Category Archives: movies

Italian neorealism ends with a big laugh (film: I soliti ignoti – Mario Monicelli, 1958)

Posted on May 7, 2025 by admin

‘I soliti ignoti‘, Mario Monicelli‘s 1958 film, can be considered the healthy laugh with which the period of Italian neorealism ends. In fact, Monicelli had directed almost 15 comedies in the decade preceding this film, more than one per year, … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged Claudia Cardinale, comedy, heist film, Italian cinema, Italian neorealism, Marcello Mastroianni, Mario Monicelli, Totò, Vittorio Gassman | Leave a comment

a love story on the stormy ocean (film: Remorques – Jean Grémillon, 1941)

Posted on May 6, 2025 by admin

There are films whose production could be a good subject for a film script. One of these cases seems to me to be ‘Remorques‘ (the English distribution title was ‘Stormy Waters‘). The director of this film was Jean Grémillon, a … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged André Cayatte, black-and-white film, film based on a novel, French cinema, Jacques Prévert, Jean Gabin, Jean Grémillon, Michèle Morgan, Roger Vercel, romantic drama, romantic films | Leave a comment

the voice of the diva (film: Maria – Pablo Larraín, 2024)

Posted on May 5, 2025 by admin

I was quite skeptical about ‘Maria‘, the biopic (or kind of biopic) that Steven Steven Knight wrote and Pablo Larraín directed for Netflix, released at the end of 2024. It is the third film, perhaps the final film, in a … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged Alba Rohrwacher, biopic, international movies production, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Maria, Maria Callas, musical movies, opera, original script, Pablo Larraín, Pierfrancesco Favino | Leave a comment

the singer of the people (film: Stelios – Yorgos Tsemberopoulos, 2024)

Posted on May 2, 2025 by admin

‘Stelios‘ is a biographical film about Stelios Kazantzidis, one of the most popular Greek singers of the second half of the 20th century. He is also very well known and extremely popular in Israel, where his songs are often broadcast … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged Asimenia Voulioti, biopic, Christos Mastoras, Greek cinema, Katerina Bei, Klelia Renesi, musical movies, original script, Stelios Kazantzidis, Yorgos Tsemberopoulos | Leave a comment

wait for second half when it really gets crazy (film: Les tribulations d’un Chinois en Chine – Philippe de Broca, 1965)

Posted on May 1, 2025 by admin

‘Les tribulations d’un chinois en Chine‘ (the English title is ‘Up to His Ears’) was made by director Philippe de Broca in 1965, a year after his international blockbuster success with ‘L’homme de Rio’. It is obvious that the film … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged action comedy, film based on a novel, French cinema, Jean Rochefort, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jules Verne, Les tribulations d'un Chinois en Chine, Philippe de Broca, Ursula Andress, Valéry Inkijinoff | Leave a comment

the magic of music (film: Boléro – Anne Fontaine, 2024)

Posted on April 30, 2025 by admin

‘Boléro‘, Anne Fontaine‘s 2024 film, is a biographical film about a great composer and his most popular creation. It is, of course, about Maurice Ravel and his ‘Boléro’, one of the great hits of classical music, a work about which … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged Anne Fontaine, based on a book, biopic, Boléro, Christophe Beaucarne, Doria Tillier, Emmanuelle Devos, feminist cinema, film about music, Jeanne Balibar, Marcel Marnat, Maurice Ravel, Raphaël Personnaz | Leave a comment

two brothers go to Hollywood (film: Good Morning Babilonia – Paolo & Vittorio Taviani)

Posted on April 21, 2025 by admin

The Taviani brothers are no more. First, Vittorio died in 2018, and last year Paolo also left us. They leave behind about 20 feature films and a few more short films and collaborations on collective creations. They also wrote most … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged American saga, Charles Dance, Good Morning Babilonia, historical comedy, historical drama, Italian cinema, Joaquim de Almeida, original script, Paolo Taviani, Taviani brothers, Vincent Spano, Vittorio Taviani | Leave a comment

epoch drama, vampires and blues music (film: Sinners – Ryan Coogler, 2025)

Posted on April 19, 2025 by admin

‘Sinners‘, the film written and directed by Ryan Coogler will be interpreted in different ways by different categories of viewers. It is a horror film with and about vampires. It is a period film set in the American South in … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged author cinema, blues, epoch drama, Hollywood movies, Ludwig Göransson, Michael B. Jordan, Miles Caton, musical movies, original script, Ryan Coogler, Sinners, vampire movies | Leave a comment

a Swedish gem (film: Flickorna / The Girls – Mai Zetterlink, 1968)

Posted on April 18, 2025 by admin

‘Flickorna‘ (the English title is ‘The Girls‘), made in 1968, was probably the most ambitious film in the directorial career of Mai Zetterling, a personality of Swedish cinema that I discovered while watching this film. Mai launched herself as an … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged Bibi Andersson, Flickorna, Gunnel Lindblom, Harriet Andersson, inspired by a theatre play, Mai Zetterlink, Swedish movies, theatre in film | Leave a comment

the burden of fame (film: Vie privée – Louis Malle, 1962)

Posted on April 15, 2025 by admin

‘Vie privée‘ (the title under which it was released in English is ‘A Very Private Affair‘), Louis Malle ‘s 1962 film, starts from some excellent premises. It is probably the film that is closest to the Nouvelle Vague in his … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged A Very Private Affair, Brigitte Bardot, Louis Malle, Marcello Mastroianni, movie about love, original script, romantic drama, Vie privée | Leave a comment