Quanto basta (2018)

When it comes to Italian cinema, we are submerged with trailers and promotion of idiotic comedies, basically the same movie over and over again, as they, unfortunately, happen to be the movies my fellow countrymen pay to see. There are movies, I never even hear of, and Quanto basta is one of those. And if it wasn't for a friend of mine, I would have never known about its existence. 

The film follows Arturo (Vinicio Marchioni), a talented chef who has fallen into disgrace because of his bad temper. Convicted of assault, he is sentenced to social work in a center for autism. Once there, he meets Guido (Luigi Fedele), a young man with Asperger's syndrome who has a great passion for cooking. When Guido enters a cooking competition and asks Arturo to be his mentor, they both embark on a journey of personal growth. 

The story is very simple, it has the clichés of the genre, it feels unfocused at times, and plays out in a very predictable way, and yet I didn't really care as it is a feel-good story that highlights the importance of simplicity, in food but mostly in life --as Arturo says in the film, the world needs more a perfect spaghetti al pomodoro than it needs chocolate branzino.

What Quanto basta does best though is dealing with a delicate topic such as Asperger's syndrome in the most respectful and honest of the ways as it doesn't shy away from showing the daily struggles of someone dealing with this illness, it doesn't make fun of it, as I was expecting, and shows that Aspies are still people and we should treat them as such.

The friendship that develops between Arturo and Guido is clichéd, but it's nevertheless heartwarming and feels genuine. Arturo never feels pity for Guido; there are no filters between them as Arturo treats him exactly as he would treat a "normal" person.

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The unknown cast (at least it's unknown to me) does a pretty good job. Vinicio Marchioni gives a believable performance as Arturo, the cynical and surly chef who learns from Guido more than he would have ever thought. The standout though easily is Luigi Fedele. His performance as Guido is fantastic.

There's something about Quanto basta that didn't work for me though. It is the comedy. Unfortunately, most of the jokes and gags fell flat and I chuckled only a few times.

The Last Will Be the Last (2015)

I never cared much about Massimiliano Bruno's films as he usually does comedies and Italian comedies are pretty bad these days. The Last Will Be the Last (Italian: Gli ultimi saranno ultimi) is a dramedy though and it has Alessandro Gassmann in it so I gave it a chance. 

The film follows Luciana (Paola Cortellesi), a woman who can't really complain about her life. Sure, she is not the wealthiest woman as she is only a factory worker but she is happily married to Stefano (Alessandro Gassmann) and she is surrounded by friends. On top of that, her dream of becoming a mother is finally coming true. Unfortunately, her contract is coming to an end and her employer doesn't renew it because of her pregnancy. Since her husband spends all of his time hanging out in cafes and doing unsuccessful businesses, she finds herself in a difficult financial and familiar situation.

There are a couple of stories that intertwine with Luciana's, that of Antonio (Fabrizio Bentivoglio), a frustrated and disgraced police officer who got transferred to Luciana's town after an unfortunate incident, and that of Manuela, a trans woman who just wants a normal life.

The Last Will Be the Last doesn't have much of a plot, to be honest, but it's not a problem as it manages to touch many issues we have in Italy nowadays such as being jobless and the lack of financial means to provide for your family. Not only this turns a beautiful thing such as having a baby into something to worry about, but it prevents people from leading a dignified life. The film also deals with gambling and shows how it easily can destroy a family.

What the film does best is portraying a woman in modern-day Italy. Married to an immature man incapable of taking any sort of responsibility, Luciana does a job she doesn't like, a job that doesn't even pay that well, but she puts up with it because she has to put food on the table and keep a roof over her and her husband's head.

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That is one of the reasons Luciana's is the most compelling story, the one it's easier to emphasize and sympathize with. Then, of course, there's the performance by Paola Cortellesi. I've seen her only once before, and it was in a dumb comedy, so I wasn't expecting much from her but she blew me away. She gives such a strong and touching performance in here and really makes me want to see more of her work. 

The supporting cast, specifically Alessandro Gassmann as the husband and Fabrizio Bentivoglio as the cop, does a pretty good job too. 

