The Mafia Kills Only in Summer (2013)

Original Title

La mafia uccide solo d'estate

Genre

Comedy | Drama

Director

Pif

Country

Italy

Cast

Pif, Cristiana Capotondi, Claudio Gioè, Ninni Bruschetta, Alex Bisconti, Ginevra Antona, Maurizio Marchetti, Rosario Lisma, Barbara Tabita, Antonio Alveario, Totò Borgese

Storyline

Inspired by real events, the story is focused on Arturo (Alex Bisconti as a child, Pif as an adult), a young journalist whose life has been influenced by the Mafia since his childhood.

Opinion

Brilliantly written, The Mafia Kills Only in Summer is an original, and unusual approach to Mafia, that manages to balance in an exceptional way humour and drama.

First work of Pierfrancesco Diliberto aka Pif, this film is surely a masterpiece, and it has a bigger impact not due the story itself, but by the way the story is told and shown, putting aside any celebration addressed to Cosa Nostra - thing that happens very often.
Narrated by Pif himself, the documentary look brings the audience into the story - which in my case is also my story - and makes them more involved.

The godfathers, always portrayed as powerful and strong men, are this time portrayed in a comical way. In his everyday life, Totò Riina looks like a simpleton, and as such makes us laugh. But then, when he orders the death of politicians, and magistrates, we are brought back to reality, and we realize that there wasn't much to laugh about.

The actors are all great. I am actually very impressed by Alex Bisconti who plays Arturo as a child, and mostly by Pif as adult Arturo, since he is not even an actor. 

Quotes

Arturo: When I became a father, I understood that parents have two basic tasks. The first one is defending their sons from the evil of the world. The second is to help them recognise it.

Twice Born (2012)

Original Title

Venuto al mondo

Genre

Drama | Romance | War

Director

Sergio Castellitto

Country

Italy | Spain

Cast

Penélope Cruz, Emile Hirsch, Adnan Haskovic, Saadet Aksoy, Pietro Castellitto, Luca De Filippo, Mira Furlan, Jane Birkin, Sergio Castellitto, Branko Djuric, Isabelle Adriani, Jovan Divjak, Sanja Vejnovic, Emina Muftic

Plot

Oft-married Gemma (Penélope Cruz) brings her teenage son Pietro (Pietro Castellitto) to Sarajevo, where his father (Emile Hirsch) died in the Bosnian conflict years ago.

Opinion

I haven't read the novel by Margaret Mazzantini, but the person who recommended me this film did, and enjoyed both, so I gave the film a try.

Twice Born is an ambitious and complex film that deals with love, motherhood at any cost, and horrors of war.

The film is certainly well built, and the direction from Sergio Castellitto - the novelist's husband - is great and manages to show love and war in the same moment, often leaving room for glances and music. Moving forward and backwards in time is certainly not new, but it always fascinates me. 

Penélope Cruz gives a magnificent and intense performance as Gemma. Needless to say is that Emile Hirsch's performance as Diego is wonderful. Adnan Haskovic as Gojco and Saadet Aksoy as Aska are outstanding. 

Having said that, I can't see how it is even possible for this film to have a 17% rating at Rotten Tomatoes, because if those people have actually seen this film, there is no way they could have give all those negative reviews.

Just a little note for whoever translated the title in English: why 'Twice Born'? It doesn't really make sense, it should have been 'Came to the world' or something like that.

Quotes

Diego: The weirdest love stories are always the best.

Gojco: Love only comes once. It moves like the sea. But it's always the same.

8½ (1963)

Original Title

Otto e mezzo

Genre

Comedy | Drama

Director

Federico Fellini

Country

Italy | France

Cast

Marcello Mastroianni, Claudia Cardinale, Anouk Aimée, Sandra Milo, Rossella Falk, Barbara Steele, Nadine Sanders, Mino Doro, Madeleine LeBeau, Jean Rougeul, Caterina Boratto, Annibale Ninchi, Giuditta Rissone, Eddra Gale, Mario Conocchia, Cesare Miceli Picardi, Maria Antonietta Beluzzi, Tito Masini, Mario Pisu, Simonetta Simeni, Guido Alberti, Bruno Agostini, Eugene Walter, Ian Dallas, Edy Vessel

Plot

Guido Anselmi (Marcello Mastroianni), a famous Italian film director, is suffering from "director's block". Stalled on his new science fiction film that includes veiled autobiographical references, he has lost interest amid artistic and marital difficulties. 

Opinion

8½ is an extraordinary and visionary masterpiece, that digs into a man's consciousness. It is, at the same time, man and woman, religious and profane, everything and nothing.

