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about the series |
film descriptions and times
This series has been organized by the Film Society of Lincoln Center
together with Italia Cinema, with the help of the Italian Cultural
Institute of New York. Special thanks to Alitalia for their generous
support of the series. The series was selected by Antonio Monda and
Richard Peña, with the help of Giorgio Gosetti and Griselda Guerrassio.
Over the past few years, a new generation of Italian filmmakers has
begun to emerge. While defined by neither a political position nor an
aesthetic approach, in a sense this generation has been unified by a new
spirit of independence, of breaking away from old models and genres.
Some of this "independence" has been in fact forced on them, as the
collapse of the old industrial structures of the Italian cinema has
forced filmmakers to really make it on their own. But this spirit is
also indicative of the myriad backgrounds, experiences and influences
this new generation brings to the films.
One common feature of this new generation, and of many of the films in
the program, is a pronounced accent on "regionalism." Several of the
films - TWO FRIENDS, PATER FAMILIAS, SOUL MATE - in the series deal
directly or indirectly with Italy's "North/South" divide, with the
continuing legacy of the very different cultural traditions and economic
conditions that coexist within modern Italy. (For an older and decidedly
more comic take on the subject, check out Il mafioso, shown as a tribute
to the late, great Albert Sordi). Filmmakers are also continuing to
explore various Italian subcultures, such as illegal drag racers in
V-MAX, soccer fanatics in OUTSIDERS OF THE CROWD, or comic book fans in
TRUTH OR LIES.
There's a remarkable variety of styles and approaches to be seen
throughout the series, from the loving journey in search of a mother in
ONE MORE HOUR WITH YOU, to the enigmatic, unsettling look at the closed
world of two sisters in OPEN MY HEART. We're also pleased to present a
revival of Luigi Comencini's masterpiece PINOCCHIO, still the finest
feature film version of perhaps the most adapted of all classics from
children's literature. So join us, beginning May 30, and discover the
new pleasures of an old friend - Italian cinema.
We expect many of the directors to be present for Q & A. Please check back on this page for updated information about guest appearances.
THE POWER OF THE PAST aka TRUTH AND LIES / LA FORZA DEL PASSATO
Piergiorgio Gay, 2002; 98m
Based on the well-loved novel by Sandro Veronesi, THE POWER OF THE PAST
is the story of Giovanni Orzan (Sergio Rubini), an acclaimed writer of
children's books, married with an eight -year-old son. One day, a man
comes to his door; he introduces himself as Gianni Bogliasco (Bruno
Ganz), and claims that he was an old friend of Giovanni's recently
deceased father. What's more, Gianni reveals that the father, who had
been a rather cold military man with whom Giovanni had a troubled
relationship, was in fact a spy for the KGB. Suddenly, Giovanni's whole
world seems to collapse, as he struggles to determine how much he knows
about his own past - and how much he can confide in his new friend, who
seems to implicate himself more and more in Giovanni's life. Rubini and
Ganz are brilliant together, and their scenes together become taut mano
a mano psychological battles as each tries to gain the upper hand over
the other. Rounding out the cast is the wonderful Sandra Ceccarelli,
seen in last year's Open Roads in Light in My Eyes.
Fri May 30: 1:30; Sat May 31: 4:15; June 8: 3:45
ULTIMO STADIO
Ivano de Matteo, 2002; 96m
An x-ray of Italian family life today: as Rome awaits the finals of the
year's soccer championship, the lives of four families will come
together and then move apart again as each explores the possibility of
making their dreams come true. Director de Matteo, a former actor making
his feature film debut, creates a stirring and perceptive work that
shows the way professional sports - especially soccer, which de Matteo
has described as the modern-day "opiate of the people" - weaves its way
into so many aspects of daily life.