What's unfortunate about The Last Will Be the Last is that the filmmakers weren't able to achieve that balance between comedy and drama you need in a dramedy. While the drama works fine, the comedy barely works. 

Bicycle Thieves (1948)

Original Title

Ladri di biciclette

Genre

Drama

Director

Vittorio De Sica

Country

Italy

Cast

Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carell, Elena Altieri, Gino Saltamerenda, Vittorio Antonucci, Giulio Chiari, Michele Sakara, Fausto Guerzoni, Carlo Jachino, Massimo Randisi, Ida Bracci Dorati, Peppino Spadaro, Mario Meniconi, Checco Rissone, Giulio Battiferri, Sergio Leone, Memmo Carotenuto

Storyline

In postwar Italy, Antonio Ricci (Lamberto Maggiorani) has been workless for two years when he is offered a job hanging up posters. But soon his bicycle is stolen and, along with his son (Enzo Staiola) walks the streets of Rome looking for the bicycle.

Opinion

What can I say about "Bicycle Thieves" that hasn't been said already? Okay, maybe I should approach this differently. What can I say about this film that does it justice? Well, let me see. It is a simple yet powerful film. It is a heartbreaking masterpiece of Italian neo-realism. It is simply one of the best films ever made. A film that every movie lover should watch.

In only 1 hour and a half, Vittorio De Sica does a lot of things. He shows how important yet hard it is to find a job in the immediate postwar, he shows a country, Italy in this case, in a moment of transition and he beautifully portrays the relationship between a father and his son, all while telling the simple story of a man fighting against society while pursuing justice.

De Sica also does make a great social commentary of a country that either isn't working or is working against you, and captures the Italian reality very well. Sadly nothing has changed ever since, it's the same reality we, Italians, face today, with unemployment through the roof and men deprived of their dignity.

De Sica masterfully directs every scene and with an emotionally detached camera shows the postwar Italy in a dramatic yet authentic way, without pointless pity. So "Bicycle Thieves" is not just the drama of a man, but the drama of a whole nation that despite everything still has hope for the future.

At last but not least there's the cast. I didn't say actors because De Sire chose real people, not actors, to portray the character in the film, providing the film with further realism. As I was saying, the cast does a wonderful job, from Lamberto Maggiorani in the role of the family man to, and especially, Enzo Staiola who plays Maggiorani's son with such genuinity.

Il Sorpasso (1962)

Genre

Comedy, Drama

Director

Dino Risi

Country

Italy

Cast

Vittorio Gassman, Catherine Spaak, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Luciana Angiolillo, Claudio Gora, Luigi Zerbinati, Franca Polesello, Linda Sini, John Francis Lane, Annette Stroyberg, Nando Angelini, Mila Stanic, Bruna Simionato, Edda Ferronao, Jacques Stany

Storyline

Forty-year-old exuberant, impulsive and capricious Bruno Cortona (Vittorio Gassman) takes shy law student Roberto Mariani (Jean-Louis Trintignant) for a two-day ride though the Roman and Tuscany countries.

Opinion

Today I want to bring you on a journey in the 60s Italy, when Italians were still able to make comedies without falling into the vernacular, as unfortunately happens nowadays.

Il Sorpasso is not just a road movie, but a masterpiece able to make entire generations dream, and to cause the envy of the contemporary audience for a cinema that barely exists today.

On board of the legendary Lancia Aurelia Sport, between an overtake and another, it's not only told a story of a road trip but the story of two people - two Italian stereotypical men in this case - with opposite temper, bold one, shy the other. 

The film finds its strength in the differences between the two men, which complement each other. Bruno is an easy going, forty-year-old man full of life, with a captivating personality, able to get constantly noticed, that perfectly hides his failures and loneliness. Roberto is a young, shy man with his head on his shoulders, and is obedient of his family's wishes about his future. In the two-day course, with Bruno's help, Roberto will meet life, and not only.

Masterfully described by the great Dino Risi, this absolute diversity of character hits you immediately, and you will certainly not remain indifferent: it'll make you laugh, it'll make you sad, and it'll make you think.