The film, which does not simply tell the crisis of Guido (Mastroianni) as a director, but also as a man, breaks down physical barriers and brings us into the head of a man, hovering between reality and dream-like quality.

Every single component of the film is nothing but perfect. The writing is divine; each scene is perfectly balanced, providing both meaning and sense of lostness; the photography is outstanding; the costumes are perfect.

Marcello Mastroianni is superb, and offers maybe his greatest performance, and he is well supported by the incredible cast that includes Claudia Cardinale and Anouk Aimée, and among which stands out Sandra Milo.

Quotes

Guido: My darlings, happiness consists in being able to speak the truth without ever making anybody suffer.

Carini: If we can't have everything, true perfection is nothingness. 

Guido: What is this flash of joy that's giving me new life? Please forgive me sweet creatures; I didn't realize, I didn't know. How right it is to accept you, to love, you... and how simple! Luisa, I feel I've been set free. Everything looks good to me, it has a sense, it's true. How I wish I could explain, but I can't... everything's going back to what it was. Everything's confused again, but that confusion is me; how I am, not how I'd like to be. And I'm not afraid to tell the truth now, what I don't know, what I'm seeking. Only like that do I feel alive and I can look into your loyal eyes without shame. Life is a party, let's live it together. I can't say anything else, to you or others. Take me as I am, if you can... it's the only way we can try to find each other.

Rating

10/10

The Past (2013)

Original Title

Le passé

Genre

Drama

Director

Asghar Farhadi

Country

France | Italy | Iran

Cast

Bérénice Bejo, Tahar Rahim, Ali Mosaffa, Pauline Burlet, Alyes Agius, Jeanne Jestin, Sabrina Ouazani, Babak Karimi, Valeria Cavalli, Eleonora Marino

Plot

Ahmad (Ali Mosaffa), an Iranian man, reunites with his estranged wife (Bérénice Bejo) in Paris to finalize their divorce, which is soon complicated by a shocking revelation by her daughter (Pauline Burlet) from a previous marriage.

Opinion

A little bit less tense than A Separation, The Past is a very well-made and interesting drama, wherewith Asghar Farhadi wants to remind us that to look forward in our lives is essential to take note of the past.

Masterfully directed and superbly written by Farhadi, the film is believable and very close to reality, and the handheld camera engages more the viewers. 

The Iranian capital has been replaced by a peripheral Paris, as much as peripherals are the lives of each character to each others. There is a deep analysis of the characters and no one is left behind.

All actors are greatly chosen, as the performances are outstanding and realistic. Bérénice Bejo doesn't play Marie, she is Marie. Ali Mosaffa is wonderful and brilliantly portraits Ahmad. Tahar Rahim wonderfully delivers. 

Quotes

Marie Brisson: I'll tell them to apologize.

Samir: In this way, you will teach them that always there is an escape way named apology!

Rating

9.0/10

Cinema Paradiso (1988)

Original Title

Nuovo Cinema Paradiso

Genre

Drama

Director

Giuseppe Tornatore

Country

Italy | France

Cast

Philippe Noiret, Salvatore Cascio, Marco Leonardi, Jacques Perrin, Antonella Attili, Enzo Cannavale, Isa Danieli, Pupella Maggio, Agnese Nano, Leopoldo Trieste, Nino Terzo, Giovanni Giancono

Plot

After learning that Alfredo (Philippe Noiret) has died, famous filmmaker Salvatore 'Totò' Di Vita (Jacques Perrin) recalls his childhood at the Cinema Paradiso where Alfredo, the projectionist, first brought about his love of films.

Opinion

Cinema Paradiso is an outstanding film about friendship, made with love and appreciation for the filming art. Giuseppe Tornatore makes a tribute to a cinema capable not only of filling the seats, but also of enriching people's lives - the love story between the two viewers is a proof of that -, and so passionate to give birth to a fantastic friendship between an old projectionist and a little boy. Tornatore also succeeds, in an extraordinary way, at balancing laughters and emotions.
The real leading character is neither Totò nor Alfredo, but the Cinema itself, and at the end a part of ourselves leaves with it.
The sublime music, by Ennio Morricone, contributes in making this beautiful piece of cinema.
The acting is great. Salvatore Cascio is flawless as child Totò. Philippe Noiret is marvelous as projectionist Alfredo.

