Luchino Visconti’s "Death in Venice" (Brookline, February 21)

The Coolidge Corner Theatre will present legendary Italian director Luchino Visconti’s 1971 Death in Venice on Monday, February 21 at 7pm. In Visconti’s lush and haunting version of Thomas Mann’s novella, an artist obsessed by his ideal of physical and spiritual beauty jeopardizes his own life to be near the object of his desire. Playing Count Aschenbach, Dirk Bogarde embodies the outwardly civilized and meticulously reserved composer as he takes a rest cure in Edwardian Venice. The dichotomy between the intellectual and the sensual is brought to the fore by Aschenbach’s first glimpse of the beautiful young Tadzio, unleashing a secret obsession. The Count’s fascination with the youth’s physical perfection is mirrored in Visconti's masterful visual style.

This presentation is part of the Coolidge’s ongoing Science on Screen series. Before the film, guest speaker Nancy Etcoff, a faculty member of the Harvard Medical School and the Harvard University Mind/Brain/Behavior Initiative and a psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, discusses the science of beauty. Dr. Etcoff has conducted research on the perception of beauty, emotion, well-being, and the brain for over 20 years. Her critically acclaimed popular science book, Survival of the Prettiest: The Science of Beauty has been published in over a dozen languages, and was the subject of a one-hour Discovery Channel program.

Tickets: $9.75 general admission/$7.75 students and Museum of Science members, and free for Coolidge members. For more information and advance tickets, visit www.coolidge.org.

'Una scuola italiana'. A film by Giulio Cederna and Angelo Loy

* blog

Mario Monicelli dies at 95

* article by Michael Roston [New York Times]
* article by Alessandra Rizzo [Los Angeles Times]
* article by Alessandra Rizzo [Washington Post]

"A Quiet Life" by Claudio Cupellini

"Rosario Russo (Toni Servillo) hails from southern Italy, has a young family and is perfectly integrated in his new home near Frankfurt where he runs a restaurant and hotel business. He keeps a low profile, has hanged identities, speaks an impeccable German - finally, his past is behind him. Until one day, his son Diego (Marco D’Amore), long forgotten and on the run, shows up at his doorstep, and his past suddenly comes back to haunt him. Now Rosario’s orderly and prosperous life precipitates as past memories resurface and engulf him. He must settle the score: but will he remain true to his paternal duties in this final struggle for survival?" [Rome International Film Festival]

* website

'La Pecora nera' by Ascanio Celestini

SYNOPSIS
“The psychiatric hospital is an apartment block of saints. The poor crazy inmates tucked into their Chinese sheets – industrially manufactured shrouds – are saints, the nun lit up like an ex-voto by her bedside lamp is a saint. And the doctor is the saintliest of all, he is the head of the saints, he is Jesus Christ.” This is how Nicola describes his 35 years in the “electric asylum” and in his messed-up head reality and fantasy merge, producing unexpected illuminations. Nicola was born in the 1960s, “the fabulous sixties”, and the world he saw from the hospital is not so very different from the one passing by on the outside – an increasingly voracious world, in which the only thing there is no shortage of is fear."
[67th Venice Film Festival website]

* DVD Einaudi Stile Libero
* book

'20 sigarette' by Aureliano Amadei

Synopsis

"November 2003: Aureliano, a twenty-eight-year old anarchist and anti-war activist without a regular job or love life, gets an offer to fly immediately to Iraq as assistant director for a film about the Italian military ”peace mission”. Despite the criticism from his mates and best friend Claudia, and the concerns of his family, in particular his mother with whom he lives, Aureliano heads off. He thus finds himself in the middle of a military world he doesn’t approve of and about which he is prejudiced. However, he discovers a great sense of humanity and brotherhood in the people he meets, values that he shares. Following Stefano Rolla, the director whose passion for film, work and life in general have swept him up, Aureliano does not have time to finish a packet of cigarettes before he finds himself caught up in the attack on the Nassirya army barracks on 12 November 2003. The only civilian to survive the attack that has killed nineteen Italians, Aureliano is seriously injured but manages to get himself to safety. A witness and victim of the event, he spends long periods in the American hospital at Nassirya and the Rome Celio hospital, receiving a constant stream of visits from politicians, the military and journalists because in the meantime he has become an accidental hero. With the help of Claudia, Aureliano undergoes the transformation from “boy” to “man”. " [67th Venice Film Festival website]

* interview with the filmmaker
* book Venti sigarette a Nassirya, Einaudi, 2005

'AmeriQua'

AmeriQua is a movie about student life in Bologna.

