OPEN ROADS: New Italian Cinema returns to NYC via the FSLC and Istituto Luce Cinecittà

Another June, another dose of fine Italian films -- via the Film Society of Lincoln Center and Istituto Luce Cinecittà's always wonderful and thankfully annual Open Roads series, which this year begins this coming Thursday, June 2, and continues through Wednesday, June 8. TrustMovies used to view every single one of the Open Roads selections, and he greatly misses this annual opportunity now that he lives in Florida.  But thanks to the good work of a certain excellent PR firm, he's been able to view a few of this year's films that, as usual, prove (mostly) a delight.

This year's roster -- you can view the entire selection by clicking here -- includes all kinds of genres, from arthouse and experimental to utterly mainstream (but intelligent, enjoyable examples of the latter), plus one tribute film, Ugly, Dirty, and Bad, a mid-period work from the lately departed and dearly missed Italian master, Ettore Scola. Of the three films I've so far seen, my favorite is the charming and often very funny comedy about faith and family, GOD WILLING, starring that just-keeps-getting-better actor Alessandro Gassman (on poster, right, and above left) along with another actor I've seen previously but never really appreciated until now, Marco Giallini (at left on the poster; above, right; and below, center).

In this smart mainstream tale, a famous-and-full-of-himself doctor and surgeon (played by Signore Giallini) who has raised his family as atheists gets an interesting comeuppance from those around him, including family, co-workers and especially a criminal-turned-priest (played to subtle and near-perverse perfection by Signore Gassman). The movie is, by turns, very funny, surprising, and finally even a bit profound. It manages to turn inside out the old saw about not being able to solve a person's problems in just 90 minutes (or in this particular case, only 82!). The movie will leave you with a tear in your eye, a smile on your face, and a rare feeling of, well, inclusion. And this, mind you, comes from an elderly and agnostic reprobate like yours truly, who calls God Willing a don't-miss in this year's Open Roads.

Also worth seeing is the new film, FIRST LIGHT (La prima luce) from Vincenzo Marra starring the popular, talented and very attractive actor Riccardo Scamarcio (on poster, left, and below, right), who has been seen in copious Italian films and at Open Roads for some years now. Here, Scamarcio plays Marco, an Italian lawyer married to a Spanish (or maybe South American) woman who has had a child by him. Now, with their relationship tanking, she wants to return home -- and bring their son with her, permanently.

As director and co-writer (with Angelo Carbone), Signore Marra has had the good sense not to make either parent a villain. Both he and she are flawed, difficult people, but both appear to love their child. "There's no future here," notes the mother (Daniela Ramirez, below right), and the line resonates -- not just about Italy but most of Europe (and, hey, the Western world) these days. Marra has also made very clear how difficult it is for a parent to fight against a spouse in a foreign country.

Slow-moving but done with a firm sense of reality, the movie picks up considerably once mom has absconded with child and dad travels to her country to try to find his son. Much more is suddenly at stake, and how things work out is handled with substance and enough unshowy style to make the film resonate.

When the name Daniele Luchetti is attached to a movie (he gave us the fine Ginger and Cinnamon and  My Brother Is an Only Child some years back), I expect something special. Unfortunately, that is not the case with his newest movie, a standard-issue bio-pic of our new Pope titled CALL ME FRANCESCO (Chiamatemi Francesco). Those interested in the current Pope but who have not bothered to learn much about him may appreciate this pretty much by-the-numbers look at his life (with particular attention paid to the military dictatorship in Argentina under which he served). Soon after the announcement was made concerning this Pope's appointment, questions were raised about his conduct during this horrendous period of Argentina's history. Try as it may, the biopic does not lay them to rest

The movie turns the man into a major hero of his time (he is well played as a younger man by Rodrigo de la Serna, above), and while I certainly cannot gainsay this theory, and I am impressed with how progressive this Pope does seem in comparison with all the Popes in my lifetime who've come before him (with the exception of John XXIII), I still expected a little more rigor and probing from the filmmaker, who no doubt was advised to give us a mainstream and laudatory movie. He has.

Doubt still lies at the heart of the dictatorship period when so many priests who were helping the downtrodden were tortured and killed, while those who helped the dictatorship managed to survive and prosper. The question of how our boy managed to last out so well appears to be via his gift for compromise, but this simply does not nearly explain things to my satisfaction. When the need arises during the darkest days to have a compatriot possibly disguise himself as Bergoglio (our priest's name pre-Popedom), that compatriot announces, "It's an honor to pass myself off as you!" Amen.