Quotes

Alfredo: Living here day by day, you think it's the center of the world. You believe nothing will ever change. Then you leave: a year, two years. When you come back, everything's changed. The thread's broken. What you came to find isn't there. What was yours is gone. You have to go away for a long time... many years... before you can come back and find your people. The land where you were born. But now, no. It's not possible. Right now you're blinder than I am.
Salvatore: Who said that? Gary Cooper? James Stewart? Henry Fonda? Eh?
Alfredo: No, Totò. Nobody said it. This time it's all me. Life isn't like in the movies. Life... is much harder.

Rating

9.5/10

Nikita (1990)

Genre

Action | Thriller

Director

Luc Besson

Country

France | Italy

Cast

Anne Parillaud, Tchéky Karyo, Marc Duret, Patrick Fontana, Rolande Blanche, Alain Lathière, Jeanne Moreau, Philippe Leroy, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Jean Reno

Plot

Nikita (Anne Parillaud) is a teenage junkie who participates in the robbery of a pharmacy owned by a friend's parents. The robbery goes awry, and she kills several policemen.
Sentenced to life in prison, Nikita is given a new identity and trained as a top secret assassin.

Opinion

Nikita wasn't up to my expectations. The story, with a promising beginning, is way too flat, and lacks of tension required by an action/thriller film.
Luc Besson uses the cinecamera masterfully, and the first scenes of the film are really beautiful and strong.
Anne Parillaud, sweet yet ruthless, delivers an incredible performance loaded with charm. Jeanne Moreau as Amande and Jean Reno as Victor leave a mark, even though they have a small part.

Buy on Amazon.com | Buy/Rent on Amazon Instant Video

Quotes

Amande: There are two things that are infinite: femininity and means to take advantage of it.

Rating

7.0/10

This Must Be the Place (2011)

Genre

Drama

Director

Paolo Sorrentino

Country

France | Ireland | Italy

Cast
Sean Penn, Frances McDormand, Judd Hirsch, Eve Hewson, Kerry Condon, Harry Dean Stanton, David Byrne, Olwen Fouéré, Shea Whigham, Liron Levo, Heinz Lieven, Simon Delaney, Kristine Graverson, Er Li Deng

Plot
Cheyenne (Sean Penn) is a wealthy former rock star, now bored and jaded in his 20-year retirement in Dublin. He retired after two of his teenaged fans committed suicide.

He travels to New York to reconcile with his estranged father during his final hours, only to arrive too late. After reading a few of his father's diaries, Cheyenne realizes how the life of the father has been in the last thirty years: he devoted himself to obsessively seek a Nazi criminal who took refuge in the United States.

With a relentless slowness and no investigator ability, Cheyenne decides to continue the research for his father and, therefore, to go seek, through the United States, a nonagenarian German probably already died.

Opinion
This Must Be the Place is entertaining and occasionally very moving. The lyrics of the Talking Heads song that gives the title to the film, plays a role in one of the most important and intense scenes and represents a kind of summary of this film.

The directory of Sorrentino is good; the wide shots, which suggest the characters' moods, are alternated with intense close-ups, which focus on the characters' wrinkles and face's lines. The music of David Byrne emphasizes perfectly every single moment. The performance of Sean Penn is good.

Quotes
The problem is [...] without realizing it, we go from an age where we say, "My life will be that" to an age where we say, "That's life".

There are many ways of dying, the worst of them, is to continue living.

Rating
8.0/10

The Great Beauty (2013)

Original Title

La grande bellezza

Genre

Drama

Director

Paolo Sorrentino

Country

Italy

Cast

Toni Servillo, Carlo Verdone, Sabrina Ferilli, Carlo Buccirosso, Iaia Forte, Giovanna Vignola, Pamela Villoresi, Galatea Ranzi, Franco Graziosi, Sonia Gessner, Giorgio Pasotti, Giusi Merli, Dario Cantarelli, Roberto Herlitzka, Serena Grandi, Massimo Popolizio, Anna Della Rosa, Luca Marinelli, Ivan Franek, Vernon Dobtcheff, Lillo, Luciano Virgilio, Anita Kravos, Massimo De Francovich, Aldo Ralli, Isabella Ferrari, Annaluisa Capasa, Fanny Ardant, Antonello Venditti

Plot

Jep Gambardella (Toni Servillo) is a journalist and a theater critic, with an undeniable charm, committed to disentangle the social events of Rome immersed in the beauty of the past and stands out more than nowadays' squalor.

Opinion

The Great Beauty is a mediocre film, a bad "remake" of La dolce vita. There are some decent flashes, but they should be credited to Rome and not to the film. Foreigners, in particular Americans, like it maybe because they have an unreal idea of Italy.