'Niente paura' by Piergiorgio Gay

* website

A picture of Italy in the movie 'Somewhere' by Sofia Coppola

A sequence of the movie Somewhere by Sofia Coppola [awarded the Golden Lion] has been set in Milan: Johnny Marco, the main character, and his eleven-year-old daughter Cleo arrive in Italy to take part at the Telegatto Awards. Just landed, the American actor is interviewed by a TV journalist asking very stupid questions and repeating the truistic answers for a supposed not intelligent audience; during the ceremony, the actor cannot speak and he is surrounded by undressed dancers. Cleo is sitting in the audience and she looks very different from the people sitting around her.
The sequence depicts the low level of the Italian television and society, dominated by a subculture where intelligence is banned and appearance prevails.
The encounter between father and daughter encourage Johnny to face up to where he is in life and confront the question that we all must: which path in life will you take? Will Italians do the same?

'Sorelle Mai' by Marco Bellocchio

" SYNOPSIS
The film comprises six episodes of a single story filmed in Bobbio during six different years between 1999 and 2008 (with the participants in the “Fare Cinema” course of those years). It tells of a little girl, Elena (Elena Bellocchio), growing up between the age of 5 and 13, and of her mother, Sara (Donatella Finocchiaro), her uncle Giorgio (Pier Giorgio Bellocchio), and their difficult relationship… Elena lives with her aunts in Bobbio, because her mother, an actress, is always on the move but comes back whenever she can, as does her brother for other reasons… One day, Sara decides that Elena should live with her in Milan, leaving the village and her aunts, perhaps for ever… But in the fourth episode, Sara returns to Bobbio with Elena, to sign the sale of the house, and finds Giorgio increasingly restless about what he wants to do. The fifth episode tells of an exam in an imaginary school in the village: one of the teachers (Alba Rohrwacher) is a paying guest in the aunts’ house. Her problem arises from the decision to fail one pupil for presumed “inattention”. But she passes him: in truth, it was she who was “inattentive”… In the sixth episode, we find Giorgio again who, up to his eyeballs in debt, takes refuge in Bobbio; his sister will help him… The episode and the film end with a show on the Trebbia… Starring Gianni (Gianni Schicchi Gabrieli), a family friend"
[67th Venice Film Festival website]

'La prima notte a Venezia' by Antonello Sarno

" SYNOPSIS
Eighty-eight memories and “secrets” about their first time at the Venice Film Festival: Quentin Tarantino confessed that “Being in Venice with the Italian B Movies was like being in heaven!” but there is also the enthusiasm of Martin Scorsese, who came to the Lido for the first time in the 1970s, or Robert De Niro, at the Festival as a director with A Bronx Tale, along with the secrets of an unknown (at the time) Hugh Grant looking for interviews, the enthusiasm of Al Pacino, enchanted by Venice during the filming of his The Merchant of Venice, or Charlize Theron, amazed at the festival goers’ love for cinema, or Penelope Cruz (at the Festival with Jamon, Jamon) who, when meeting Jack Lemmon, thinks: “That man worked with Marilyn Monroe!” "
[Venice Film Festival website]

'Noi credevamo' by Mario Martone

* official blog
* Facebook
* scenario by Mario Martone and Carlo De Cataldo [the movie is based on a novel by Anna Banti, downloudable at Scribd]

'Gorbaciòf - The Cashier who Liked Gambling' by Stefano Incerti

"Toni Servillo is fast becoming one of the finest screen actors of his generation. His extraordinary portrait of Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti in Paulo Sorrentino’s Il divo, and his equally nuanced performance in Matteo Garrone’s Gommorah, alerted us to his impressive range. His multifaceted skills are again on display in Stefano Incerti’s remarkable portrait of a prison cashier, a role tailor-made for someone of Servillo’s dexterity. Incerti not only provides a structure in which a genius like Servillo can soar, he does so while displaying a total command of the medium.

