September: Cinema Italiano!
September: Cinema Italiano!, FLMTQ Releases 204-207
During the month of September Filmatique presents Cinema Italiano!, a collection of works from some of the most exciting filmmakers working in Italian cinema.
Blending neo-realist aesthetics with the soaring rhetoric of Shakespeare, Paolo & Vittorio Taviani's Caesar Must Die is a riveting journey into a high-security prison in the Italian capital, where inmates are participating in a performance of Julius Caesar. Renowned Italian actress Valeria Golino's debut feature Miele (Honey) subtly navigates the topic of assisted suicide through the eyes of an activist who develops a friendship with one of her patients; Gianni Di Gregorio's second film The Salt of Life is a tender meditation on the way men see women, and vice versa, once men reach a certain age. Steeped in the mesmerizing cadences of human and non-human realms, Michelangelo Frammartino's Le Quattro Volte traces the passage of one man's soul through the elements, high in the mountains of Calabria.
Featuring works from celebrated auteurs alongside first and second films from new directors, Filmatique's Cinema Italiano! series offers a diverse panorama of contemporary Italian film.
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Caesar Must Die, Paolo & Vittorio Taviani (2012)
Caesar Must Die, Paolo & Vittorio Taviani / Italy, 2012
In the high-security wing of Rome's Rebibbia Prison, a play is to be performed. The warden speaks to the inmates—many of them violent offenders, still others linked to the mafia—explaining that a theater director would like to stage a performance of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar here. At first reluctant, the prisoners delve into the casting process and script analysis, centuries-old parlance forging resonances with their contemporary setting. The actors dwell in liminal spaces between their characters and their selves—between guilt, pride, anger, and redemption—as opening night draws nigh.
Embracing a neo-realist aesthetic approach and dissolving the boundaries between reality and fiction, Caesar Must Die is an enthralling theatrical experiment and a testament to the redemptive power of art. Renowned Italian directors Paolo and Vittorio Taviani's film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Golden Bear for Best Film; Philadelphia, where it won the Audience Award; and Hawaii, where it won Best Film and Best Director. Caesar Must Die was nominated for eight David di Donatello Awards, and is a New York Magazine Critics' Pick.
Miele (Honey), Valeria Golino (2013)
Miele (Honey), Valeria Golino / Italy-France, 2013
Irene lives by herself just outside of Rome, in a small town along the Tyrrhenian Sea. While her friends and family believe she is student, Irene freelances as a clandestine euthanasia consultant. Using the professional pseudonym Honey, Irene helps terminally ill patients to die with dignity by supplying them with a powerful barbiturate she imports from Mexico. One day Irene meets Grimaldi, a middle-aged architect who seeks to die according to his wishes—however, when Irene realizes her patient is simply depressed, the rules of her trade are called into question.
An intelligent, nuanced portrait of life, death, and unlikely friendship, Miele (Honey) gently explores the moral and ethical valences of assisted suicide, a practice that remains illegal in Italy. Celebrated Italian actress Valeria Golino's directorial debut premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won a Prize of the Ecumenical Jury; Stockholm, where it won Best Actress; and Brussels, where it won the Audience Award. Miele (Honey) was nominated for seven David di Donatello awards and two Italian Golden Globes, winning Best Actress and Best First Feature.
Le Quattro Volte, Michelangelo Frammartino (2010)
Le Quattro Volte, Michelangelo Frammartino / Italy-Germany-Switzerland, 2010
In the mountains of Calabria, a goatherder is nearing the end of his life. He goes about his daily routines, attuned to the rhythms of nature—the bleating of a newborn goat heralds his passage to another realm. The animals roam the countryside, encountering human and canine life, with unexpected results. Harsh wind weathers the bark of a tree. Turned to ash, then charcoal, mineral life finds a new purpose.
Drawn from Pythagoras's philosophical notion of the "four-fold transmigration" of souls, yet rooted in the material rhythms of rural life—its complex ecosystem of being(s)—Le Quattro Volte elevates the quotidian to the sublime, suspending the spectator in a mystical cinematic universe. Michelangelo Frammartino's second feature film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, Locarno, and Thessaloniki; Munich, where it won the CineVision Award; Bratislava, where it won the Grand Prix; and Reykjavik, where it won Best Film and the FIPRESCI Prize. Le Quattro Volte is a New York Times Critics' Pick.
The Salt of Life, Gianni Di Gregorio (2011)