Two things I did like about this film: the music which was great and the photography which was outstanding. Academy Award undeserved.

Quotes

"To travel is very useful, it makes the imagination work, the rest is just delusion and pain. Our journey is entirely imaginary, which is its strength."- Céline's Journey to the End of the Night.

Terraferma

Seems like Emanuele Crialese has a special touch to tell stories about immigration as in Nouvomondo (Golden Door) tells about Italian immigration to America, while here tells about immigration from Africa to Italy. In a way makes me think about Sicilians that left Italy for a better life and nowadays Sicilians not able to deal with those who are looking for a better life in Italy. Yes, not an easy to tell story that is told remarkably well, without sentimentalism and a high dose of realism.

If story is strong, many visuals are breathtaking sea and island views with high production values that make ride quite interesting as starts slowly being contemplative of sedentary island life until tourists arrive and island plus story become alive to reach an intense climax that will make you feel several contradictory feelings. There are two scenes that will stay a long time in my mind, the full of tourist boat dancing to Maracaibo’s rhythm with the underwater take when they jump into the sea and the distant white shadow in a very dark night that advances and advances. Both are superb.

Film is the winner of the 2011 Venice fest Pasinetti Award, Special Jury Prize, and UNICEF award plus is Italy’s submission to Oscar great honors that are well-deserved as Crialese is one of the now not many Italian directors that successfully tell complicated stories with spectacular visual narrative –magical and realistic- and compelling storytelling that touches viewers deep inside.

It’s a great movie that everyone that loves excellent European cinema should see to visually enjoy, to think about illegal immigration in its many forms that surrounds us almost all over the world, and to question your own boundaries when it comes to save a life or not.

Big Enjoy!!!

Watch trailer @MOC

Una Vita Tranquilla (A Quiet Life)

Exactly my kind of movie thanks to great camera takes, nice outdoor/indoor framing, very good slowish pace that slowly very-slowly builds tension, and most of all an amazing performance by incredibly good Toni Servillo. It’s truly spectacular to watch this amazing actor that in this role has many moments where he speaks with facial expressions and particularly superb scenes where he says everything with his eyes.

A thriller by Claudio Cupellini that tells a very common story seen/told innumerable times but as someone said: never like this. It’s true never like how is told here but again is Servillo who makes story very fresh, almost like new. An ex-Camorra escapes his life of crime by faking his death while traveling from Naples to Germany where years after –now- has a wife (Julianne Köhler) and a nine year old son, is a chef that owns a popular restaurant and has a quiet life. But he gets the visit of two young Camorra hit men and as you can easily imagine, the past becomes Rosario Russo (Servillo) present and everything goes awry.

Almost told you the entire story, but is so common that is not guessing what will happen next (I did guess right) is watching how everything evolves and most of all how Servillo conducts the narrative with extraordinary ease allowing you to get inside the movie, like if you were there near him, watching him and living/feeling everything he’s living and feeling. Truly amazing and spectacular performance as good as … almost everything else he has done. What an exhausting cinematic experience, but very gratifying.

Cupellini’s film has above the norm tech specs with special mention to photography and one particular scene where Servillo is inside his car, we are outside, is raining, we can hardly see his face through the glass BUT we will know everything that he’s feeling by watching a slight movement in is left eye. Superb!!!

Was thinking that honestly this is a superior movie to the one submitted to the Oscar and wonder why was not chosen. Anyway the movie was in competition at the 2010 Rome fest where Servillo won the Best Actor award and believe me the honor is more than well-deserved.

Strongly recommend this movie that because the story I’m sure men will like it; but this movie is for adult audiences that enjoy excellent performances by Toni Servillo in a movie that’s a true example of good European cinema.

I’m still thinking about the movie, about what Rosario felt, about how sometimes the past becomes your present and always is not for good. Like the movie, but love Toni Servillo.

Enjoy!!!

Watch trailer @MOC

Un Giorno Perfetto (A Perfect Day)

Thanks to a my dear photographer friend was able to watch this Ferzan Özpetek film that absolutely blew my mind thanks to a slow buildup (even if you knew the outcome as is the beginning), great style, interesting camera moves and the most outstanding performance by Isabella Ferrari as Emma. Ferrari is truly impressive performing but also her wardrobe and makeup are perfect for the character making the watching her experience quite unique for contemporary Italian cinema, as in a way made me recall great performances by the likes of La Loren and La Magnani from the Italian cinema glory days.

