Marco Leonardi Set for a New American Release

The Hollywood Reporter just announced that Francesco Munzi's latest film, "Anime nere," will be distributed in North America by Rialto distribution company. The film was a hit at the Venice and Toronto film festivals.

In Munzi's, "Anime nere," Marco Leonardi heads the cast in telling the story of a Calabrian criminal family whose laws of blood and vendetta take precedence over everything. It's the story of three brothers, the sons of a shepherd, close to the 'Ndrangheta, and of their divided soul. Luigi, the youngest, is an international drug dealer. Rocco, Milanese by adoption and a member of the middle class, runs a business funded by his brother's ill-gotten gains. Luciano, the oldest, cherishes the pathological illusion of a preindustrial Calabria, conducting a gloomy and solitary dialogue with the deads. Leo, his twenty-year-old son, represents the lost generation, without an identity. All he has inherited from his forebears is hatred. As a result of a trivial quarrel he carries out an act of intimidation against a bar under the protection of the rival clan. Anywhere else it would have been no more than a prank. Not in Calabria. It's the spark that sets off a blaze. Luciano finds himself in the same predicament as at the time his father was killed many years earlier. In a dimension suspended between the archaic and the modern the characters are drawn into the archetypes of tragedy.

Marco Leonardi

Leonardi in "Cinema Paradiso"

"The world is yours. I don't want to hear you talk anymore. I want to hear others talk about you." Compelling words from one of the most memorable films in the history of cinema. Marco Leonardi is renowned for his role as the teenage Toto in Giuseppe Tornatore's Oscar Winner, "Cinema Paradiso." The film put Leonardi on the map and made him one of the most sought after actors of his generation.

Born in Australia in 1971, Leonardi has quite an impressive resume with more than two dozen films under his belt. Audiences all around the globe have watched his prolific career through the years. He's become a leading man with a vast range, taking on complicated, diverse roles.

With Marco Leonardi in Toronto, Canada

Leonardi has worked with some of the top names in the industry as well as those just starting out. He's proved he has the versatility to work on an action-packed film with special effects and also to nail those character-driven dramas that reel us right into the character's life and struggles.

In some scenes, it's as if his character is carrying the world's problems on his shoulders, and by witnessing the torment on his face, you feel the heavy burden as it pours from his eyes. He's gone back and forth between television and film, mostly working in Italy these days. When he takes on a role, he whole-heartedly becomes that character, whether he's playing a lover or a fighter.

Because of Leonardi's international appeal, many of his films are available in the U.S. In 2002, the director's cut of "Cinema Paradiso" was released. The version put to rest some questions that were left unanswered. However, there were also a couple scenes that were better left on the cutting room floor. In the end, I do recommend it if you really love the film ... and who doesn't!

It's no doubt that audiences will welcome Marco Leonardi again with open arms at theaters across North America.

Comments

Federico Fellini: A Look into the Life and Career of an Icon

A Fellini family portrait “The term became a common word to describe something on the surface you can say is bizarre or strange, but actually is really like a painter working on a film,” said Martin Scorsese when asked to define “Felliniesque,” an adjective inspired by one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. The oldest of three children, Federico Fellini was born in the seaside town of Rimini in 1920. His father was a traveling salesman, so his mother was left to do the bulk of raising the children. One can argue that Fellini was born for his destiny. “You could tell that even as a child, he was different and unique. He was very intelligent, well above average. He was always the one to organize things, direct the others, make up games. He could control the other kids with just a look, said Fellini’s sister, Maddalena, in an interview with journalist Gideon Bachmann. Not only was Fellini directing the children, but he was also putting on shows and charging ...

Model/Actress Anna Falchi

Anna Falchi was born Anna Kristiina Palomaki, on April 22, 1972, in Tampere, Finland. Her mother, Kaarina Palomaki Sisko, is Finnish, while her father, Benito "Tito" Falchi, is from Romagna, Italy. Growing up in Italy, Anna was a tomboy, and had a fervent imagination. She is known mostly for her prolific career in modelling. However, she tried her hand at acting and landed a role in one of my favorite Italian comedies, Nessun messaggio in segreteria . I consider it my one of my favorites because it brought together so many amazing, talented filmmakers during a time when they were all just starting out. Those filmmakers, Pierfrancesco Favino, Valerio Mastandrea, Luca Miniero and Paolo Genovese are now huge names in contemporary Italian cinema, so it's great to look back and see their work in a low-profile film completely different from the bigger-budget stardom they now know. Watch the trailer . Anna Falchi started her career as a...

Gianni Amelio: An Iconic Filmmaker Inspired by Humble Beginnings

The films of this year’s edition of Open Roads: New Italian Cinema, the annual film series hosted by the Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York, reflect a country in crisis. Italians are facing unprecedented economic challenges right now with the loss of jobs and a political infrastructure lacking the stability needed to get the country back on track. Each director featured in the Open Roads festival communicates that crisis in a uniquely different way; some with comedy, some with anger and resentment, and others with humble characters who will do just about anything to put food on the table. This brings me to veteran director, Gianni Amelio, and what a class act. I had the pleasure of talking with Amelio while he was in New York promoting two films included in this year’s edition of Open Roads- a documentary titled, "Happy to be Different," which explores gay life in Italy after the fall of fascism through the early '80s and "L’intrepido," the story of ...

Ornella Muti: Four decades of Acting and Still Going Strong

Ornella Muti was born Francesca Romana Rivelli in Rome in 1955 to a Neapolitan father and an Estonian mother. She began her career as a model during her teenage years and made her film debut in 1970 with La Moglie più bella (The Most Beautiful Wife). Her follow-up role was in the 1971 film, Sole nella pelle (Sun on the Skin) in which she played the daughter of wealthy parents who runs off with a hippie they don’t approve of. The film offers a telling journey through Italian society in the seventies with the political climate, the breathtaking seaside as well as the styles and cars of that time. Much of the film is set amid the sunny Italian seaside and succeeds in capturing the innocence and beauty of first love. Muti made her American film debut in 1980 with Flash Gordon . She played the role of Princess Aura. She’s appeared in two other American films, including, Oscar , which was directed by John Landis and featured Don Ameche, Chaz Palminteri, and...

A Conversation with Actor- Luca Calvani from Warner Bros. Upcoming Release "The Man from U.N.C.L.E."

The cast and filmmakers of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. in Rome A few years ago, I interviewed actor, Luca Calvani on the occasion of his U.S. release, When in Rome . Today, we are revisiting our conversation as he is promoting his much anticipated spy thriller, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Directed by Guy Ritchie, the all-star cast includes Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander, Elizabeth Debicki, Jared Harris, and Hugh Grant. Based on the television series by Sam Rolfe, the story is set in the 1960's and follows CIA agent Napoleon Solo and KGB operative Illya Kuryakin as they participate in a joint mission against a mysterious criminal organization, which is working to proliferate nuclear weapons. The U.S. release date is set for August 14, but the cast recently did some press for the film in the Eternal City, where much of it was shot. Luca Calvani Born in Tuscany, Calvani has traveled the world following his career. He began working as a model in the 1990's...

Italian Cinema Today

Search This Blog