Maybe the great season of the Italian cinema is no longer existing and faces, names, protagonists who have helped in changing the evolution of the cinema world-wide belong now to the history of cinema. Yet, this year, the 44th edition of the Festival of Karlovy Vary has proved, again, that the Italian films in programme are interesting and noteworthy
In The Storm of November Hrabal tells, in deeply felt tones, about a meeting occurred years ago in Karlovy Vary during the days of the Festival. The protagonists being: the Czech writer on one hand, an icon of the Czech Literature, and Bernardo Bertolucci on the other, an Italian director among the most famous world-wide, perhaps the last “maestro” of our cinema. Hrabal is struck by Berolucci’s eyes, a poet’s eyes in fact which he define “the same eyes as Baudelaire’s”, and the writer is enchanted and intrigued by this director who is internationally acclaimed. Their encounter is brief though marked by a mutual interest, by a mutual will of getting to know each other better, of discovering each other.
This is perhaps the principal objective of a festival that is of course a commercial showcase, a mundane parade with exclusive cocktails and VIP gala evenings, but that is – or at least should be – above all the best occasion to win new stories as well as new meetings.
Maybe the great season of the Italian cinema is no longer existing and faces, names, protagonists who have helped in changing the evolution of the cinema worldwide belong now to the History of Cinema. Yet, this year, the 44th edition of the Festival of Karlovy Vary has proved, again, that the Italian films in programme are interesting and noteworthy.
The success of films like Gomorra and Il Divo, two unconventional films, expressions of a new way of interpreting the Italian cinema, has been a very good start which was also underlined by the Italian films present in Karlovy Vary this year.
Tutta la vita davanti by Paolo Virzì marks the return to the comedy of the director from Livorno, after his historical excursus of N.
Virzì knows well, very well, Risi’s and Monicellis’ lesson and, in his latest film, he returns again to deal with the issue of the work in Italy. Sabrina Ferilli – whom he also chose, being his favourite, as the main actress for La Bella Vita, (she made her debut in 1994) – returns, together with Elio Germano, to work with Virzì in this subtle analysis of the callcentre phenomenon. Inspired by a blogger’s diary called Michela Murgia, Il mondo deve sapere is a film dealing, in an honest and clear-headed way, with a reality which involves thousands of young people in Italy, deluded and frustrated by a work that stifles hopes and ambitions. Virzì’s ability in telling stories is also enhanced by his ironic and intelligent criticism, an aspect to be found in all of his films.
Musicologist and writer, Alessandro Baricco is by now one of the most famous Italian names world-wide. The international success of his books, from Lands of Glass to Ocean Sea, has encouraged him to experiment new expressive ways like music and cinema. After the adaptation of Silk – with an international high-level cast, Keira Knightley, Michael Pitt, Alfred Molina and the acclaimed French director Francois Girard – Baricco becomes this time a director and signs his first film with Lesson 21, involving in this project a stellar cast including a big shot as John Hurt for this difficult and stimulating film focused on music and on its inspiring strength.
Another important name is that of Davide Ferrario, who with Tutta colpa di Giuda has created a mixture of musical comedy and prison film. Set in the prison of the Vallette in Turin, Ferrario tells about the staging of a musical featuring some of the prisoners. “It is not a film about the prison but a film in the prison” – he states. In fact, Tutta colpa di Giuda is a film focused on redemption and guilt narrated in an absolutely unconventional way.
Although these three were probably the most important films presented this year, we must also mention Pranzo di ferragosto by Gianni Di Gregorio, La Pivellina by Tizza Crovi and Rainer Frimmel, and Diario di uno Scuro by Davide Barletti, Edoardo Cicchetti and Lorenzo Conte.
Pranzo di ferragosto is a bittersweet comedy based on the real experiences lived by the director himself who, for this film, has decided to hire actors who for the most part are non-professional, benefiting from the strength of their personality. It is a new interesting work, which was awarded the Prize “Leone del Futuro” at the Venice Festival 2008 before coming here in Karlovy Vary.
La Pivellina is the first work carried out by two documentary film makers, Crovi and Frimmel, one Italian and the other Austrian, who underline the documentary imprint of heir cinema by using a straight direct style to narrate their story. Winner of the “Prix Europa Cinema” at the latest edition of the Cannes Festival, within the section “Quinzaine des Realisateurs”, the film has been appreciated for its originality and simplicity and it has been distributed all over Europe.
Finally, Diario di uno Scuro is a stunning documentary film about the life of a boss from Puglia belonging to the Sacra Corona Unita, a brief film of 52 minutes which reveals new particulars into one of the less known mafia, being unfortunately a constant factor of the Italian way of life.
Italy was also present as co-producer of important films like Antichrist by Lars Von Trier, and Looking for Eric by Ken Loach, surely two among the most interesting European films come out this year.
The presence of the Italian cinema is therefore a constant factor of European cinema and continues to gain attention on European movie theatres, in a different way respect to the past, and yet with vitality and passion as the Festival in Karlovy Vary, even this year, demonstrates.
by Luca Gesualdo