Another enjoyable, if more fictional venture (depending on just how fictional the above Pope movie actually is) into Italy today is THE COMPLEXITY OF HAPPINESS (La felicità è un sistema complesso), a film about everything from Socialism, Capitalism and Globalization to employment, family and responsibility. As co-written and directed by Gianni Zanasi, this is a tale of a "responsible" fellow (played by Italy's favorite "everyman," Valerio Mastandrea) who fixes things for the wealthy and corporate -- and must suddenly come to grips with a small family crisis in his own life that, of course, begins to change just about everything else.

Mastrandrea (above, right, and below, left ) is a superb actor, and his ability for subtlety and finesse is on fine display here. Co-starring with him is Israeli actress Hadas Yaron (above), who plays the young woman who helps precipitate that crisis, and she the intelligence and charm Ms Yaron exhibits makes a fine foil for Mastandrea's reticence and rigor. Also on hand is another staple of Open Roads, the portly delight, Giuseppe Battiston (at right, below), here playing a business friend of our hero whose grace and humor masks something sadder and darker.

The film is full of good dialog and some very smart lines, one of which "How come it's never anyone's fault?" might easily stand in as the mantra of almost any government in the western world. If the movie is better at diagnosing than correcting -- "You can't fight the economy," one character insists -- at least, by the finale, it does offer a bit of hope for change.

If you're looking or a good, extended love story (perhaps a little too extended), ALASKA, the new film from Claudio Cupellini, might fill the bill nicely. This tale of a young woman induced to attend a Parisian modeling audition and the ambitious-if-hot-tempered hotel employee she encounters begins like a house afire, as this pair meet and quickly bond -- only to have their not-quite-affair nipped in the bud by his sudden, violent actions.

Director and co-writer Cupellini takes us and his duo from Pairs to Milan, from prison to that modeling career and the hot-shit night club that bears the movie's name. (For some reason, Opens Roads has decided to retitle the film The Beginners, though Alaska's the more appropriate moniker.) It's a two-hour-plus journey, but it's also an interesting, surprising and sometimes moving one, as our hero/heroine couple, break off, reunite and move into different states of careers and couplings.

As played by the two attractive performers, Elio Germano (an Open Roads regular, shown just above) and French star Astrid Bergès-Frisbey (shown two photos above), the movie could hardly ask for two more sexy and compelling leads. Germano always seems to manage to look quite different from role to role, and he does this without make-up, simply by virtue of attitude, talent and maybe haircut, too. Ms Bergès-Frisbey, while not possessing quite the talent (yet) of Germano, keeps up her part of the bargain well enough. Also, her character has not been given the depth that Germano's receives, a typical result, I fear, of what often happens when a male writer/director tackles the female psyche.

This has been true of literally all five films I've covered at this year's Open Roads, And I'm sorry now that I did not opt instead to see the new film directed by Laura Morante.(above) or the one from Maria Sole Tognazzi (below). Well, next time.... Meanwhile, those of you in the tri-state area can view the work of both these female directors, along with the rest of the movies in this year's Opens Road. Don't miss out!

You can view the entire selection of Open Roads films 

by simply clicking here. and then clicking on 

the film or films of your choice.

The FSLC's OPEN ROADS 2014 opens w/ Daniele Luchetti's fond, clear-eyed THOSE HAPPY YEARS

After viewing and reviewing nearly every film in the annual OPEN ROADS series of new Italian films showing at the Film Society of Lincoln Center over the past decade or more, 2014 marks the first time that I will not be able to properly cover this fine festival. The intrusions of life have meant that suddenly I had to bow out of seeing more than the first press screening of the opening night film, THOSE HAPPY YEARS (Anni felici) from the popular and accomplished writer /director Daniele Luchetti (shown below, of Ginger and Cinnamon and My Brother Is an Only Child).

Intelligence, humor, nostalgia, and family love and pain have whirled within all the Luchetti movies I've seen and his latest is no different: Only the setting -- the art world of 1970s Italy, in a time of noticeably changing mores throughout western civilization -- is different. The filmmaker's skill and compassion is upfront and on fine display, as usual.

I don't know that the story told here is a personal one, but it certainly could be, as the film is narrated by the older son of the

family, Dario (a wise, funny, sad, first-film performance by Samuel Garofalo, at right), a character whose age range during the course of the film would easily fit that of Signore Luchetti's back a few decades, and who is himself a budding filmmaker. In fact, Dario receives the gift of his first video camera during the film.

As good as is young Garofalo, the main characters here are his loving but confused parents, played by two of Italy's most beautiful stars. Dad (Open Roads regular Kim Rossi Stuart, above), a semi-successful "modern" artist with more ambition than apparent talent, is also a heavy-duty narcissist who cheats repeatedly on his wife but can't conceive of her being able to do the same thing to him.

