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)

Italian Cinema Audiences – Real Stories by Real People

In this post, I am not going to discuss a particular film but share with you a very special project I came across the other day. I’d like to give the discovery credit to my favorite Twitter hashtags – we all have our own lists – that keep me abreast about the greatest and latest… Continue reading Italian Cinema Audiences – Real Stories by Real People

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)

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)

Days and Clouds – Giorni e nuvole (Silvio Soldini – 2007)

In tune with the tough economic times these days, the film explores the impact of a job loss on a middle class family in Genoa. [youtube width=”615″ height=”461″]http://youtu.be/Ck4e-NpX0NY[/youtube] I found this film very interesting, especially when viewed through the prism of The Bicycle Thief (Vittorio De Sica – 1948). Both effectively depict the rigid patriarchal… Continue reading Days and Clouds – Giorni e nuvole (Silvio Soldini – 2007)