Skip to main content

Interview: Actress Isabella Ragonese on her film 'Sole, cuore, amore'


Americans know her as Rosa Napolitano from "The Golden Door," Emanuele Crialese's heartfelt story of immigration in America at the turn of the 20th century. Italians know her as a diverse contemporary actress always mesmerizing audiences as she wondrously transforms herself into her characters. 

Born in Palermo in 1981, Isabella Ragonese studied her craft in her hometown with theater director Michele Perriera. Her studies included interpretations of his work whether it'd be writing, directing or starring in adaptations. Upon graduating, she received her first big break in Crialese's "Nuovomondo" (The Golden Door) and just two years later, headed the all-star cast of Paolo Virzì's "Tutta la vita davanti" (The Whole Life Ahead). She went on to appear in numerous productions on both the big and small screen. Then in 2014, she teamed up again with her "Tutta la vita davanti" costar Elio Germano for Mario Martone's award-winning "Leopardi."


A scene from Paolo Virzì's "Tutta la vita davanti"

All three of Ragonese's 2017 releases were featured at Italian film festivals in North America in June- Open Roads: New Italian Cinema in New York and the Italian Contemporary Film Festival in Canada. The latter showed Edoardo Falcone's ironic comedy about an unlikely friendship, "Questione di karma" and Fabio Mollo's "Il padre d'Italia," the story of a carefree singer (Ragonese) searching for some stability with a retail worker (Luca Marinelli), recovering from a hard breakup and in need of someone to love. The two set out on a road trip to the south of Italy. They manage to find some happiness along the way, even if it is short-lived. 


A scene from "Il padre d'Italia"

Daniele Vicari's "Sole, cuore, amore" (Sun, Heart, Love) was shown at Lincoln Center. The film reflects contemporary Italy and the challenges that young Italians are facing in the job market. Ragonese becomes Eli, a loving wife and mother forced to endure a tiresome daily commute and unforgiving boss (Francesco Acquaioli) just to make ends meet while her husband (Francesco Montanari) searches for work. Through Eli's relationships with her friends, coworkers, customers and family, we understand the burden she carries and the responsibility she feels for the people in her life.  


A scene from "Sole, cuore, amore"

I spoke with Isabella Ragonese while she was in New York presenting "Sole, cuore, amore" at Open Roads: New Italian Cinema. We talked about her role in the film and why this story is so relevant today. She also gave me her take on the improvement in the roles being offered to women. Below is our interview translated along with video clips of her original answers in Italian. 


Pif, Isabella Ragonese and Claudio Genovese at Open Roads 2017, NYC

Tell me about your role in "Sole cuore amore" and what you did to prepare.
My character’s name is Eli. She’s a woman that works just like so many others that at the same time become heroines balancing family, work and everything at once. She’s an empathic person that works in a café. So at the beginning of preparing for this role, we learned how to make coffee and cappuccino very quickly while at the same time having friendly relations and talking with the typical clients of a Roman café. You have to do a bunch of things at the same time and very quickly while making the patrons feel warm and welcome. So we tried improvisation. My character has a husband and four children, so we had to build memories and make them seem as true as possible. 


Would you say that Eli exemplifies a modern Roman woman?
She is a Roman woman but she could really be from any part of Italy. So many women can identify with this character. Not being Roman myself, I tried to give her Roman qualities. She’s a woman who takes responsibility for her decisions and doesn’t place the blame on others. She pulls out her inner strength and tries never to seem tired. She always goes through life with a smile. This is what motivates her. Despite just getting three hours of sleep a night, she faces life with a smile and is always positive. So the strength of a woman comes through and dissipates the fatigue. 



Did you enjoy playing this character Eli?
Yes, so much. She is one of the most beautiful characters I've ever portrayed. It was really a gift.. above all because the most beautiful compliment I have received is that you forget that you're watching an actress play this character.. it really seems like her. For me, this gives sense to my work. I like to confuse myself with a character, to forget that it's me playing a role and to think that I'm going through another person's life.


Tell me about the relevance of this film and the conversations it must be generating in Italy given the current situation with jobs and the economy.
I thinks it's a film that had to be made. Beyond the emotional story, it creates a line of communication among us, speaking about problems that would otherwise not be talked about. In this case, it's the subject of jobs and the fact that there are no more rights in the workplace. There are few jobs and it seems that the more you work, the less you earn. Many jobs offer few euros a month. So little money makes an impossible life but many people are forced to live this way. And so you often see in the outskirts of Rome, they're always talking about gangs, criminals and drug dealers.. people are getting shot. It's reality but I prefer the people who work hard and honestly. 


