Tag Archives: Italian cinema

passion and money in the end-of-century Rome (film: The Inheritance / L’eredità Ferramonti – Mauro Bolognini, 1976)

‘L’eredità Ferramonti‘ (whose English title is ‘The Inheritance‘) made in 1976 is one of the latest films in Mauro Bolognini‘s directing career. His name is less mentioned today, being overshadowed by those of his more famous contemporaries, but in the … Continue reading

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becoming a child like all the other (Film: Pinocchio – Matteo Garrone, 2019)

Pinocchio fascinates filmmakers. The first atru to bring to screen Carlo Collodi’s novel took place in 1936, as an animated feature, in Italy, but the first to complete the project were Walt Disney and his colleagues in 1940. Another 20 … Continue reading

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Bertolucci’s Communist Manifesto (Film: Novecento / 1900 – Bernardo Bertolucci, 1976)

‘1900‘ is a historical film that has a history of its own, one that probably hasn’t ended yet. The perception of critics and the public about this film seems to have changed several times already during its hectic launch in … Continue reading

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trash and/or masterpiece (Film: Suspiria – Dario Argento, 1977)

‘Suspiria‘ and a few other of Dario Argento‘s films that became the classics of today have represented a turn towards extreme of the horror genre. By pushing the level of bloody violence and sexuality, either implicit or explicit, the Italian … Continue reading

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neo-realism meets Catholicism in an early work of Pasolini (film: Mamma Roma – Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1962)

A few days ago I saw ‘1917‘, the film that has a good chance of picking up several Academy Awards in a few weeks. The glory of this film is due to the fact that its director, Sam Mendes, uses … Continue reading

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facing the crisis

‘Il Capitale Umano‘ (‘Human Capital‘) is an adaptation to screen of an American novel written by Stephen Amidon, adapted and directed by Paolo Virzì. The story in the book takes place in the US during the economic crisis of 2001 … Continue reading

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a special kind of documentary about a special kind of woman (documentary: Shooting the Mafia – Letizia Battaglia, 2019)

‘Shooting the Mafia‘ is a documentary that tells the story of the life of a woman who is our contemporary, but whose biography is very different from that of most people around her and us. The merit of the Irish … Continue reading

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the formidable magnetism of Anna Magnani (film: Beautiful – Luchino Visconti, 1951)

‘They do not make movies like those anymore’ is a saying that makes me smile. Of course, it is true. For the good and for the bad. The technical means, the tastes of the audiences, the style of acting, and … Continue reading

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a very efficient docu-drama

I do not have a Netflix account (yet), so I rarely see films protected by the ecosystem of this kind of broadcast. Luckily, a few movies like ‘Roma‘, which was also presented in Cannes and now this ‘Sulla mia pelle‘ … Continue reading

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normality of evil (Film: Il conformista – Bernardo Bertolucci, 1970)

Bernardo Bertolucci has a difficult posterity. Even the obituaries at his disappearance last year included more or less veiled criticism of his voyeurism in ‘Last Tango in Paris‘ or ‘The Dreamers‘ or its sliding into the extreme-oriental commerciality of ‘The … Continue reading

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