Midnight In Paris & Carla.. the Other Bruni Sister

Carla Bruni and Owen Wilson in a scene from Midnight in Paris

Tree-lined cobblestone streets, golden-baked baguettes, 13th century gothic architecture, outdoor cafes, the Pyramid of the Louvre, the grand Arch di Triumph... These are just a few of the images that open Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris. Fast forward a bit and there she is.. Carla Bruni and she is fabulous. You may know Bruni from her headlines as the First Lady of France and the sister of Italy's beloved actress/director Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, but Bruni is a talented artist in her own right, and that talent goes back decades.

Born Carla Gilberta Bruni Tedeschi in Torino, she is heiress to the giant Italian tire manufacturing company CEAT, which was founded in the 1920's by her grandfather Virginio Bruni Tedeschi. In a 2008 interview with Vanity Fair, Bruni said that her biological father is Italian-born Brazilian grocery magnate Maurizio Remmert. He met Bruni's mother, Marisa Baroni at a concert when he was a 19-year-old classic guitarist and she, a classic pianist. Bruni was raised by her mother and Alberto Bruni Tedeschi, a classical music composer.

The Bruni-Tedeschi sisters, along with their brother, Virginio, who passed away in 2006, grew up in France and attended boarding school in Switzerland. The family left Italy in the 70's to escape the kidnapping threat of children from wealthy Northern families by the Red Brigades. The notorious kidnappings were the subject of Gabriele Salvatores 2003 film, Io non ho paura (I'm Not Scared). Upon completing boarding school, Bruni moved to Paris where she studied art and architecture, but ended up dropping out of school to pursue a career in modeling. Since then, she has enjoyed a successful career as a top international model and has also become a respected singer/songwriter and actress in the last decade, with her most high-profile performance in Allen's "Midnight in Paris" in which she plays the part of a tour guide. She is so natural in front of the camera, you would never know she was acting. Perhaps her background in Art History gave her the confidence to deliver her lines about a masterpiece of the French sculptor, François-Auguste-René Rodin. Bruni's scenes capture her classic, subtle Mediterranean beauty. Her role in this film utilizes her acting skills, art background and her French-Italian style.

Comments

The Legend of Alberto Sordi - Rome's Eternal Son

′′They will always judge you, whether you behave well or if you behave badly. So screw it and live as you want but above all don't listen to anyone.′′ - Alberto Sordi By giving his fellow Italians something to laugh about during tumultuous times, he emerged as his generation’s King of Comedy. One of Italy’s best-loved personalities, Alberto Sordi played a pivotal role in Italian cinema from the end of World War II to the postwar economic boom of the 1950s. During those tumultuous years, he gave his countrymen a hearty laugh when they might have otherwise cried. Former Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi perhaps said it best: “Alberto Sordi interpreted the feelings of Italians, especially in their most difficult and tough moments.” Born in the Trastevere neighborhood of Rome in 1920, Sordi grew up in a creative household. His mother was an elementary school teacher and his father, a professional musician for the Rome Opera House. A young Sordi joined the children’s choir o...

Alessandro Gassmann: Born to Act

Alessandro Gassmannin his directorial debut "Razzabastarda" Alessandro Gassmann is the son of the iconic Italian actor/director Vittorio Gassman and French actress Juliette Mayniel. He was born in 1965 and grew up around cinema royalty. He made his cinema debut in 1982 at the age of 17 in his father's autobiographical film, "Di padre in figlio." He went on to study his craft under his father's direction at the Theatre Workshop of Florence. Vittorio Gassman was very active in theater and seemed just as comfortable on stage as he did in front of the camera. Known for his powerful interpretations of Dante's "Inferno" and "Paradiso," it is no surprise that he nurtured his son's acting aspirations on stage before he launched his career in television and film. One of Gassmann's strong qualities, which he undoubtedly inherited from his father is his incredible range and ease in going from genre to genre. He can play ...

The Timeless Vision of Pier Paolo Pasolini

Pondering his films and poetry, I wonder if the uniqueness of Pier Paolo Pasolini's films was rooted in his unconventional childhood. Born in Bologna in 1922, Pasolini's father was a lieutenant in the army, and his family was always moving. He grew up in various small towns in Northern Italy. After his parents separated, he spent most of his time in his mother's hometown of Casarsa, in the region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. There, he grew to respect the area's peasant culture and began to write poetry in the region's dialect. He studied literature and art history at the University of Bologna and was drafted into the army during World War II. The war proved to be especially tragic for his family as his younger brother was executed by Communist partisans. Following the war, he returned to Casarsa where he worked as a teacher and ironically became a leading member of the Communist party there. Pasolini was later expelled from the party due to allegations of homo...

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 ...

Portrait for a friend: 'How Strange to Be Named Federico'

Ettore Scola on the set of 'How Strange to Be Named Federico' A sentimental portrait for a friend, Ettore Scola’s 2013 “Che strano chiamarsi Federico” (“How Strange to Be Named Federico”) is both a tribute to Federico Fellini and a reflection on friendship, and an artist’s passion for filmmaking. Scola created a personal and imaginative film that moves between documentary, fiction, memory, and fantasy, bringing to life important moments he shared with Fellini during their decades-long friendship as well as highlights from Fellini’s own life and career while showing how deeply Fellini influenced Scola himself. The result is an inviting, nostalgic, and at times playful portrait of one of Italy and the world’s most beloved filmmakers. The film opens on the beach where a figure depicting Fellini sits in a director’s chair and watches performers audition for him. The beach is likely symbolic of Fellini’s roots in the seaside town of Rimini and his beach-going days on the c...

Italian Cinema Today

Search This Blog