Fri May 30: 4; Sat May 31: 6:45
EL ALAMEIN
Enzo Monteleone, 2002; 117m
A great critical and box-office success in Italy, EL ALAMEIN recounts
one of the epic battles of WWII, in which the Italian Army, fighting
alongside the Germans, sought to drive the Allied forces from North
Africa. Yet director Monteleone doesn't try to delineate the chronology
of the battle, nor give it a historical context; rather, the film's less
than glorious depiction of combat powerfully expresses the sense that
war is truly hell - a hell in which one must conquer oneself before
taking on the enemy. EL ALAMEIN focuses on the intimate, emotional lives
of the soldiers caught up in the battle, revealing their fears, hopes
and feelings about the war.
Fri May 30: 6:30; Sat May 31: 1:30
OPEN MY HEART / APRIMI IL CUORE
Giada Colagrande, 2002; 90m
Maria works as a prostitute who brings her clients home with her, while
her sister Caterina only ventures out to attend dancing school. Each
woman seems to accept the bounds and limits of their relationship,
carefully shielding themselves as much as possible from the unwanted
intrusions of outsiders. Then Caterina strikes up a friendship with the
janitor at her dancing school. Enraged, Maria must decide what changes,
if any, she'll allow in the private kingdom she's created. An
extraordinarily bold work, Giada Colagrande's debut feature transports
us into a reality that resembles our everyday world yet is decidedly one
step beyond. Avoiding any sensationalizing of her material, she focuses
instead on analyzing interpersonal structures of power that serve to
define us in relationship to those we love most.
Sat May 31: 9:15; Mon June 2: 4
SAY IT WITH WORDS / DILLO CON PAROLE MIE
Daniele Luchetti, 2003; 105m
We're pleased to present the newest film by Daniele Luchetti (La scuola,
Il portaborse), described as "a comedy set on the Greek island of Ios
made up of chatter and misunderstandings, myths, sweets, sun rashes,
Homeric questions, fixations, broken diets, anti-histamines, messages of
love…" Looking for a getaway, from her routine and also somewhat from
her longtime boyfriend Andrea, Stefania takes off on holiday to Greece.
What she wasn't expecting is that her niece, Megghy, has decided to tag
along, determined to make hers a summer vacation to remember. Luchetti,
working from a screenplay by Stefania Montorsi (who also plays Stefania
in the film), offers a wry and revealing look at the dreams, illusions
and realities of love and romance as they play across very different
generations.
Fri May 30: 9:15; Fri June 6: 6:30
V-MAX / VELOCITÁ MASSIMA
Daniele Vicari, 2002; 111m
Italians seem to know a thing or two about cars, and as V-MAX shows,
they also have a pretty good sense for high-octane car-racing movies. A
great box-office hit, V-MAX follows Claudio, a 17-year-old with a
passion for cars, as he discovers the world of underground car racing.
Sent by his father to work in a garage in Ostia, Claudio discovers that
Steffano, the owner, is preparing for a showdown with Fischio, his
nemesis on the asphalt. At first Claudio is just there to customize the
cars - but then he meets Giovanna, and realizes there might be a future
for him as well in racing. Vicari has a great talent for filming the
racing sequences, and is clearly enjoying having the chance to tweak
some of the conventions of a film genre that for some might seem
quintessentially American.
Sun June 1: 1:30; Thurs June 5: 8:45
HAPPINESS FOR FREE / LA FELICITÀ NON COSTA NIENTE
Mimmo Calopresti, 2003; 93m
Mimmo Calopresti tends to give his films titles that are declarative
sentences: The Word Love Exists, I Prefer the Sound of the Sea (ND/NF
2002), and now Happiness for Free. Once again, this title sets up the
tone of the story, and the longing of a serenity denied by daily life.
His fourth picture, co-produced by Luc Besson, is a daring moral tale
that investigates the very essence of happiness, and the emptiness of an
existence doomed by materialistic values. One of the most ambitious and
original films recently made in Italy.