Based on Melania Gaia Mazzucco novel Özpetek’s tells about love; yes love… from kids’ love, to forbidden love, to love for your work and position, to unrequited love and most of all: obsessive love. Main story is about Emma and Antonio (Valerio Mastrandea) who are separated with Emma, her daughter and son living at her mother’s (great Stefania Sandrelli) home; the other stories are satellites that rotate around them and their children. In just 24 hours the life of this broken family will be not the same anymore.

Film premiered in competition at 2008 Venice fest where Isabella Ferrari won the Best Actress award and in 2009 she was nominated for a Nastro d’Argento that after watching the film -and with my almost blind adoration for Giovanna Mezzogiorno- I say that this award should have gone to Ferrari instead of Mezzogiorno’s performance in Vincere. That’s how good Ferrari is in this role; but also Mastrandea and the supporting cast –including the children- give compelling performances.

Strongly suggest not to miss this movie that’s perfect for those that enjoy great films by Özpetek, very good European cinemas and strong performances in strong dramas in films that tend to be noir.

Enjoy!!!

Watch trailer @MOC

Miral

Artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel latest film is not similar to his previous movies where in my opinion art and filmmaking merged more successfully; maybe first half of this movie, before Miral becomes the center story, camera moves and editing look and feel artier but everything changes to more “normal” narrative when the little girl becomes a teenager. Then this so-called controversial movie because of the story it tells, is to my eyes and ears not really controversial as tells a known story, Israel/Palestine conflict, told from the Palestine point-of-view, which also has been told in films like for example Elia Suleiman’s The Time That Remains that I believe was more emotionally successful conveying what Palestinians had to live since the Israel state was created thanks to extraordinary use of dark comedy.

Based on a novel by Rula Jebreal, who did the screenplay and seems is real life Schnabel companion, film tells the story of Miral but for more than half the movie you will not see her as the actual story told is about Hind Husseini, marvelously played by Hiam Abbass, the wealthy woman that takes in her house orphan children from the 1948 war with the orphanage eventually becoming a school for girls that still exists today. Not only this part of the story is visually told more interesting but also story and Abbass performances are compelling. Miral story per se is interesting but I believe that was not translated into the screen in a compelling way as you can’t sympathize with her not-really-shown struggle deciding between becoming active in the urban guerilla or do something to promote peace.

Not exactly what I was hoping from Schnabel and end-product is not as interesting as could or should have been as telling the story of four women Hindi Husseini, Nadia (Miral’s mother), Fatima (Nadia’s cell mate) and Miral HAD to be more interesting especially when most of what happens is true life facts and reality.

Can’t recommend the movie but have to share that story got me curious, so curious that think will read the book by Rula Jebreal as I need to know details that so obviously were left out in the movie. Still IF you’re interested in a Palestinian vision from the Israel-Palestine conflict I strongly suggest you to watch Elia Suleiman marvelous The Time That Remains, but be prepared for non-conventional art cinema.

Enjoy.

Watch trailer @MOC

La Solitudine dei Numeri Primi (The Solitude of Prime Numbers)

Not an easy movie to watch or understand but is a movie that will stay with you for a long, long time. Stayed so long in me that I decided to read the book by Paolo Giordano and I did. Can’t recall the last time a good movie made wish to learn the original story, but after reading some viewers and critics’ reviews I knew I had to read the book. It’s a very unusual and remarkable love story, both in the book as in the movie; but they’re a bit different as writer and co screenwriter Paolo Giordano didn’t want the movie to be the same as the book, according to what I read.

Story premise is based on the following:

“Prime numbers are divisible only by 1 and by themselves. They hold their place in the infinite series of natural numbers, squashed, like all numbers, between two others, but one step further than the rest. (…) Among prime numbers, there are some that are even more special. Mathematicians call them twin primes: pairs of prime numbers that are close to each other, almost neighbors, but between them there is always an even number that prevents them from truly touching. Numbers like 11 and 13, like 17 and 19, 41 and 43”. Excerpt from the book, Chapter 21, In and Out of The Water, 1998

As the above arid mathematic explanation, the also arid –yet remarkable and disturbing- story is about Alice and Mattia that since they met when they were kids there was something that prevented them from truly touching. They were like twin primes. But they were also damaged for life with events both kept secret and that happened when they were little kids, long before they met. In the book the story is told chronologically telling what happened in 1983, 1984, 1991, 1995, 1998, 2003, and 2007; the film also tells story from the same years but is not told chronologically, so scenes move back and forth in time which at the beginning confuses but soon enough you start to follow the entwined basic four stories: when Alice and Mattia are kids, teens, young adults, and adults. You have to watch the movie to learn more about the story because I already told you too much, but I believe what I told you are the basics to not get too lost while watching the movie; not get lost but still be puzzled, wondering what’s going on, what comes next, as I believe director Saverio Costanzo chose to tell story with a very unconventional and impressive storytelling technique.

