A romantic drama in the countryside of 1980s France, Les Magnétiques is a great debut in French independent cinema. Vincent Maël Cardona succeeds with a remarkable direction in tackling the evergreen unease of youth. A shared love, rural discomfort, and military service accompany the protagonists in a film that, despite the simplicity of the story, is anything but banal. Keep an eye on the director and the lead actors.
An incredible creative outlet with an exceptional cast. L'ultimo capodanno is a unique, misunderstood, and underrated product of Italian cinema. A worthy heir to pillars of the grotesque such as Fellini and Ferreri, this film is a must-see of 90s cinema.
Soldati - 365 all'alba is the first 'serious' attempt to bring Italian military service to the big screen. Marco Risi, at his first experience with a dramatic feature film, manages to demonstrate great care and mastery as a director. The result is an excellent product, excellently acted, that stands out in his filmography and has little to envy the great Hollywood productions of those years. Soldati - 365 all'alba deals with very uncomfortable themes, including hazing, to the point of being deliberately shortened into a less controversial version. It is therefore highly recommended that you seek out the full version of the film.
Il muro di gomma recounts on the big screen one of the blackest and never resolved pages of Italian history. Marco Risi proves once again that he is capable of tackling dramatic cinema with talent and refinement. He does so while maintaining an excellent rhythm and great acting. Corso Salani's performance is particularly good, for the first time in a leading role.
An excellent social drama that leaves you with acid in your stomach. Masterfully directed actors, excellent set design and a good soundtrack. A great product of Italian independent cinema. That's it.
Within the setting of a 1990s Italy running after an American dream that does not belong to it, a sweet bitter sentimental fairy tale takes place. The story of two seemingly distant souls whose mutual misfortunes will bring them closer together. With the same great sensitivity to which Soldini has accustomed us, this film is yet another forgotten gem to be dusted off and preserved. Appreciable is the performance of a nonprofessional Maria Bakò alongside an incomparable Fabrizio Bentivoglio.
Il posto is a sweet story of naive love between two young people set in the frame of the working world of post-war Italy. Olmi gracefully and illuminatingly tackles the ambiguities and hypocrisies of the myth of the Italian 'permanent job' with an incredible pioneering critical eye. A film with such topical themes that considering its year of release makes its viewing even more heartfelt. A little gem to be recovered.
Ermanno Olmi's third feature film, I Fidanzati is a splendid cross-section of a forgotten post-war Italy. Another product in the wake of cinematic neorealism characterised by non-professional actors (masterfully directed) and a generally sombre aura, this movie continues the vein of films dedicated to the ambiguities of the working world by the director. The icing on the cake are the brilliant accompanying soundtrack and the carnival scene. Absolutely recommended.
A timeless gem of Italian minor cinema. A story whose simplicity goes straight to the heart. Directed and acted with grace, Pane e tulipani is a sentimental comedy to watch and rewatch over the years when you want to enjoy an undemanding product without sacrificing the quality of good cinema.
Monks - The Transatlantic Feedback is a well-structured documentary about one of the most incredible bands in music history. This little gem of the underground has the power to leave you open-mouthed on several occasions due to the surrealist nature of the story it tells. At very small stretches, the pace of the narrative is set aside for the sake of completeness without, however, ever making the film boring. A must-see for fans and non-fans alike.
Lee Scratch Perry's Vision of Paradise is everything you would expect from a documentary about Lee Scratch Perry. The historical hints and insights into the life of this incredible artist are present and very interesting. But the strength of this feature film lies in the numerous moments in which his daily life, his genius and his madness, are shown. An invaluable contribution that reaffirms what a unique prophet Lee Scratch Perry was.
An excellent animated thriller with a well-crafted plot and exceptional characters (some of the coolest villains animations has seen!). Macskafogó is a little-known gem with a pleasant post-Soviet flavor. A must-see for fans of underground animation cinema.
A more than worthy follow-up to the previous Mery per sempre. Marco Risi once again demonstrates excellent directing in telling the drama of the lost lives of a handful of young men. Once again, the young supporting actors demonstrate excellent acting. The lack of a more solid protagonist is perhaps felt, but the result is still excellent. Noteworthy soundtrack.
A work that has all the bitterness and sigh of a punch in the stomach, Mery per sempre is one of the many little-known gems of Italian cinema. The direction and screenplay are very good, and the acting of the young leads is remarkable. The only small flaws (if we must be picky) that do not allow the film to be considered a small masterpiece are the ending, alas a bit typical, and Placido's acting, not always up to the dramatic nature of the subject.
The story of a handful of men in the setting of the American Civil War. Ride with the Devil is an underrated effort with an impressive production and a commendable result. Ang Lee manages, despite the atypical nature of his work compared to others, to reach the heights of the finest films on the subject. Generally excellent acting, noteworthy Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Jeffrey Wright in their supporting roles.
