continue reading Umberto D. (Vittorio De Sica – 1952)

Fists in the Pocket – I Pugni in Tasca (Marco Bellocchio – 1965)

Marco Bellocchio, Italy’s second generation of film directors after WW2, highly influenced by the British cinema, provides in his film debut a counter and radical approach to the bourgeois family values, religion and the Neo-realism movement. Charged with the director’s autobiographical elements, over the edge acting style and Ennio Morricone’s circular vocal treatments – the… Continue reading Fists in the Pocket – I Pugni in Tasca (Marco Bellocchio – 1965)

Story of a Love Affair – Cronaca di un amore (Michelangelo Antonioni – 1950)

Rainy dark streets, unfulfilled love, alienated ambience, restless camera movement and mimialistic soundtrack come together here in Michelangelo Antonioni’s first full-length feature film. With the recent passing of this incredible director that has largely shaped the course of Italian cinema – it is fascinating to go back to the early years and observe the origin… Continue reading Story of a Love Affair – Cronaca di un amore (Michelangelo Antonioni – 1950)

Salvatore Giuliano (Francesco Rosi – 1962)

In this masterpiece classic director Francesco Rosi tells the story of Salvatore Giuliano, a famous Sicilian gangster that during the mid-40’s collaborated with a Sicilian separatist group, Movement for the Independence of Sicily (MIS), with close ties to the Mafia engaging with small-scale attacks on government and police targets. Rosi delivers a poignant documentary that… Continue reading Salvatore Giuliano (Francesco Rosi – 1962)