Sun June 1: 4; Mon June 2: 9; Fri June 6: 1:30
MY NAME IS TANINO
Paolo Virzi, 2002; 100m
Paolo Virzi's new film, written once again with Francesco Bruni and
Francesco Piccolo, was presented with great success at the 2002 Venice
Film Festival. A new episode of his reworking of the stories and
atmosphere of "Comedy Italian Style," MY NAME IS TANINO is a smart,
ironic portrait of a young man who grows up through the disappointments
and the disillusions of love. Tanino comes to America in search of a
girl and a dream: he misses both, but he learns the painful excitement
of becoming a man.
Sun June 1: 6:15; Mon June 2: 1 & 6:30
CASOMAI
Alessandro D'Alatri, 2002; 114m
After Garden of Eden, his ambitious and controversial film about Jesus,
Alessandro D'Alatri returns to comedy, with a story written by Anna
Pavignano. CASOMAI narrates the romance of Tommaso and Stefania as
mirrored by the comments, suggestions and gossip of the circle of their
relatives and friends. Their passion, their crises, and finally their
separation become the center of a never-ending speculation of a world
that prefers conformism over happiness, safety over freedom. One of the
most successful comedies of the year, with a perfectly tuned cast, lead
by Stefania Rocca and Fabio Vo.
Sun June 1: 8:45; Tue June 10: 3:45;
Wed June 11: 1
A TRIBUTE TO ALBERTO SORDI
The death of the great Italian actor and director Alberto Sordi this
past February was a tremendous loss for world cinema. For many people
Sordi was Italian comedy. His broad smile, lightning changes of
expression and constant sense of improvisation made him the perfect
"everyman" to chronicle the postwar transformation of Italy. His name
will forever be remembered right alongside the greatest comedians whose
work ever graced the screen. As a brief tribute to this master, we're
delighted to present
THE LAST JUDGEMENT (IL GIUDIZIO UNIVERSALE)
1961, directed by Vittorio de Sica, 100 min
A thunderous and mysterious voice announces the upcoming last judgment in Naples, and the frightened Neapolitans react in the most unthinkable manner. The great Alberto Sordi, in one of his most unforgettable and meanest roles, plays a merchant of children. This satiric fresco of the Neapolitan way of life became a cult movie and a classic of “Commedia all’Italiana.” The stellar cast includes Anouk Aimee, Silvana Mangano, Ernest Borgnine and Jack Palance.
Thurs June 5: 1:30 & 6:30
OUTSIDERS OF THE CROWD / E.A.M. - ESTRANEI ALLA MASSA
Vincenzo Marra, 2001; 90m
Right after his marvelous Sailing Home, shown in last year's Open Roads,
Vincenzo Marra shot this documentary literally without a budget, using
his digital camera and serving also as cinematographer. The story
follows the typical day of seven Neapolitan soccer fans of the "Ultras
Feddayn E.A.M." (Outsiders of the Crowd), and their journey to a
football match in northern Italy. Deciding to minimize his presence
inside the group, Marra brilliantly narrates the friendship, the dreams,
the hopes, and the difficulties of seven young men, who mirror the life
of a city that has always been young and ancient, poor and noble,
violent and wise. An impressive new achievement by the most authentic
heir of the great Italian neorealist tradition.
Thurs June 5: 4; Sun June 8: 8:30
SOUL MATE / L'ANIMA GEMELLA
Sergio Rubini, 2002; 104m
In a small town in southern Italy, Tonino and Maddalena share a special,
passionate love, inciting the wrath of Maddalena's cousin Teresa, who's
determined to pull the couple apart. She even attempts to enlist the aid
of the local witch, but sometimes magic comes back at those who try to
use it. Since the release of La stazione back in 1990, Sergio Rubini has
been hailed as one of the "engines" behind this newest generation of
Italian filmmakers. Here, he creates a kind of modern fable peopled by
characters who find themselves swept up by forces they can hardly
understand. Valentina Cervi, as Teresa, gives a remarkable performance.