Gorbaciòf has dialogue, but it is sparse and used only when necessary. Servillo plays a lonely but cocky prison official who banks bribes on behalf of the prison staff, money from prisoner’s families to secure extra perks for their relatives behind bars. His name is Pacileo, but he goes by the nickname Gorbachev due to a large birthmark that mars his forehead. He’s a habitual gambler and makes up his losses by dipping into the money in his charge. But when he befriends a lovely young Chinese waitress, his habit turns deadly as he struggles to give her gifts while still managing his debts.

Tough, unshaven, ill-mannered and almost mute, Gorbachev starts to bloom as his relationship with the girl grows and he allows himself to dream. Neither speaks each other’s language, a beautiful and realistic touch that forces Incenti to paint their relationship in gestures and innuendo, making for moments of sheer magic. As the film moves achingly towards its conclusion, we watch in wonder at the range of emotions that filmmaker and actor bring to the screen in this breathtaking piece of filmmaking bravado."

Piers Handling

Toronto International Film Festival 2010

'The Green Blood' by Andrea Segre

" January 2010, Rosarno, Calabria. The immigrants' manifestations of rage reveal, for a short while, the conditions of deterioration and injustice thousands of African labourers live every day. Labourers who are exploited by an economy held by the 'Ndrangheta mafia power. For a moment Italians become aware of them, they are scared of them and react with violence. In a few hours the immigrants are “evacuated” from Rosarno and the problem is “solved”. But the faces and the stories of the protagonists of Rosarno's riot say things are not like that. Finding out these stories and giving them a voice are the only way to bring back to the country its own memory: the memory of those days of violence and the memory of a recent yet forgotten past of rural poverty. "

http://ilsangueverde.blogspot.com

'Vittorio racconta Gassman - Una vita da Mattatore' [A tribute to Vittorio Gassman] by Giancarlo Scarchilli

SYNOPSIS
" As the title of this film-documentary suggests, Vittorio racconta Gassman depicts the professional and personal life of Vittorio Gassman, reconstructed using mainly Gassman himself and his confessional tales. In the film a special relevance has been given to Gassman’s son, Alessandro who, like Virgil, guides us through the passionate, funny, spectacular and problematic world of his father Vittorio, one of the greatest actors of the Italian stage and screen. The film-documentary is composed of documents and interviews never seen before, excerpts from popular and forgotten films, as well as clips from the RAI film libraries (such as the rediscovered rare autobiographical material). In order to bring together significant stories about Vittorio Gassman, a series of interviews were made with colleagues and friends of the actor, including: Dino De Laurentiis, Ettore Scola, Paolo Villaggio, Marco Risi, Gigi Proietti, Giancarlo Giannini, Carlo Verdone, Paolo Virzì, Gian Luigi Rondi, Jacques Perrin, Jean Gili, Anna Galiena, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Enrico Lucherini, Ornella Muti, Anna Proclemer, Franco Giacobini, Roberto Herlitzka, Daniele Luchetti, Giuseppe Piccioni, Nicola Piovani, Carlo Lizzani, Giovanni Veronesi, Giovanna Ralli, Francesco Rosi, Mario Monicelli, Agostina Belli, Ricky Tognazzi, Sergio Castellitto, etc. "
[Venice Film Festival website]

'Photofinish Figures' by Paolo Gioli

"With exhilirating rhythms and flashing sideways motion, the latest by celebrated Italian artist Paolo Gioli is a 16mm, black and white ode to faces and the city. Il Finish delle Figure reminds one of Muybridge but relays a sense of the conteporary, sensory overload of living in a metropolis."

Official description: "Early cinema confronted the spectator like no other art, beckoning a reciprocal engagement and curiosity as both spectacle and document. Paolo Gioli returns to a tabula rasa with his handmade cameras and masks, which allow him to exploit and fashion film’s reproductive means. The exhilarating Il Finish delle figure updates Muybridge and relays a sense of the contemporary, photo-finished experience using a 35mm still camera."

