Il Tetto – The Roof (Vittorio De Sica – 1956)

Five years after his masterpiece, Miracolo a Milano – Miracle in Milan (1951), director Vittorio De Sica with screenwriter Cesare Zavattini, return to a familiar neorealist theme – social troubles of a young couple, played by unprofessional actors, facing a housing problem during Italy’s economic boom. Newlywed couple, Gabriella Pallotta – Luisa (as Gabriella Pallotti)… Continue reading Il Tetto – The Roof (Vittorio De Sica – 1956)

Il cammino della speranza – The Path of Hope (Pietro Germi – 1950)

Right from the opening scene where you see the village women all veiled in black waiting patiently outside the mine for their husbands who refuse to come up to avoid the mine closing – you see direct similarities with another Nerorealism harbinger – Visconti’s 1948 La terra trema (The Earth Trembles). In the latter, the black… Continue reading Il cammino della speranza – The Path of Hope (Pietro Germi – 1950)

Terraferma (Emanuele Crialese – 2011)

These days I have roughly an hour commute time between 8AM-9AM, so I find myself spending the time listening to Italian live radio broadcast (thank you TuneIn Radio app). This is one of the blessings of broadband streaming; your views and surroundings are rooted in the US, but your real-time soundtrack is coming from elsewhere… Continue reading Terraferma (Emanuele Crialese – 2011)

Open Roads 2014: Via Castellana Bandiera – A Street in Palermo (Emma Dante – 2013)

It’s that time of the year, an absolute treat. I am obviously talking about the annual Italian Cinema festival, Open Roads, that takes place every June at Lincoln Film Center. It’s a rare opportunity to get access to some of the freshest voices in Italian cinema with veteran as well as new surprises. This year, unfortunately,… Continue reading Open Roads 2014: Via Castellana Bandiera – A Street in Palermo (Emma Dante – 2013)

La Grande Bellezza – The Great Beauty (Paolo Sorrentino – 2013)

La Grande Bellezza

This movie is a portrait of the lifestyle and human attitude that is typical of Roman society: decadent, indolent and insolent – if you allow me to express these words also in English. Sorrentino gives us fantastic, charming, captivating photographs of Rome. From the sparkling colors of Jep’s funkiest parties, to the shaded tones of… Continue reading La Grande Bellezza – The Great Beauty (Paolo Sorrentino – 2013)