An intense, well-made and beautifully acted film. De Rienzo in Risi's hands proves to be a highly versatile actor, excellent also as a drama protagonist, beyond his secondary comic parts for which he is mainly renowned. A worthy reminder of a sad story that deserves to be told.
A pleasant family story whose fairytale magic is combined with the magic of the setting. Generally very good actors, especially the very young protagonist. The moral, almost 30 years after the film was made and more than 60 years after the novel was written, is as relevant as ever.
If you want Polish discomfort, that's what you get. Inni ludzie is a deliberately exaggerated social drama, which unabashedly criticises the evolution of modern society. A set narrative and a noir aura, accompanied by some rapped Fabijański appearances, make this film a rather atypical but highly interesting product.
An interesting documentary dealing for the first time on the big screen with the life and vicissitudes of Poly Styrene's cult character. Perhaps for the sake of completeness, the film lacks pace and is rather long. But in spite of this, it is a must-see for lovers of punk and complicated existences.
A tender and joyful little animated film for children, which is also a cuddle for adults. Un Disfraz para Nicolas is a product that contains no particular innovative elements in its story. The narration is in itself very simple, with the classic characters of children's stories as protagonists. What stands out, however, is the choice of the main character, a child with Down Syndrome, masterfully dubbed by a real child with the same condition. Finally, the animation feature is again a winner for its simplicity.
An enjoyable film that recounts and recalls the horror of Cosa Nostra's clue period of criminal activity in Palermo. A product to appreciate with low expectations, this first experience as director of Pif still shows some important acerbities. The acting, in particular, leaves something to be desired. Nonetheless, it is a valid product for a large audience, especially with the intention of raising awareness of issues too often forgotten in the mainstream.
Glory is the first and only film to bring to the big screen the incredible story of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War. It does so with the support of a great cast, great cinematography and fine attention to detail. An unconvincing Broderick seems to suggest that Robert Gould Shaw was not a particularly outstanding man for command. Yet the evidence for this seems to say just the opposite. Generally a more than good film. But some brave director might try his luck and bring the story back to cinemas to give it further honour. The potential is still very high.
Free State of Jones is a film that tells an almost unknown precious story of American history. Gary Ross decides to deal with the episode with a strongly cinematographic imprint, sometimes to the detriment of the realism with which he tells the historical period. In spite of this, he generally succeeds very well in his intention to enhance it. The broken narrative and a slight lack of grit, however, do not give that extra touch that would have allowed the film to reach a higher level. In any case, it is still a very good product.
In this mid-career film Soldini once again tackles themes dear to him related to the creaking of values in contemporary society. Giorni e nuvole deals with the crisis of work and the family, with the classic sensitivity that distinguishes the director. A good Antonio Albanese and an excellent Margherita Buy keep the bar of the acting level in line, which is unfortunately not always excellent.
Yet another jewel of Silvio Soldini's unique and simple sensibility, Le acrobate is a film centred on the delicate but decisive female perspective of its protagonists. A script that leaves no room for premonitions, excellent actresses and an Italy of the late 1990s crossed from north to south make it a more than valid film product of Italian independent cinema to be rediscovered.
Written by Massimo Troisi, who also stars along with his legendary sidekick Lello Arena, _No grazie, il caffè mi rende nervoso
_ is a pleasant poliziottesco comedy that plays on Neapolitan stereotypes. Demented at times, but never stupid, the film delivers moments of great fun including precious scenes of Troisi testing his bodyguards by faking a kidnapping, Arena awkwardly attempting to interview a nervous James Senese, and always Arena trying to escape on the subway to an old classmate of his intent on reattaching relations. A must-see for fans of Troisi and Arena.
A slightly atypical product compared to the director's previous filmography, Un certo giorno is an evocative and interesting work to analyse. The feature film deals with a path of value reassessment within the life of its protagonist, forced by a series of 'fortunate' and 'unfortunate' events. Always set in the context of the working world to which Olmi is strongly attached (and critical), the film is well acted (again by non-professional actors) and contains some valuable fragments. Especially fascinating is a dialogue and a dance scene between the interviewer and her lover colleague.
Harsh and uncomfortable, Memory House is a drama that leaves a strong bitter taste in the mouth. A dreadful story, brilliantly acted and accompanied by great cinematography. Some aspects related to the 'fantasy' element of the story can be improved (or somehow waived), but overall a more than good debut.
A film of great quality that traces the most decisive moments of Lincoln's life during the American Civil War. The cast and the acting are excellent, including an evergreen Daniel Day-Lewis and an exceptional Tommy Lee Jones. Although the pace drops at times, Spielberg succeeds in delivering a valuable product in the understanding of this tremendous historical epic.
A demential comedy typical of the years in which it was filmed but of far higher quality than its peers. In his directorial debut, Marco Risi proves that he is capable of making a light-hearted film that doesn't lapse into boorishness like many of his colleagues of the time. There are many amusing sketches for those who are open to viewing the film in an unpretentious manner.