"Paolo Gioli is an Italian photographer and filmmaker who has been making films since the sixties."

[Toronto International Film Festival 2010]

'Passione' by John Turturro

"As much a love poem to Naples as a tribute to the popular music that bubbles up in the streets and neighbourhoods of this fascinating and complex city, John Turturro’s effervescent Passione combines archival footage with stunning musical numbers to explore a deep cultural heritage. Naples has seen it all: earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, foreign invasions, crime, poverty, corruption and neglect, but it is also a hotbed of music that explores ideas of love, loss, sex, jealousy, emigration, social protest, birth and death. The songs themselves are drenched in contradiction and irony but they carry a robust vitality that reflects the energy of the metropolis.

Beginning by visiting with a trio of grizzled record veterans who muse on the characteristics of Neapolitan music, Turturro proceeds to take us on a musical journey through the back alleys and public squares, beaches and studios of the city to record young and old, amateurs and professionals, performing a divergent and eclectic group of songs. Footage of past masters Sergio Bruni, Massimo Ranieri and Renata Carasonni rub shoulders with contemporary artists like the M’Barka Ben Taleb and James Senese.

Turturro’s Italian roots and love of the country give the film added poignancy. The film journeys from nostalgic memories to reconstructions using the bedrooms, parapets and castles of the city, placing musicians in streets and piazzas, whilst exploring the full range of populist folk music from Neapolitan melodramas to contemporary video clips. Each song carries its own narrative associations, and one of the most fascinating aspects of the film is the contemporary American influence on the music. Children fathered during the war by Yankee soldiers have grown up in Naples and are now adding their distinct sound to a city that has seen many cultures come and go, leaving their legacies in this amazing city."

Piers Handling

[Toronto International Film festival 2010]

'The House by the Medlar Tree' by Pasquale Scimeca

"Based on the novel by Giovanni Verga – which also provided the source material for Luchino Visconti’s seminal film, La terra trema – The House by the Medlar Tree sees director Pasquale Scimeca returning to his Sicilian birthplace. The story of a fisherman and his family is set against the cruel vagaries of the ocean from which they eke out a living, but which is also the source of continual tragedies and challenges. Magnificently photographed, the film captures the shifting moods of the stunning seascapes and the interior chiaroscuro of the family house.
The House by the Medlar Tree is a study in contrasts. In a culture deeply embedded in tradition, the old and the new juggle for ascendancy as the younger generation resists the ways of the past. Scimeca lovingly portrays the inner dynamics at the core of this family, headed by the magisterial and dignified patriarch who is beholden to the sea as the place where he and his forefathers have made their living. For his daughter, the ocean is a place of dread and tragedy and she constantly fears for the safety of her husband. The children see the fishery as a fading source of income and look elsewhere for work, travelling north as migrant workers. And then there are the daughters and girlfriends, each with their own singular relationship to the sea. The family boat is named Providenza – Providence – and although it is the family’s main provider, it is also a symbol of their unspoken despair. Old and creaky, its fate provides much of the film’s drama.
The House by the Medlar Tree expertly portrays the indefatigable nature of the fishermen. The line between survival and disaster is often just a storm away; inured to hard times, they remain dignified in the face of impending disaster. Borrowing against their house to rebuild their boat is only the first in a series of challenges that this Sicilian family must overcome to remain together. The House by the Medlar is a timeless story that resonates profoundly in today’s world."
Piers Handling
[Toronto International Film Festival 2010]

The Italian filmmakers at the 67th Venice Film Festival

* Article ["L'Unita'"]

