The Engaged – I Fidanzati (1963)
Do your memories carry a soundtrack?
Hands Over the City – Le mani sulla città (Francesco Rosi – 1963)
The characters and events shown are imaginary The social and environmental context is real.
Miracle in Milan – Miracolo a Milano (Vittorio De Sica – 1951)
Take a close look at the this picture. What do you think is happening?
Mid-August Lunch – Pranzo di Ferragosto (Gianni Di Gregorio – 2008)
First time’s a charm may be an old cliché, but there is something fresh and original to creating something for the first time that is clean from preconceptions and risk of repetitions. Not always. Yet, this charmingly sensitive film, which marks the debut of Gianni Di Gregorio as a director, represents one of the pleasant surprises. In fact, Di Gregorio won the 2009 David di Donatello Award for Best New Director (Migliore Regista Esordiente). And this is important as prior to this film, Di Gregorio typically served as an actor and writer collaborating with Director Matteo Garrone on notable films such as 2004 First Love and 2008 Gomorrah.
Enchanted – Incantato (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.
Flat or No Flat
In a recent post, Laura commented on Nanni Moretti's acting style - calling it "flat" - in the film The Son's Room. Well, here is a short clip from the movie, just hit play to watch:
Partner (1968)
I had no particular expectations from this film. I believe a film synopsis has this ingrained tendency to misrepresent sometimes. In this film Bernardo Bertolucci takes you to his early days in cinema, during the tumultuous late 60’s. It’s highly experimental, with erratic jump cuts, inconsistent plot line, political propaganda (Free Vietnam!) and occasional stylistic scenes that stand aloof just because of their aesthetics. A memorable scene is the giant shadow on a building that kicks away a smaller shadow of the main character.
L’uomo delle stelle – The Star Maker
This was the first film we saw in our House of Italy series. The series' producers (myself & two friends) spent a bit of time deciding what should be their first film & chose this one not only for its filmic qualities but also because it was about movie-making. It wasn't until after our discussion that I began to realize it was really about making honest art, not just STARS.