Fri June 6: 4; Sat June 7: 9:15; Thurs June 12: 4:15
TWO FRIENDS / DUE AMICI
Sprio Scimone & Francesco Sframele, 2002; 90m
Awarded Best First Film at the 2002 Venice Biennale, TWO FRIENDS is
adapted from the theater piece Nunzio. Scimone and his co-director
Sframele star as Nunzio and Pino, two Sicilians trying to eke out
livings on the outskirts of a large industrial city. Nunzio works in a
paint factory; Pino seems to travel a lot, especially when he receives a
surprise fish delivery at home. Then one day the man in charge of these
fish deliveries turns up dead. Everything seems to be up in the air:
what were these unscheduled deliveries really about? Is there any hope
for Nunzio and Maria, the young woman to whom he's ready to devote his
life? A lovely, sensitive film about a peculiar, and rather touching,
kind of male bonding, TWO FRIENDS offers a refreshingly offbeat look at
working- class lives and friendships.
Fri June 6: 8:45; Sat June 7: 6:45;
Mon June 9: 2
ONE MORE HOUR WITH YOU /
UN'ORA SOLA TI VORREI
Alina Marazzi, 2002; 56m
"My mother was born in 1938 and died in 1972, when I was seven. Telling
her story through these old family films is a way to give back dignity
to the person who put me in this world." Alina Marazzi describes with
these words her extraordinary documentary, which won best documentary at
the Torino Film Festival and a special mention in Locarno. A painful but
loving journey in search of a beautiful and suffering mother, whose
tormented existence is narrated through the reinvention of old footage
and new, stylized, symbolic images.
preceded by Roberto Catani's magical
La funambola (Special Mention, Annecy Animation Film Festival) and Sando
del Rodario's glistening, animated noir
L. City ("Circuito Off" Prize, Venice).
Sat June 7: 5; Mon June 9: 6:15;
Tue June 10: 1:30
THE ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO /
LE AWENTURE DI PINOCCHIO
Luigi Comencini, 1971; 134m, on Video
Probably Luigi Comencini's masterpiece, this PINOCCHIO was made for
Italian television based on a script by Suso Cecchi D'Amico. With the
help of Armando Nannuzzi's cinematography and Pietro Gherardi's
costumes, this great, overlooked director reinvented the magic realism
of Collodi's story, setting the film in locations close to the author's
birthplace, and captured the spiritual essence of the story. Most of the
actors give the best performances of their careers, but the show is
stolen by the moving, unforgettable Nino Manfredi as Geppetto.
Sun June 8: 1; Tue June 10: 8; Thurs June 12: 1:30
PATER FAMILIAS
Francesco Patierno, 2002; 90m
A gripping "memory film," Francesco Patierno's debut feature is the
story of Matteo, a man returning to his native village near Naples after
a ten-year absence. He must put his dying father's papers in order, but
the visit affords him the opportunity to straighten out much in his
past. Patierno powerfully captures the stifling quality of small-town
life, the dashed hopes and dreams that threaten to spiral into
frustration and even violence. Newcomer Luigi Iacuzio is sensational as
Matteo, a character who seems to grow increasingly complex, and ever
surprising, right before our eyes.
Sun June 8: 6:15; Mon June 9: 4 & 8
CINEMA NOVISSIMA; RECENT SHORT FILMS FROM ITALY
Approximately 90m
As a special feature of this year's Open Roads, we're pleased to present
this excellent selection of recent Italian shorts - powerful,
provocative works that suggest some of the exciting places the Italian
cinema of the next few years might take us. Stay tuned!
Red Mud / Rossofango
(Paolo Ameli; 2002)
Handshake / Stretta di mano
(Davide Marengo; 2002)
The Last One Standing /
L'Ultimo rimasto di piedi
(Ugo Capoluto; 2002)
Radioportogutenberg
(Alessandro Vanucci; 2002)
Playgirl (Fabio Tagliavia; 2002)
In utero (Ila Beka; 2002)
Tue June 10: 6; Wed June 11: 3:30; Thurs June 12: 9 june 12: 9
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