Teresa Saponangelo
Art and nature are the touchstones of this gloriously theatrical, gorgeously scenic spin on "The Tempest." A shipwreck makes for strange stage-fellows when a group of convicted Camorra criminals and a ragtag company of actors wash up together on the Mediterranean prison island where warden Don Vincenzo (Carpentieri) lives with his restless daughter Miranda. When the gangsters infiltrate the theatrical troupe, Don Vincenzo commands them to put on a performance of "The Tempest" in order to separate the thugs from the thespians. Writer-director Cabiddu draws inspiration from both Shakespeare and Eduardo de Filippo, the great Neapolitan playwright whose influence is seen in the film’s enchanting mixture of the earthy and the fanciful. Veteran actor Rubini excels as the hangdog leader of the troupe, but the real star of the film is the unspoiled island of Asinara off the northwest tip of Sardinia.
Clara is a young and noblewoman with a free and rebellious spirit who was separated from her twin brother and forced into an arranged marriage. Despite this, she falls in love with her husband and fights to win his love. Clara however, falls victim to her aunt’s and cousin’s conspiracies, as they are determined to steal her inheritance.
The friendship between two Southern Italy kids is tested by their meeting with a young girl who's attempted suicide after failing to get married. Based on the novel "Il paese delle spose infelici" (literally, "Village of the Sad Brides", which is also the original title of this film) this elegantly photographed coming-of-age tale has sensitivity to spare but its stylish, yet understated, attitude doesn't easily win viewers over.
Nicola is a man who has spent much of his life in a mental institution, though not always as a patient. Nicola's mother suffered from mental illness, and when young Nicola grew old enough to understand some of her stranger behavior as well as the family's other dark secrets, a few of the adults around him preferred to suggest he was disturbed like his mother, and he was encouraged to visit an asylum not far from his home. As an adult, Nicola has spent enough time around people who have a tenuous connection with reality that he has a superficial resemblance to them, and has developed a strange set of imaginary friends to go along with his eccentric real-life companions and the woman he loves from afar, Marinella.
Anna is an accountant for an important insurance firm and lives with her longterm lover Alessio - a man who longs for a stable longterm relationship with children, home, etc. Anna, feeling as though the fire has fizzled in that relationship takes up with co-worker Domenico and the two begin a passionate affair.
Racial integration is Elena's profession and passion, not only filling her working day as a cultural mediator assisting immigrants, but spilling over into her home life as well. All too often her husband Carlo must attend charity events where he feels distinctly out of place. During one of these evenings, Carlo meets Nadine, a beautiful black woman.
The film looks again at recent events from a female point of view, through the first-hand accounts provided by the diaries of three women. Rather than focusing on the alleged objectivity of facts, the film gives space to a chorus of voices that narrate those events in first person, visually supported by archival footage of the period, drawn from the most varied sources - institutional, public, militant and private. Anita, Teresa and Valentina come from different Italian regions and different social backgrounds, but share the same feelings: they no longer feel as part of a society based on the patriarchal family, on the power of "husbands" and on the supremacy of males, which requires them to be efficient mothers, obedient wives and virtuous daughters.
The vicissitudes of a newly graduated girl in the universe of the precarious work. Marta is a well- educated girl; she is curious and silent one, which finds work in the call center of a company that sells a futuristic appliance. So she finds out a new fantastic world formed by young telephone operator and fanatic seller, corporate jingle, motivational dance, prize giving, ovation and penance. A bittersweet picture of modern society narrated through the eyes of a funny young philosopher
The return of the Red Brigade in Italy, after 11 years of silence from this terrorist organization, was a traumatic event for the entire country. Especially for the families of the victims killed: professors D'Antona and Biagi, and subsequently the police superintendent Petri.
The story takes place in an unspecified town in Puglia. We are in the seventies. The arrival of three beautiful and uninhibited girls from the north, the daughters of an engineer who has moved to run a factory, brings the turmoil among the young people of the country. Stories of love, betrayals, state money (stolen) and missed promises intertwine. All looked at from the eyes of Carlo (alter ego of the director Sergio Rubini), the smallest of all. The film marks the debut of Vittoria Puccini at her first experience as an actress.
This movie depicts the two years that young Stendhal spent in Italy. Stendhal, that time still known simply as Henri Beyle, is living the life of a wanderer, looking for a direction in his life, meeting famous Rossini and falling in love with young widow Giuseppina. A story of love, betrayal and an analysis of women and men's minds and souls.
White-collar worker Yamashita finds out that his wife has a lover visiting her when he's away, suddenly returns home and kills her. After eight years in prison, he returns to live in a small village, opens a barber shop (he was trained as a barber in prison) and talks almost to no-one except for the eel he "befriended" in prison. One day he finds the unconscious body of Keiko, who attempted suicide and reminds him of his wife. She starts to work at his shop, but he doesn't let her become close to him.
Five Italian directors -- Pappi Corsicato, Antonietta DeLillo, Antonio Capuano, Stefano Incerti, Mario Martone -- contributed a quintet of short films depicting life in Naples under the shadow of the volcano for this anthology film of comedy, drama, surrealism, and political commentary on the Italian left. Shown at the 1997 Venice Film Festival.
A young priest crusades against organized crime in his Naples neighbourhood but falls in love with a 13-year old boy. It's the chance the gangsters were waiting for to get rid of the thorn in their side. Will they be able to force the boy to accuse the priest of sexual harassment and have his reputation destroyed?
Alba has Down syndrome and was left in the hospital when she was born. Thirty families rejected her before the court decided to entrust her to Luca Trapanese, gay and Catholic.