Written by Dino Risi, Ettore Scola and Ruggero Maccari, the witty screenplay is filled with great dialogue, and occasionally uses narration - via Robert's thoughts - to inform the audience of the young man's insecurities. 

The black and white cinematography by Alfio Contini is wonderfully evocative, and the music really adds to the film – the scenes portraying sixties iconic dance the twist are memorable.

Another reason for the film's success is the cast, especially the two protagonists, Vittorio Gassman and Jean-Louis Trintignant. Gassman gives a spectacular performance - probably the best of his career - and perfectly fits in the role of Bruno, and Trintignant does a great job as insecure Roberto. Standing out from the supporting cast is a 17-year-old Catherine Spaak who knows how to get noticed.

La dolce vita (1960)

Genre

Comedy | Drama

Director

Federico Fellini

Country

Italy | France

Cast

Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg, Anouk Aimée, Alain Cuny, Yvonne Furneaux, Walter Santesso, Enzo Cerusico, Giulio Paradisi, Carlo Di Maggio, Lex Barker, Giò Stajano, Alain Dijon, Renée Longarini, Valeria Ciangottini, Annibale Ninchi, Magali Noël, Christa Päffgen, Ida Galli, Riccardo Garrone, Nadia Gray, Audrey McDonald, Gloria Jones, Adriano Celentano

Plot

Marcello Rubini (Marcello Mastroianni) is a journalist in Rome during the late 1950s who covers tabloid news of movie stars, religious visions and the aristocracy while searching for his place in the world.

Opinion

La dolce vita is the alienation of the individual from reality, for a brief joys and passionless, exactly like the protagonists behave. Hopes and dreams are gone, and facing this sad reality we can only fit in it, as Marcello (Mastroianni) does , or die, as Steiner (Alain Cuny) does. Fellini also shows us the poor, ignorant and superstitious Italy.
The performance from Marcello Mastroianni is superlative.

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Quotes

Steiner: Don't be like me. Salvation doesn't lie within four walls. I'm too serious to be a dilettante and too much a dabbler to be a professional. Even the most miserable life is better than a sheltered existence in an organized society where everything is calculated and perfected.

Rating

8.5/10

Two Women (1960)

Original Title

La ciociara

Genre

Drama | War

Director

Vittorio De Sica

Country

Italy

Cast
Sophia Loren, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Eleonora Brown, Carlo Ninchi, Raf Vallone, Emma Baron, Andrea Checchi, Pupella Maggio, Bruna Cealti, Antonella Della Porta, Franco Balducci, Luciano Pigozzi, Antonia Antinoli, Ettore Mattia, Renato Salvatori, Mario Frera, Luciana Cortellesi, Curt Lowens, Tony Calio, Remo Galavotti

Plot
In 1943, Cesira (Sophia Loren), a widowed shopkeeper, and Rosetta (Eleonora Brown), her devoutly religious 12-year-old daughter, flee in Ciociaria, a rural and mountainous province where Cesira was born to escape the Allied bombing in Rome.

During their stay in the village, they meet a young communist intellectual, Michele (Jean-Paul Belmondo), who falls in love with her. Rosetta sees Michele as a father figure and develops a strong bond with him. However, Michele is taken prisoner by a company of German soldiers.

When the war ended and the worst seemed to be over, the drama occurs. 

Opinion
I liked the book. I loved the film. As in other novels written by Alberto Moravia, Two Women is not only the portrait of a woman, but the spokesman of the author's ideas. Vittorio De Sica made an amazing film from a great book. Originally Sophia Loren had been casted as Rosetta, and Anna Magnani as Cesira; after Anna Magnani refused to play Loren's mother, De Sica decided to assign Cesira's role to Loren and Rosetta's to Brown.

Sophia Loren is breathtaking, her best performance ever. I'm glad she play the mother instead. The Academy Award for Best Actress was totally deserved.

Eleonora Brown's performance is good as well, considering the filming crew, due to her young age, told her it would have been a violent beatings scene.

Quotes
I'd like to see you living like I did, sleeping in a shed! And we ate once a day, that's all. So, I went with the first one that said "I will bring you to Rome". I married Rome, not him.

Rating
8.0/10