Swept Away – Travolti da un insolito destino nell’azzurro mare d’agosto (Lina Wertmüller – 1974)

Summertime and the living is easy…so why not enjoy a summer masterpiece from Lina Wertmüller who started her career as an assistant director in Fellini’s 1962 film 81/2? The film, is by no means your typical summer movie, weaves together issues of sex, politics, male-female, poor-rich, relationships into comedy turned drama. Swept away by an… Continue reading Swept Away – Travolti da un insolito destino nell’azzurro mare d’agosto (Lina Wertmüller – 1974)

The Girlfriends – Le Amiche (Michelangelo Antonioni – 1955)

Do you see your friends as sources of support or anxiety? More often than not, friendships provide us with mirrors through which we can interpret and validate our reality. In this film, Michelangelo Antonioni explores the intricate, at times fragile relationships between four women in Turin. The story is based on a 1949 article published… Continue reading The Girlfriends – Le Amiche (Michelangelo Antonioni – 1955)

The White Sheik – Lo Sceicco Bianco (Federico Fellini – 1952)

Are you a Yankee fan? A Madonna die-hard? Or better yet a Justin Bieber’s zealot? By having sports or entertainment idols we develop a perfect extension of our identity. You might say, an aspired identity full of good looks, talents and fortunes. In this parallel worlds dynamics, whatever happens to your subject of admiration in… Continue reading The White Sheik – Lo Sceicco Bianco (Federico Fellini – 1952)

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)

Enchanted – Incantato (Pupi Avati – 2003)

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… Continue reading Enchanted – Incantato (Pupi Avati – 2003)