I liked the movie but definitively wanted to know more about story as I got the impression things were left out. To my surprise not much was changed especially when Alice and Mattia are kids and teens; story starts to be a bit different when they’re young adults and adults plus the end in the film is ambiguously positive, while in book is not positive. In my opinion the “disturbing” story in film was toned down in detriment of really understanding what this love story was all about in film. But still I highly recommend this movie that absolutely is not for general audiences, this is for those that like their films to make them think a lot while watching non-pleasant things constantly happening, all done with very beautiful to watch visuals and attractive actors.

Just for information purposes, in the book there is a character that’s gay, Dennis who’s teen Mattia’s school friend. In film they changed the gay character into a “sort of” lesbian character, Viola is teen Alice school friend who kisses her once only to Alice developing a crush on her; Viola kisses her twice and absolutely behaves as she’s jealous when Alice ends up with Mattia. Quite nice to watch.

A story like this could not be told without good and intense performances by young and mature actors; I was absolutely impressed with the outstanding performance by Alba Rohrwacher (I like this actress more and more) but more with her physical change as Alice is anorexic and Rohrwacher lost so much weight to interpret adult Alice that looked disturbingly unhealthy. Also with impressing performances Arianna Nastro who plays Alice as a teen, Luca Marinelli as young/adult Mattia and none other than Isabella Rossellini in a too-short performance as Mattia’s mother.

I do recommend film but as mentioned I know that’s not for everyone, this is a movie beyond extremes as either you will watch it completely and story will not leave you for a long time, or you will stop watching. If you haven’t read the book I suggest you to follow my experience and watch film then read the book; I’m sure reading the book will enlighten you in the dark mind of Paolo Giordano, a real-life physicist that wrote his first novel only to win Italy’s premier literary award, the Premio Strega.

Enjoy!!!

Watch trailer @MOC

La Prima Cosa Bella (The First Beautiful Thing)

Italy’s submission to the Oscar and with three awards at 2010 David di Donatello awards plus more at the 2010 Nastri di Argento is a family dramedy that I didn’t enjoyed much for about three quarters of film; is the last half hour when film and story become more interesting and compelling. I think know why, the finale has scenes with characters as adults and adult actors’ performances were more adequate than actors as younger characters.

Paolo Virzi films tell about fortyish Bruno Michelucci who reluctantly returns to his hometown as Ana (marvelously played by Stefania Sandrelli) is very sick with terminate cancer. He abandoned Ana and sister Valeria a long time ago, mainly because he was embarrassed by his mother behavior and the gossip about her that surround him. With Bruno and Ana flashbacks we learn the story of the Michelucci family and how a younger Ana- with her two children- abandons jealous husband to start a life of struggles but high in motherly love and happiness. This is a story of misconceptions, exactly Ana being badly judged by other while she always was a good woman and mother; but also is about Bruno’s reconciliation with her mother and sister.

If you endure three quarters of the film I know you will surely enjoy the last half hour where narrative, performances and style absolutely makes sense and story becomes compelling as well as interesting; but I know that, as some English language reviewers express, non-Italian audiences will tend to find this movie a “heavy-exaggerated melodrama”

It’s hard to understand why this is Italy’s submission to 2010 Oscar as I know there are other movies that have a more universal, well-developed and compelling stories (like Mine Vaganti) or have more international renown actors (like Io Sono L’Amore); but you never know with the Academy that always gives us surprises.

Can’t recommend film that has only one highly positive element, the old songs that made me recall the times when they were popular and that I sang along while watching the movie as I still know the words. Of course the best was Nicola DiBari’s La Prima Cosa Bella!

Enjoy.

Watch trailer @MOC

La Doppia Ora (The Double Hour)

A good debut movie by Giuseppe Capotondi that will keep you in the edge of your seat at least in the first part as this film is like two movies in one. Movie one is very good while movie two is a little bit of a downer as is a 'different' replay of what you saw in movie one. Still just for what I call movie one the film is worth watching if you like scenes (one) that will make you jump from your seat, scenes (many) that border on scary alike situations, and scenes that make you wonder what’s going on but as pace is fast you have no time to guess as next plot twist comes quite soon. Movie one is a very good and unconventional mystery, drama, thriller and crime.