Mom is that amazing and energetic actress Micaela Rammazotti (above, right), who made such an award-winning stir internationally a few years back in Paolo Virzi's family chronicle, The First Beautiful Thing. She learns and grows during the course of the film -- just as does Dad, and even the kids (especially Dario) -- coming to grips with an attraction to her hubby's agent (a very smart and interesting performance from Germany's Martina Gedeck, of The Wall, shown below, center right).

We learn something of Italy's art world back in the 70s and watch a funny, surprising display of performance art, while we also observe, yet again, that special something that seems to distinguish Italian cinema and how it deals with family. Luchetti's addition to the oeuvre is a keeper, so I hope this film will get a theatrical release in the USA. In any case, you can see it first at Open Roads, this Thursday, June 5, at 1pm and 6:30pm -- along with a whole bunch of other films that look, from their description and credits, extremely promising.

Check out the entire Open Roads program here, and see as many of these movies as time and money permit. After all, it's hard to go too far wrong where Italy and cinema are concerned.

Rendez-vous With French Cinema, 2014 edition, opens at the FSLC, IFC Center, BAM & The Paris

It's back. One of and maybe the most popular series in the history of the Film Society of Lincoln Center opens this Thursday evening at Manhattan's storied Paris Theater and continues through March 16 at two venues in Manhattan and one in Brooklyn: the FSLC, the IFC Center and BAM.

Yes, RENDEZ-VOUS WITH FRENCH CINEMA, the 2014 edition, is here, beginning with the stellar opening night attraction -- Emmanuele Bercot's smart, funny and moving Catherine Deneuve vehicle, ON MY WAY (Elle s'en va). Also on tap are new films by fab French directors from Doillon to Ozon, Bozon to Ropert, Campillo to Gondry, some newcomers, old-timers (yes Bertrand Tavernier is back!) and a whole lot in between. This year, in fact, will see at least 24 films screened -- if I am correct, a record number for this series.

For some fifteen years or so, TrustMovies used to see every single film in this series. Of late, he can no longer manage that. This year, as last, he had to content himself with only viewing the opening night selection, but, as almost always occurs, Rendez-vous has chosen a good one: something you might call arthouse/mainstream that should prove popular with audiences while not alienating most critics.

Ms Deneuve could hardly have chosen a better vehicle nor a stronger director to bring it home. The actress shines consistently (is there a sexier, more alluring senior citizen in all France?) and Ms Bercot, shown at left and lately of Student Services, directs and co-writes this coming-to-terms tale with effortless ease and skill. The story spans four generations, with each brought to fine life, and while the film is sentimental, the sentiment is handled with enough spunk and spark so that we're laughing at these characters as often as we're laughing with them. The movie is also a kind of unexpected road trip, with a destination not quite what you'll expect.

If you cannot see On My Way now, don't fret: Cohen Media Group will be releasing it theatrically on March 14, just one week after Rendez-vous begins. Meanwhile, take a look at the entire Rendez-vous With French Cinema schedule here. And remember that you can see all, many, or at least a few of the films at all three venues: FSLC, IFC Center and BAM. If one is sold out, consult another.

OPEN ROADS 2013: Current Italian cinema arrives–bracing & beautiful. And horrifying

We're posting a little early this year, as the Film Society of Lincoln Center's annual Open Roads series of new Italian cinema, co-organized by Istituto Luce Cinecittà, does not officially begin until Thursday, June 6. To bring you proper coverage of all twelve of the films in this year's series, however, TrustMovies thinks he'd better start now -- in order to give each its due.

The 2013 program, which is said to offer more of what the FSLC calls the "regionalist trend" -- this has been apparent in the Open Roads selections for literally years now -- features films set in Sardegna and Sicily, as well as elsewhere around "the boot." The program also brings back Bellocchio's brilliant and enormously empathetic Dormant Beauty (above), one of this legendary filmmaker's best, which had its New York premier earlier this year during the FSLC's Film Comment Selects. The series opens with Every Blessed Day (shown at top), the new film from the always worthwhile Paolo Virzi. 

So far, I've seen nine of the dozen films on display, and the best -- the most original and provocative by far -- is the new work from famed cinematographer/editor/writer/director Daniele Cipri (this is the first film he's done without his longtime partner, Franco Maresco), It Was the Son, shown above and below.

Of the nine movies I've seen, if the overall quality seems just slightly lower than that of other years, there has also not been a clunker in the bunch. Each is worth seeing for a number of reasons, not least of which is its entertainment value. (And I haven't even mentioned, Nina -- below -- the most gloriously beautiful of the films, with cinematography that puts color, light, architecture and space to use in some incredible new ways.)

