From 2012 Rome’s International Film Festival: L’Isola Dell’Angello Caduto – The Island of the Fallen Angel (Carlo Lucarelli – 2012)

Waiting for first screening of “L’isola dell’angelo caduto” by Carlo Lucarelli @ Rome Film Festival. From the rich program of the festival, I picked the debut film of director Carlo Lucarelli, famous for his TV documentary series about crime: Blu notte misteri d’Italia. The name of the film derives from an ancient story that when… Continue reading From 2012 Rome’s International Film Festival: L’Isola Dell’Angello Caduto – The Island of the Fallen Angel (Carlo Lucarelli – 2012)

Open Roads 2011: 1860 I Mille di Garibaldi (Alessandro Blasetti – 1934)

As Italy celebrates its 150th year of unification (aka Risoregimento) this year, the Lincoln Film Society in New York chose to include this masterpiece by Alessandro Blasetti as part of their current festival: Open Roads: New Italian Cinema. I attended the screening and here are some of my impressions. Carmelo and Rosuzza his wife reunited… Continue reading Open Roads 2011: 1860 I Mille di Garibaldi (Alessandro Blasetti – 1934)

Escape by Night – Era notte a Roma (Roberto Rossellini – 1960)

Known as the father of neorealism in Italian cinema, specifically due to his widely acclaimed masterpiece, Rome Open City – Roma, città aperta (1945), in this film director Roberto Rossellini continues his theme of personal human stories embedded in the rough realities of Italy during WWII. Portraying a common phenomenon at the time by zooming… Continue reading Escape by Night – Era notte a Roma (Roberto Rossellini – 1960)

The Desert of the Tartars – Il Deserto dei Tartari (Valerio Zurlini – 1976)

Open wide spaces of panoramic desert views, soldiers perched high on their guard in an ancient, semi destructed fortress, waiting for an unseen enemy – the tartars – that for years and years never comes. Despite this inactivity, there is a total obedience to rules and regulations in the face of a non-existent enemy, which… Continue reading The Desert of the Tartars – Il Deserto dei Tartari (Valerio Zurlini – 1976)

Mediterraneo (Gabriele Salvatores – 1991)

In tempi come questi, la fuga è l’unico mezzo che rimane per mantenersi vìvi e continuare a sognare. In times like these, escape is the only mean available for keeping alive and continue dreaming. – Henry Laborit This film opens up with this quote to set the stage for a simple truth; sometimes we need… Continue reading Mediterraneo (Gabriele Salvatores – 1991)