Movie one was a total surprise for me as I watched this film because Ksenia Rappoport was the lead actress, whom I really enjoy since excellent La Sconociuta, and wasn’t disappointed as this is her movie plus she has an outstanding performance that gave her the Copa Volpi at 2009 Biennale. Just for her performance -plus movie one- the film is worth watching.

Movie one tells about a couple that meet at speed dating, Sonia (Rappoport) a hotel cleaning lady and Guido (Filippo Timi) an ex-cop. Both look and behave like damaged goods but apparently both are willing to really fall for each other. One day Guido takes Sonia to his current workplace where he works as watchman at an always absent millionaire mansion, everything seems to go smoothly as romance seems to progress. That’s it until everything goes wrong when a group of professional burglars enter the mansion and steal all valuables. Before leaving the mansion we see one burglar starting to rape Sonia and Guido jumping to stop it. We hear a shot, cut to few days ahead to find Sonia alive and Guido dead (point one). What follows is the fantastic and twisted aftermath of the robbery with Sonia having all sort of mysterious inexplicable incidents.

Movie one ends when plot sort of goes back to “point one” and story is replay in a “different” way that’s not as good as the one played first. Idea is excellent but movie one is so good that makes movie two a lot less entertaining, thrilling and definitively not mysterious. Still is a good movie that I won’t be surprised if Hollywood does a remake as is the buzz around the net.

Film was in competition at the 2009 Biennale where got the Young Cinema Award for Best Italian Film, Filippo Timi got the Pasinetti Award for Best Male Actor and as mentioned Ksenia Rappoport was honored too. So it’s a movie that has good and well-deserved credentials and as we know film is also in the long list for the 2010 European Film Awards.

I liked the movie more than I imagined even when I’m not really a fan of scary movies, but this film was well balanced between the different genres director chose to play with so effectively. Maybe what I call ‘second movie’ was a downer but still the film is a good European film and as such I do recommend it to those that enjoy good European films.

Enjoy!!

Watch trailer @MOC

Baarìa

Giuseppe Tornatore’s emotional homage to his natal city has an interesting visual narrative for most of the film but I didn’t particularly enjoyed his storytelling technique that looked more like if I was watching a moving old photo album and definitively this technique breaks the story into fragments of moments that not necessarily all show continuity even when he does some kind of morphing to represent that the young character became adult. Honestly I highly disliked those special effects.

Basically the story tells about Peppino Torrenouva since he’s a very young kid with bad temper, grows up to be a school boy with problems at school, continues to grow, falls in love, marries, has children and no, he doesn’t live a happy ever life as he’s interested in politics, which makes him most of the time unemployed until he runs for office, wins and prosper. But this story is the excuse to also tell the story of Italy and to show what progress brings to a tiny village that becomes a flourishing city. The village that turns into a city is Bagheria, which locals call by its Phoenician name: Baarìa.

I don’t complain about the story that basically was what kept me watching even when time transitions sometimes left me wondering for a while what happened and took me a while to grab the storyline again. But the movie felt long, too long, as narrative rhythm was like a plain straight line and there were moments somewhere in the middle that I was getting bored and please remember that I enjoy Bollywood movies that are even longer than this one, so was not the length but the monotony what almost made snooze.

Performances are acceptable with mainly unknown-to-me actors and what somehow distract for the not positive are the too brief appearances of known actors like Monica Bellucci or not-so-brief like Raoul Bova or Enrico Lo Verso.

What this movie really has is good tech specs that absolutely will delight your eyes, but you need more than beautiful images to enjoy a movie and this film was weak in everything else.

As you can notice I didn’t enjoyed much the movie and in general I was disappointed as Tornatore has great movies like La sconosciuta, beautiful Malèna and unforgettable Cinema Paradiso. So do I recommend it? Not really, but it’s a Tornatore film and know that many probably already watched; if you haven’t maybe the best way is to rent the dvd for 2 or 3 days to watch like a miniseries, a little each day.

Enjoy!

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Copie Conforme (Certified Copy)

My third Cannes film and absolutely the best I have seen up-to-date (haven’t I say this before?) which only makes me anxious to continue my voyage into 2010 Cannes films. Have I before talk about perfection? Yes with an almost always before, but this time there is no almost before as this is perfect, my perfect movie. Chapeau Master Kiarostami you delighted all my senses with your magnificent oeuvre d’art. I praise you and dearly thank you for that. You confirmed me my very own personal reasons why I love cinema. Thank You.

