TERRA ITALIANA FILM FESTIVAL
No catalogue or even a separate leaflet was prepared for the festival but it quickly became apparent the movies were grouped thematically: each day showcased a different director or genre. Of those I was able to attend: Thursday was for Edoardo Winspeare's dramas dubbed "comedies" for some reason, Saturday night for animations for adults and all of Sunday was devoted to Gianni Amelio.
IL LADRO DI BAMBINI (THE STOLEN CHILDREN)
Recommended. Deeply moving, tear-jerking, heart-wrenching - name it. The director, Gianni Amelio, made a good job of presenting the children's predicament. The stigma of a prostitute sticks to the girl who's treated by others as a liar or as a ceaseless victim. The director also plays with connotations. After a careless trip to the beach at the police station the carabiniero is being reproached and sacked while in the corridor the boy is shaking sand out of his shoes. It's all so realistic you just can't imagine the story unfold differently. Antonio's a perfectly decent guy of which the viewer is reassured over and over again. And he's stuck with a conundrum. We know it from the title. Antonio's for a long time unaware that his attempt to better children's lives will come at a price. Worth watching for several reasons, one of them being Antonio himself - rarely do you get to see such a decent person whether in real life or in a movie.
WARSAW JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL
LE JEUNE KARL MARX (THE YOUNG KARL MARX)
Watchable. Just a biography. Nothing I wouldn't know from history lessons at school already. A limited period is covered. Apart from one Russian activist introduced to Marx and Engels in a minor scene nothing indicates their ideas will later instigate the October Revolution.
TERRA ITALIANA FILM FESTIVAL
LA TENEREZZA (HOLDING HANDS)
Recommended. Again something everyone can relate to. As the director put it: "it's about understanding the other". Several changes were made in the process of adaptation. In the book the daughter has an affair with someone her father's age, the son's homosexual, there's a cat lady ("gattara"), the man eavesdrops on his neighbours, an Eastern woman has a relationship with him only to rob him off. Gianni Amelio clearly left out all the junk. The story's quite plausible, the man helpful without being overly inquisitive. You just like him. Shown with great tenderness.
L'INTREPIDO (INTREPIDO: A LONELY HERO)
Watchable. The plot of the male protagonist having a younger female friend and her dying tragically resembles "La tenerezza" ("Holding Hands"). According to the director it was going to be about a father-son relationship again - it was but in both films these were just subplots. Here the lead character is quite peculiar as he does a different job every day which is fun. As is the amusing fragment when he realizes the shoe store he's employed in is a sham so he leaves it immediately locking the only customer in. He also has an inspiring way of asking questions giving a-b-c ready-made options as answers. Gianni Amelio put a lot of warmth into the film, just like he always does.
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