Aureliano AMADEI, 20 sigarette (Controcampo Italiano)
Yuri ANCARANI, Il Capo (Orizzonti)
Marco BELLOCCHIO, Sorelle Mai (Out of competition)
Giorgia CECERE, Il primo incarico (Controcampo Italiano)
Ascanio CELESTINI, La pecora nera (Venezia 67)
Michela CESCON, Come un soffio (Controcampo Italiano)
Giada COLAGRANDE, A Woman (Controcampo Italiano)
Andrea COSTANTINO, Sposerò Nichi Vendola (Controcampo Italiano)
Saverio COSTANZO, La solitudine dei numeri primi (Venezia 67)
Marco DE ANGELIS, Antonio DI TRAPANI, Tarda estate (Controcampo Italiano Out of competition)
Roberto DE PAOLIS, Bassa Marea (Controcampo Italiano)
Gaetano DI VAIO, Il loro Natale (Controcampo Italiano Out of competition)
Giorgia FARINA, Achille (Controcampo Italiano)
FLATFORM, Non si può nulla contro il vento (Orizzonti)
Giuseppe GAUDINO, Isabella SANDRI, Per questi stretti morire (ovvero cartografia di una passione) (Orizzonti)
Piergiorgio GAY, Niente Paura – Come siamo come eravamo e le canzoni di Ligabue (Out of competition)
Gianfranco GIAGNI, Dante Ferretti: Scenografo italiano – Production Designer (Out of competition)
Giuseppe GIANNOTTI, Enrico SALVATORI, Dai nostri inviati - La Rai racconta la Mostra del Cinema 1954-1967 (Out of Competition)
Anna GIGANTE, Linea Nigra (Controcampo Italiano)
Simone GODANO, Leonardo GODANO, Niente Orchidee (Controcampo Italiano)
Emidio GRECO, Notizie degli scavi (Out of competition)
Stefano INCERTI, Gorbaciof (Out of competition)
Carlo LIBERATORE, Matteo DI BERNARDINO, Antonio IACOBONE, Stefano IANNI, Marco CASTELLANI e altri, Un anno dopo – Progetto Memory Hunters (Orizzonti Out of competition)
Armin LINKE, Francesco MATTUZZI, Future Archaeology (Orizzonti)
Monica MAGGIONI, Ward 54 (Controcampo Italiano Out of competition)
Mario MARTONE, Noi credevamo (Venezia 67)
Carlo MAZZACURATI, La Passione (Venezia 67)
Carlo MAZZACURATI, Sei Venezia (Out of competition)
Gianfranco PANNONE, Ma che storia (Controcampo Italiano)
Michele PLACIDO, Vallanzasca - Gli angeli del male (Out of competition)
Amos POE, La Commedia (Out of competition)
Paola RANDI, Into Paraiso (Controcampo Italiano)
Nadia RANOCCHI, David ZAMAGNI, All Inclusive 3D (Out of competition)
Gabriele SALVATORES, 1960 (Out of competition)
Antonello SARNO, La prima volta a Venezia (Out of competition)
Giancarlo Scarchilli, Vittorio racconta Gassman - Una vita da Mattatore (Out of competition)
Pasquale SCIMECA, Malavoglia (Orizzonti)
Gianfranco ROLANDI, Steve DELLA CASA, Flaiano: il meglio è passato (Controcampo Italiano Out of competition)
Elisabetta SGARBI, Se hai una montagna di neve, tienila all’ombra (Controcampo Italiano Out of competition)
Giovanna TAVIANI, Fughe e approdi (Controcampo Italiano Out of competition)
Giuseppe TORNATORE, L’ultimo Gattopardo: Ritratto di Goffredo Lombardo (Out of competition)
Roberta TORRE, I baci mai dati (Controcampo Italiano)
John TURTURRO, Passione (Out of competition)

Rigoletto in Mantua Worldwide Broadcasting

Rigoletto will be broadcast live by RAI Uno on Sept. 4 at 8:30PM and Sept. 5 at 2:00PM and 11:15PM. Placido Domingo will be Rigoletto; Vittorio Grigolo will be the Duke; Olga Peretyatko will be Gilda; Zubin Mehta will conduct Orchestra Sinfonica della Rai; Vittorio Storaro will be the cinematographer; filmmaker Marco Bellocchio will direct.

* video [Corriere TV, Jul. 16]

Previous opera productions filmed using real locations were Traviata in Paris and Tosca in Rome. A Cenerentola in Turin is scheduled for 2011.