What do you think of the roles being offered to women now? It seems like things are improving and actresses are portraying more interesting characters, not just supporting characters like the wife or mother. 
I come from the generation that is responsible for actually making this change. I am always seeing more films that are telling stories from the point-of-view of a woman and fewer films when the woman is just the girlfriend of the lead character. It's great because it gives actresses the opportunity to do what they know best. So I'm very happy because we are able to create deeper, more profound characters and have more enthusiasm for what we do. It's not a matter of being the lead character.. it's about being a multidimensional character.


Much of Isabella Ragonese's work is on YouTube, including clips from several of her movies along with her very entertaining showreel. Follow us on Twitter for updates on the screenings of her films.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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 ...

'Salvatore Giuliano' blends documentary realism with dramatic storytelling

"Salvatore Giuliano" is a 1962 Italian crime drama directed by Francesco Rosi that dramatizes the real-life events surrounding the life and death of the legendary Sicilian bandit and folk hero. Giuliano rose to notoriety after the liberation of Sicily from fascist control in 1943, when he formed a gang that joined a separatist army. When the army dissolved, he and his gang intensified their outlaw activities. One of their most significant crimes was the Portella della Ginestra incident, during which dozens of men, women, and children were killed or wounded. This act prompted the authorities to launch an all-out war against Giuliano. His defenses slowly crumbled, and on July 5, 1959, his body was discovered in the courtyard of a house in Castelvetrano. That moment serves as the starting point for Rosi's film. Giuliano's fame is tied to his involvement in the Sicilian independence movement and his battles against both the Italian government and the Mafia in the 1940s a...

The Timeless Talent of Stefania Sandrelli

On screen since the tender age of 14, she has captivated audiences for more than 50 years with a compelling combination of strength and vulnerability. She achieved stardom at just 14 years old playing the angelic cousin of a love-struck Marcello Mastroianni in Pietro Germi’s “Divorce Italian Style.” More than half a century later, she is still going strong and remains one of Italy’s most esteemed actors. Stefania Sandrelli was born on June 5, 1946, in Viareggio in the province of Lucca in northern Italy. As a child, she studied music and dance. Then in 1960, she won a beauty pageant and was featured on the cover of Le Ore magazine. Her purity captivated the country and shortly thereafter, movie offers began pouring in. Just one year later, she made her cinema debut in three feature films: Mario Sequi’s Gioventù di notte , Luciano Salce’s The Fascist, and Pietro Germi’s Divorce Italian Style . She instantly became a star and before long was a key figure in Italy’s legend...

Gianfranco Rosi to premiere 'Sotto le nuvole' at Venice Film Fest, exploring Naples' history

Documentary filmmaker Gianfranco Rosi will premiere his much-anticipated latest film at the upcoming 82nd Venice International Film Festival , which runs August 27 - Sept. 6. "Sotto le nuvole" (Below the Clouds)  takes a deep dive into the rich history and culture of Naples and the area surrounding Mount Vesuvius. There has not been much information revealed but so far, we know that the film will focus on themes similar to those explored by Rosi in his previous works, such as the examination of Roman culture in "Sacro GRA" (2013) and Lampedusa's refugee crisis in "Fuocoammare" (2016).  The film's synopsis reads, “The land around Vesuvius is a vast palimpsest. On the surface, underground and even beneath the sea of the modern city of Naples and its surroundings, the memory of history is etched into tunnels, walls and fissures, the remains of women, children and men — statues, buried cities. Only thin layers separate contemporary and ancient life, an...

"Roma 11:00" – The Tragic True Story of Desperation in a World of Poverty

There couldn’t have been a more perfect couple than Lucia Bosè and Raf Vallone in Giuseppe De Santis’ 1952 “Roma 11:00.”  A tragic story based on true events, the film follows several young women in post-WWII Rome as they answer a job listing for a typist. When 200 women are in line on one staircase over several floors, a crack leads to the collapse of the entire staircase. Dozens were injured and one was killed. The tragedy spoke to the poverty and desperation that existed for so many Italians in the early 1950s before the ‘58 industrial boom began.  Cesare Zavattini was one of the screenwriters. Elio Petri was the assistant director who interviewed many of the victims and cast a few in supporting roles. In addition to Bosè and Vallone, the film stars Carla Del Poggio, Massimo Girotti, Maria Grazia Francia, Lea Padovani and Delia Scala. The film is set in Largo Circense 37, while in reality the collapse took place in via Savoia 31, in the Salario district, on J...