So click here and take a good, long look at the entire series, then make your choices. If you see three films or more, you can save big money, so once you've decided, click here and then click on the FSLC's Discount Package. You're unlikely to get this much -- or this good -- a view of Italian cinema, art, culture and mores anywhere else. (Until Open Roads 2014, that is...)

The FSLC's FILM COMMENTS SELECTS series for 2013 gets underway this Monday

It's that time of year again, when, in New York City, a bunch of generally very-good movies from around the world that don't quite fit well-enough into any marketable niche (and thus have so far gone mostly undistributed and unseen here in the USA) get their day -- sometimes two! -- in the sun.

above and top, both from Miss Lovely (no U.S. distribution yet)

The event -- an annual series -- is called FILM COMMENT SELECTS and draws its title from the movie magazine FILM COMMENT, published by The Film Society of Lincoln Center, which also sponsors this series. This year the FCS series -- which begins this coming Monday, February 18 -- presents 21 films, 16 of them new, with five oldies-but-goodies filling out the program.

from Nights With Theodore (no U.S. distribution yet)

Already this year, five of the new films have been picked up, for U.S. distribution (which probably means eventually release via DVD, streaming and/or VOD, in addition to theatres), with more probably to come. So real film buffs might want to concentrate their efforts on seeing those films that do not have (and may never get) U.S. distribution.

from Motorway (no U.S. distribution yet)

As usual, too, these films come from all around the world -- Hong Kong to France, Britain to Japan, the U.S. to Bollywood -- and includes filmmaker just coming into their own, as well as newcomers and old-timers.

from Sightseers, from IFC Midnight

True this year, as almost every year, genre films make their appearance in this series, as does the occasional experimental oddity (we have two this time around), together with a movie by a storied filmmaker that for some reason (and rather embarrassingly, if you ask me) has not been picked up yet.

from Dormant Beauty (no U.S. distribution yet)

In that last category is the new and quite wonderful movie from Marco Bellocchio -- Dormant Beauty -- that explores his country's reaction to euthanasia and which was given quite the "dis" by Michael Mann at last year's Venice Film Fest. (Mr. Mann, I might add has not given us a film with any worthwhile content in more than a decade.) I'll have a review up of the new Bellocchio very soon. Meanwhile, put it on your list.

from White Epilepsy (no U.S. distribution yet)

Highly experimental movies this year include those by Philippe Grandrieux (whose films often make me want to yell, "Turn on the fucking light!")....

from Stemple Pass (no U.S. distribution yet)

...and James Benning (who gives us lengthy scenes of a certain house that belonged to a certain person of interest).

from The We and the I (via Paladin & 108 Media)

Art-film favorite Michel Gondry is back, too, with a film that appears to divide audience rather thoroughly, and which opens here soon. We shall see....

from Wish You Were Here (no U.S. distribution yet)

There is often that odd and excellent movie that seems to have slipped somehow between the cracks for no good reason. I'm wondering if Australia's Kieran Darcy-Smith has this year's example.

from Simon Killer (via IFC)

Antonio Campos, who gave us the strange, stirring and under-seen AfterSchool is back with his new one, too....

from 3 (not the recent German movie -- and no U.S. distribution yet)

Remember that lovely Uruguayan film Whisky? One of its two filmmakers is back this year with another film that sounds equally smart and small and real (and stylish).

from Call Girl (no U.S. distribution yet? You're kidding!)

What FCS series would be complete without that movie about a really sleazy subject, done stylishly and sexily? I suspect Mikael Marcimain's movie mixing politics, prostitution and a real-life Swedish scandal fills this bill.

from In the Fog (from Strand Releasing)

World War II? Present and accounted for in the new film from the acclaimed director of My Joy, Sergei Loznitsa.

from Penance (no U.S. distribution yet)

After a four-year hiatus, Kiyoshi Kurosawa is back with a five-part, made-for-Japanese-TV psychological drama/murder mystery that tests viewer endurance, and, promises the FSLC, "truly rewards it."

from Gebo and the Shadow (no U.S. distribution yet)

Another famous filmmaker, perhaps the oldest living one still working, Manoel De Oliveira, is here with his latest film.

from Here Comes Devil (via Magnet/Magnolia)

Lastly, Argentina's bizarre fright specialist Adrián García (the unique Penumbra) has another little scary movie at the ready -- which genre fans won't want to miss.  

You can see the entire schedule, order you tickets, and perhaps do all sort of other fun things by clicking here and then clicking on whatever movies and their links interest you.