After trying to get rid in the above paragraph of all the emotions I felt while watching this film I’m going to try to be objective and share some thoughts with you all about this extraordinary film that I know will make you feel strong emotions thanks to a very ambiguous story that will lead to numerous interpretations and I honestly wish I could share some of my own interpretations with you all but if I do definitively will spoil the movie for you. This is a movie that you have to watch without knowing much about the story not only to be surprised but to be able to elucidate your own interpretation. Still I can tell what I knew before watching about the story: film tells about an English writer that goes to Tuscany to promote his latest book and meets a French woman who takes him to the village of Lucignano. That’s it and is enough.

Indeed I believe that the story –no matter which interpretation I found- is very common but what makes it most interesting and absolutely out-of-the-ordinary is the way it’s told visually and with narrative. Visually is all about original and copy, when the copy is better than the original, like for example when you see yourself in a mirror and sometimes realize that your reflection is much better than the way you see yourself. Visually there are many reflections in this film, but there are more in the narrative. Amazing!!!

The film is layered, brainy and very complex but to some eyes could be seen as a very linear story in a ‘plain’ film that tells not much about their characters and with too much talking that says nothing interesting about anything in particular as conversations divert into the banal and the unfamiliar to many. But please don’t be fooled and as I like to say: look beyond the end of your nose, which sounds really funny in English, but means to see beyond your limits. Believe me the movie is worth the effort.

Performances are extraordinary in another pas-de-deux (lately been seeing many) between marvelous Juliette Binoche and William Shimell. Is hard to believe that is Shimell’s first acting role as he creates a cold character so-well that at moments will absolutely annoy you up to the point of strongly dislike him. Binoche is Magnifique and all honors she has and will collect for this role are not only well-deserved but will never truly recompense her extraordinary performance. Outstanding cast!!!

But this film, the second he does outside Iran, is Abbas Kiarostami’s opus magnificent that continues masterly exploring human relationships in visually compelling films. Is his film a work of art? Yes it is for me, but is not art cinema. The film looks and feels like great European cinema and paraphrasing something I read this is what I feel about this film: you don’t know if this is Kiarostami doing European cinema or is European cinema by Kiarostami.

Strongly recommend the film to those that love ‘perfect’ cinema, European cinema and the work of Abbas Kiarostami. But also I do recommend it to those that are in the mood to make an effort and go beyond their usual limits while watching a movie.

I LOVE the movie beyond Juliete Binoche’s performance and those who know me will easily understand that the impossible happened as Binoche is one of very few favorite actresses that sometimes (almost always) don’t allow me to watch films beyond her performance. That’s how much I liked this movie.

BIG, but BIG ENJOY!!!

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Io Sono l’Amore (I Am Love)

This Luca Gudagnino film is a melodramatic tragedy that resembles Italian cinema of another era with good cinematography (especially Milan in winter), elegant settings and a story that the best part for me was visiting the upper class lifestyle as the Recchi family private life was like a microcosm of everything that seems fine but it’s a melting pot ready to burst.

The last comment describes better what the story is all about as you get introduced to all characters at a dinner party and while you watch you start to try to guess that from all the seemly perfect individuals who is going to burst and propel the drama and as the story evolves you keep guessing wrongly until one character, perhaps the most perfect of all, starts to get out of the perfect life that somehow looks like the perfect prison. I believe that this is movie where you have to pay attention to the little details in words and in what you look so if you don’t appreciate very-slow story development –perfect life is not really entertaining- you will surely get bored and miss when the drama explodes to continue with tragedy and ‘crazy’ freedom. Even if I made the story seem simple have to add that story and film are quite complex.

The complete cast performs well but Tilda Swinton absolutely steals the film, she’s unbelievably good in this role and just because her performance this is a must be seen film. Still I was impressed with Alba Rohrwacher performance but she was so little in the screen that I wished her character had more time and can’t help to mention that it was a true pleasure to see Marisa Berenson again in the big screen.

Can’t say that I enjoyed a lot the film, but when the one character that burst goes wild the film becomes more interesting and engaging not only because actor performance but also filmmaker decision to use extra-close close-ups to accentuate the impact of what happens. (This is me trying to not spoil the story for those that haven’t seen the film).

Do I recommend it? Yes I do, especially to watch Tilda Switon performance and if you like Italian cinema of the 50’s and 60’s you have to watch this Luca Guadagnino film that definitively looks and feels like the work of master directors of that era (s). I saw in here traces of Pasolini (yes, from my favorite movie of all times), Visconti, and maybe Rosellini, but mainly Italian critics’ mention in their film critics many more great master filmmakers.

Enjoy!!!

Watch trailer @MOC