Tag Archives: Italian cinema

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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effects of time (Film: Senilità – Claudia Cardinale, 1962)

Time has its own ways also in terms of movies. I have just finished watching ‘Senilità‘ (the English title is ‘Careless’) directed by Mauro Bolognini, a prolific and well-known Italian director at the time, author of 46 films between 1953 … Continue reading

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neo-realism meets magic realism (Film: Lazzaro felice – Alice Rohrwacher, 2018)

From time to time, once every few years, comes a movie that does not look like anything I’ve seen before as a passionate cinema fan. It’s what’s going on with ‘Lazarro felice‘, the film made by the Italian director Alice … Continue reading

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bloody silver (Film: Profondo Rosso – Dario Argento, 1975)

Dario Argento‘s career spreads now over half a century of writing and directing horror movies. He is considered the master of the Italian cinema of the genre, which also bears the name of ‘giallo’ (yellow – the color of cheap … Continue reading

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fresh Italian comedy (Quo vado? – Checco Zalone, 2016)

The second film we have seen at the Italian film festival was an entertaining comedy starring one of the most popular actors and singers in Italy nowadays. The title Quo vado? may send to serious philosophical and even Biblical connotations, … Continue reading

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teens, speed, drugs in a good Italian drama (Film: Veloce come il vento – Matteo Rovere, 2016)

‘Veloce come il vento’ (which translates ‘fast as the wind’ – but got the English title Italian Race is a quite original combination between a teen drama, a car races story (including the corresponding stunts) and a moralistic story about … Continue reading

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friendship games (film: Perfetti sconosciuti – Paolo Genovese, 2016)

Quite difficult to believe that Paolo Genovese‘s  Perfect Strangers is not inspired by a theater play. Everything happens within the closed limits of one apartment where seven friends meet for a casual dinner which turns into something completely different when they … Continue reading

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undecided movie about an undecided pope (Habemus Papam – Nanni Moretti, 2011)

Papacy and its institutions have attracted film makers in many different ways. The Vatican or its clones have been used as sets and stage for many movies in genres ranging from historical movies to crazy comedies. Nanni Moretti‘s Habemus Papam … Continue reading

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beautiful but … (Film: La Grande Belleza – Paolo Sorrentino, 2013)

A few days from now ‘La Grande Belleza’ will probably get the Academy Award for the Best Foreign Language picture so it’s probably a daring act on my part to share the opinion that this film is over-rated and that … Continue reading

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love in times of war (Film: Venuto al mondo – Penelope Cruz, 2012)

This time the translation in Hebrew got it right, following the original Italian title which says ‘Come to the world’ rather than the English title ‘Twice Born’. The film is indeed about bringing children to the a world in conflict, … Continue reading

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