Gomorra (2008)

Gomorrah can be likened to a less visually stunning Italian City of God. Kids entering mob gangs in Naples - how they are initiated, how the gangs are accepted in the communities, and the trauma on members and the community. It's worth watching.

Tickets (2005)

Three master directors give us a collection of short films all set on the same train. The stories are all very unique and give us a flavour of humanity and Europe that we don't often get in film - or as isolated passengers on a train. Very lovely!

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Divorzio all'italiana (1961)

Since the Roman Catholic Church forbids divorce, the only way to get out of a marriage is the either the unfaithfulness or death of one's spouse. When Ferdinando falls in love with his nubile cousin, he devises a ploy to get out of his marriage.

The film is quite clever in its portrayal of the very inept Ferdinando and we are completely flabbergasted that his cousin falls for him and at the grossly inept Italian justice system. But we laugh a lot thanks to ingenious acting.

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The Bicycle Thief (1948)

What a heartbreaking film! A desperate labourer is robbed of his bicycle and spends the next day trying to find his bike and thus save his employment in postwar Italy. The film was a powerful display of what life is currently like in many parts of the world and I was surprised at how similar late 1940s Rome looked to current Guatemala City.

As painful as the story is, it is a beautiful image of a family working hard to make ends meet.

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Cinema Paradiso (1988)

Sweet, sweet nostalgia in romantic Italy with a fairytale ending - what could be better?

Toto's father is killed in the war and is sort of adopted by the local projectionist at the village theatre. The two form a close bond and we watch Toto mature and ultimately leave the village only to return decades later.

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The American (2010)

George Clooney plays a professional hit man who has to hide out for a while in Italy. It's ofttold story, one questioning if even the most hardened man can be redeemed. What makes this one unique? It's an American set in Europe. That and the director is an established European photographer: Anton Corbijn and that makes the film far more poetic than what we have seen in the past.

All considered, this is quite a remarkable film.

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Il divo (2008)

Well, I can't say I had much of a clue as to what was going on as I watched this stylish bio pic on Giulio Andreotti, a corrupt Italian parliamentarian. But I thoroughly enjoyed this visual feast!

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Nine (2009)

While I didn't enjoy Rob Marshall's Chicago, this one had more charm for me - probably since it's based on a true master's film, Fellini's 8 1/2. Each of the women's fascination with a man whose film work transcends his own humanity bring a great character depth. The embattled director, played by the ever adept Day-Lewis, is caught at every turn by his lust, past success, and devotion to his wife and confident.

The music was really secondary to the sheer athletic and glamourous nature of the dances.

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Angels & Demons (2009)

This is Dan Brown, Ron Howard and Tom Hank's follow up story to the controversial title The Da Vinci Code that takes the viewer into another mystery at the heart of the Vatican. Full of outrageous clues and an insane plot, the film is a barrage of incoherent information, gruesome murders and fast camera movements. It's hard to know how the actors kept a straight face during the shoot.

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L'ultimo bacio (2001)

This Italian film takes a post-modern view of marriage, commitment, and love.

Carlo has just impregnated his long time girlfriend and they are considering buying a house together. His chums are going through interpersonal episodes too - getting married, a new baby and conflict with wife, pining over a lost girlfriend, and itching to get out of the family business. Things come to a fever pitch for Carlo when he's faced with the coming responsibilities or enjoying unattached sex with a flirtatious teen.

The film is intricate and engaging as the story weaves in and out between this mass of connected lives. The actors are also great as spoiled Italian late-20s brats.

I was surprised by the ending as it is different from the American version starring Zach Braff.

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La stanza del figlio (2001)

The Son's Room is an emotional investigation into life after death in Italy.

An ideal professional family, active and communicative lose their son in an accident, they struggle to find an appropriate way to live. The father, a psychologist has trouble listening to other people go on and on about their problems when he dismisses these in comparison with the heartache he has. The surviving daughter struggles to continue contact with her increasingly distant parents.

Without stooping to melodrama and a trite answer to the issue, The Son's Room honestly explores a variety of responses to loss. The film won accolades when it came out and it should continue to be watched today.

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Il Postino (1995)

The Postman is one of the gentlest and most beautiful films I have ever seen. Absolutely enjoyable and touching.

Mario, very simple Italian island peasant (played magnificently by the late Massimo Troisi) who isn't interested in fishing takes a low paying job at the post office. He has one delivery to the famous poet Pablo Neruda, a political exile from Chile. As the two become friends, Mario's life begins to take form and he gains much confidence and purpose. But Neruda is not left unaffected either.

The poetry in the film is superb as it actually comes from Neruda. I loved the film for its portrayal of innocence and the power of friendship. It also demonstrates the potency of poetry and beauty and its accessibility to everyone irregardless, of social standing.

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Hotel (2001)

This is the worst film I may have ever seen in my life. Its efforts to comment on its absurd self by mimicking itself produces a cycle of boredom and nausea for its viewers.

Film crew and cast descend upon a Venetian hotel. Plenty of chaos and ad lib lines are interrupted with occasional erotica and cannibalism. It makes no sense at all.

