What dreams are made of.. Director Gianfranco Cabiddu's stunning homage to Eduardo De Filippo

The tempestuous weather in the Eternal City Wednesday appropriately set the tone for La stoffa dei song (The Stuff of Dreams), the new film by Gianfranco Cabiddu, one of the most significant auteurs of Italian cinema.

La stoffa dei sogni tells the story of a modest theatre company (to say the least) that is shipwrecked with a group of dangerous organized crime mobsters on the coast of Asinara, the location of an island-prison in the middle of the Tyrrhenian Sea. The story explores the role of art in our lives, bringing to light the universal themes of guilt, revenge, redemption, and pardon.

Director Gianfranco Cabiddu and Sergio Rubini

Vincenzo Carpineta's stunning cinematography sets the stage for what at first seems like a drama but quickly turns into a comedy at the hands of veteran actor/director Sergio Rubini. Adapted from The Tempest by William Shakespeare and L’arte della com media by Eduardo De Filippo, the dialogue between the characters is clever and perfectly timed by outstanding performances. In the opening credits, the film was dedicated to the master, De Filippo.

With Gianfranco Cabiddu at the Rome premiere of "La stoffa dei sogni"

Rubini's character, Oreste Campese is the lead actor of a troupe that includes his wife, daughter and perhaps a random family member. The four board an ill-fated ferry headed for the desolate island of Asinara, the home of a famous prison. The ferry gets caught in the middle of a storm and all inmates along with the unlucky acting troupe are shipwrecked, but on different parts of the shore. Eventually, all their fates meet and Campese is forced to tell the head general of the prison, De Caro, played superbly by Ennio Fantastichini (whose recent performance in Io e lei I very much enjoyed) that three of the criminals originally headed to the prison are actually part of his troupe. De Caro is not buying the story, and challenges the so-called actors to stage Shakespeare's The Tempest - and gives them less than a week to prepare. After a round of hilarious rehearsals and rewrites.. throw in the general's beautiful, rebellious daughter and a creepy island inhabitant that only speaks in Sardinian dialect.. and you have all the ingredients for one brilliant comedy with an endearing ending and life lesson for us all. Of course, each viewer's interpretation is his or her own. However, I walked away with the validation of art's profound importance in our lives- in the way we free our minds and souls, escaping through the interpretations and dreams we find in art, whether the art form is visual or literary.

A quick pose with Sergio Rubini after the film

I have a feeling this one will soon be heading to America. We'll keep you posted on its international distribution. In the meantime, you can catch Sergio Rubini at the Rome Film Festival in "Dobbiamo parlare", a tale of the dialogue between couples. The ensemble cast includes Fabrizio Bentivoglio, Maria Pia Calzone and Isabella Ragonese along with Rubini. The film is one of the festival's headliners and will be shown October 21-23. Check the festival's website for details.

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 ...

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...

Cineuropa's Interview with Michele Placido

It was announced this week that Michele Placido's new film, "7 minuti" will be shown at this year's Rome Film Festival. 11 amazing actresses women star in "7 minuti" by Michele Placido , a drama co-produced by Italy, France, Spain and Switzerland and being distributed by German company Koch Media. The cast features Cristiana Capotondi , Ambra Angiolini , Fiorella Mannoia , Maria Nazionale , Ottavia Piccolo , Violante Placido , Sabine Timoteo , Anne Consigny , Mimma Lovoi and Clémence Poésy . The film is based on the play of the same name by Stefano Massini, who wrote the screenplay with Placido, and is the story of 11 women, a mixture of manual labourers and office workers, who are called to the negotiation table when the owners of the textiles company they work for sell the majority of their shares to a multinational. In a short space of time they must decide, for themselves and on the behalf of their fellow colleagues, whether to accept the...

Iconic scenes from 'Totò, Peppino e la malafemmina' highlight Italy's North-South divide

If you’re in the mood for a quintessential old-school Italian comedy, look no further than “Totò, Peppino e la malafemmina.” Directed in the mid-1950s by Camillo Mastrocinque, the film has stood the test of time. Starring two of Italy’s most beloved comic actors, Totò (Antonio De Curtis) and Peppino De Filippo, it is widely regarded as one of the country’s most iconic comedies, showcasing mid-century Neapolitan humor. The film also features a young Nino Manfredi at the beginning of his prolific six-decade career. “Totò, Peppino e la malafemmina” is the story of two simple, old-fashioned brothers from Naples, Antonio and Peppino Caponi (Totò and De Filippo respectively), who embark on a trip up north to check on their young nephew Gianni. Gianni has moved to Milan and fallen for a seductive nightclub dancer named Marisa (Maria Luisa Mangini, aka Dorian Gray), whom they refer to as a “malafemmina,” meaning a “bad woman” or femme fatale. Believing she is corrupting him, Totò and Peppino ...

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