Ricky Tognazzi’s classic anti-mafia thriller is deeply grounded in reality. The film was made a year after judge Giovanni Falcone was murdered as he was on his way to Palermo airport. The judge, his wife, and three police bodyguards were killed. Interestingly the film is not about the judge or the case, but focuses on… Continue reading The Escort – La Scorta (Ricky Tognazzi – 1993)
Category: Drama
Special Interview with Director Mimmo Calopresti at Grand Opening of Los Angeles-Italia Film Festival
We enter the VIP lounge and start a fight for the food. The buffet is overcrowded, as it’s already 10pm. Hands grabbing us from every side like uncontrollable tentacles, hard to keep away, so I decide to hit the bar and get some wine, leaving Shlomi and Odelia to the food mission. After drinking some… Continue reading Special Interview with Director Mimmo Calopresti at Grand Opening of Los Angeles-Italia Film Festival
The Fiancés – I Fidanzati (Ermanno Olmi – 1963)
Do your memories carry a soundtrack? Ermanno Olmi in a genuine masterpiece believes they sure do. And why not? We all tend to associate old songs to places and people we used to know and this way create more vivid and richer “mini-episodes” in our mind. Olmi skillfully uses a lively tune of a dance… Continue reading The Fiancés – I Fidanzati (Ermanno Olmi – 1963)
Cinema Paradiso (Giuseppe Tornatore – 1988)
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… Continue reading Cinema Paradiso (Giuseppe Tornatore – 1988)
Miracle in Milan – Miracolo a Milano (Vittorio de Sica – 1951)
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… Continue reading Miracle in Milan – Miracolo a Milano (Vittorio de Sica – 1951)