The only positive note I can add is that if this film got mass distribution on DVD, so should mine! I just need a few big names attached to it. . .

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L'albero degli zoccoli (1978)

I saw an earlier picture by Ermanno Olmi - Il Posto - that was quite affecting with its simplistic portrayal of life in postwar Italy. This time, Olmi portrays rural peasantry in the late 19th century in a three hour epic called The Tree of Wooden Clogs.

Farmers inhabit a common building on the property of a local wealthy landowner. Each year a portion of their harvest is given as rent to their landlord. We see children born, a child attend school, a cow become sick, cooking and eating corn meal, the faith of some of the residents, a courtship, etc. Ultimately, there is a tragic event that demonstrates the vulnerability the peasants endure.

None of the characters are played by actors and this really brings home the simplicity and innocence of the time. A rewarding film if you aren't after glamour and special effects and contrived stories.

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Amarcord (1973)

Federico Fellini is one of those filmmakers that I am not allowed to avoid as an enthusiast, and while I can certainly appreciate his otherworldly genre and his profound effect on cinema, his films can be rather tedious to watch.

Amarcord - one of his best known films - portrays a small Italian town as fascism and World War II pass by. The town is steeped in legend and crawling with wild-eyed characters, not the least of whom is Volpina the prostitute who swaggers in and out of scenes in her red dress. The town is the protagonist and a narrator shares tales with the viewer.

I enjoyed the film for its historical portrayal of Italy and the moments of comedy. Felllini's assertion that Italy's innocence and character remained despite Mussolini and having foreign military forces on their soil is clearly the message. I did not find myself overly drawn into the characters however and the music, as immortalized as it is, was awfully repetitive.

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Deliver Us from Evil (2006)

This film was rightly nominated for an Academy Award. It is extraordinary rendition of a horrific subject.

The film personalizes what has become a very large statistic in the United States (and elsewhere) - Catholic clergy sexual abuse of children. What is unique is that this true story is told from the perspectives of victims, their parents, bishops, police, and the perpetrator himself, Father Ollie.

You will not watch this film unaffected and you will not emerge without very strong feelings against the institution of the Catholic Church and the current pope.

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The Merchant of Venice (2004)

This is a wonderful film production of Shakespeare's meditation on mercy. It helps that the play is a masterpiece to begin with.

As anti-semitism is widely practiced in 16th century Venice, a Jewish money lender called Shylock sees no problem in making a deal with a gentile business man, Antonio, that the cost of default on the loan would be a pound of his own flesh. Of course there is romance in Shakespeare's play and this is played out with Shylock's daughter eloping with a Christian which only firms Shylock's hatred of the Christians and then there is Antonio's protogé Bassanio who borrows the money in order to seek the hand of the princess Portia.

The romantic side stories and Portia's antics actually diminish the greater drama played out between Shylock and Antonio, though Portia's own role at showing mercy to her husband echos that of the courtroom.

The acting and set design are exquisite, but nothing beat the fact that I wanted justice as much as Shylock did and I actually rooted against mercy in all cases causing much reflection following the film - Why do I prefer justice over mercy when I have been shown so much mercy?

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A Room With A View (1985)

The Victorian era appears again in film to show how pent up feelings and overly rigid expectations can get you into trouble.

Lucy Honeychurch goes to Venice from England for a holiday. She is swept off her feet in the romantic air by another Brit who is not afraid to express his passion for life. When they return home, he inadvertently ends up moving in down the road as Lucy becomes engaged to an urban snob.

I never know what to do with these kinds of tales since they seem so far removed from real life (even though it did represent real life for many people in the late 19th century). It is refreshing to see a joie de vivre contrasted with staunch formality. Love is always good too.

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My Own Private Idaho (1991)

Gus van Sant delivers a western version of Midnight Cowboy with a big splash of Shakespeare.

Mike is a narcoleptic male prostitute in Idaho who gets bailed out and cared for by a rebellious rich kid, Scott. Mike is on a search to find the mother who abandoned him. Scott playing the hustler to try his rich daddy.

The film is extremely melancholy. There aren't any scenes built in to contrast the despair which makes the film hard to watch. A long scene adaptation of Henry IV which is done in Olde English tortures us and makes us thankful for the normal scenes that follow. Keanu Reaves is his wooden standard while River Phoenix performs masterfully as the tortured kid.

While there are strong sensitivities exposed in the story, the main gist is that no one cares about this kid - except perhaps us, the viewers.

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Il Posto (1961)

This black and white masterpiece comes to us from postwar Italy. The population had a responsibility to rebuild the country and bring it into the modern era. That meant menial labour, and lots of it.

The Job trails the beginning of Domenico's career. He's about 16 and can't continue his schooling because his family can't afford it. He passes a rigorous screening process at a huge company and gets an entry position as a porter. He falls head over heals for another pretty young applicant who gets hired as a secretary. This side narrative emphasizes the innocence that is on the line before the job begins.

The story really turns. At first he seems really downcast as he knows he can't continue his education (this job will help his younger brother continue). Then he's excited about getting the job as the competition stiffens. Then we see what the job really is: sitting at a desk writing accounts all day. Life is over.

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