La Grande Bellezza of Sabrina Ferilli

The 2015 Rome Premiere of "Io e Lei"

Sabrina Ferilli has been gracing Italian screens, big and small, since the mid-80s. With her recent role in Paolo Sorrentino's international blockbuster, "La Grande Bellezza" (The Great Beauty), audiences throughout the world are getting the chance to see why she is one of Italy's most beloved treasures.

Born in Rome in 1964, Sabrina Ferilli is the daughter of Giuliano Ferilli, the former leader of the Communist Party of the Lazio Region. Ferilli attempted to study her craft at Rome's Experimental Center of Cinematography, but later decided to abandon her studies and dive right into her career. Time has proven that she made the right choice. With dozens of movies to her credit, Ferilli has appeared on television and on the big screen, becoming a household name in Italy.

Ferilli is the very portrait of Italian beauty with her infamous figure, long brown locks and dark eyes. But as cliched as it may sound, she is so much more than just another pretty face. Ferilli's acting range is impressive. Whether she is performing in the genre of drama or comedy, she excels with such ease, it hardly seems she's working.

Ferilli's break came in 1990 with the role of Zaira in Alessandro D'Alatri's film Americano Rosso. Then in 1994, she earned her first David di Donatello nomination for Best Actress in Paolo Virzi's debut film, "La bella vita." The film premiered at the 51st Venice International Film Festival and gave both Ferilli and Virzi the exposure they needed to jump start their careers. Since then, she's worked alongside Christian De Sica with director, Neri Parenti on three of his cinepanettoni or holiday comedies; "Natale a New York" in 2006, "Natale a Beverly Hills" in 2009 and "Vacanze di Natale a Cortina" in 2011. She's done numerous made-for television movies and series, including the role of Ida Di Giulio in "Baciamo le mani: Palermo-New York 1958," a TV series produced last year by the Italian television network Mediaset.

With all those roles to her credit, it looks like the most important of her career is upon her the year she turns 50. Ferilli plays the role of Ramona in Paolo Sorrentino's "La Grande Bellezza." Ramona is an intriguing character with a complicated past. When she meets Jep, the film's main character portrayed by Toni Servillo, it seems they were two lost souls destined for each other. Director, Sorrentino does not hold back in utilizing Ferilli's physical attributes, and her performance absolutely proves those attributes are equaled in talent. Physically, she is presented as eye candy, as the trophy companion of Jep, the main character. Her initial scene in the film involves a sexy striptease where little is left to the imagination. However, through the course of the film, beginning with the very next scene, her natural way of being a strong, complex woman is revealed, making her physical beauty secondary, and presenting us with a multi-layered woman who happens to be gorgeous, and proves to be a source of equilibrium in Jep's chaotic world. It's really no surprise that this film has done so well in America. It has all the qualities we look for when considering Italian cinema and the Italian culture. From the stunning cinematography to the dramatic music to the beautiful people and sex appeal of the city itself, we are presented with monuments to perpetual beauty and Ferilli fits in perfectly on this stage of the Eternal City.

Ferilli has maintained a relatively private personal life. She was married in 2003 to her companion of eight years, but it ended in divorce two years later. She is a die-hard AS Roma fan, which is Rome's official soccer team, and a member of the AS Roma Fan Council, a board made up and founded by high profile fans like the iconic Roman actor, Alberto Sordi. In 2000, the male population of Italy flocked to stores to pick up their copy of the SuperCalendario di Max, a calendar in which Sabrina Ferilli posed au naturale. Ferilli is known for her love of animals, in particular her cat, Romolo and dog, Nina. She says her favorite dish is pasta all`amatriciana.

Comments

A Conversation with Sergio Castellitto

Sergio Castellitto has made a profound impact on world cinema, both in front of and behind the camera. Born in Rome in 1953, Castellitto graduated from film school in 1978 and credits American cinema with pushing him toward a career in acting. His work has garnered numerous accolades, largely due to his immersive, original approach to projects in film, television and theatre. Castellitto is fluent in French and English, which has contributed mightily to his international stardom. But it's the actor's trademark brown eyes and charming everyman qualities that have lent his various characters -- even the ones that are rough around the edges -- an air of dignity that other actors might not have achieved. Sergio Castellitto and Margaret Mazzantini, 2005 Films such as "Paura e Amore," "L'uomo delle stelle," "Caterina va in città," and "Bella Martha" heralded Castellitto as a versatile artist with far-reaching abilities. But it ...

The Life and Work of Monica Bellucci

Monica Bellucci as Malèna Born in Umbria in 1964, Monica Bellucci is one of the most recognizable faces of international cinema. But she didn't always have her sights set on the spotlight. She went to college to study law and modeled to pay her tuition. Her success in the fashion world coupled with the offers that were pouring in to appear on the big screen eventually took over, changing her fate. Bellucci made her on-screen debut in the 1990 television movie, " Vita coi figli." Just two years later, she scored her first American role in Francis Ford Coppola's "Dracula." In addition to her native language, she speaks fluent English and French, which has made for a smooth transition from Italian to international cinema. Stateside, she has acted in blockbusters such as "The Matrix-Reloaded," " The Passion of the Christ" and " The Sorcerer's Apprentice." She has also appeared in several French films, a...

Golden Age Masterpiece: Luchino Visconti’s 1957 “White Nights”

Photo Credit: Archivio Luce Cinecittà Luchino Visconti’s 1957 film, “White Nights” (“Le notti bianche”), offers a thoughtful and poignant exploration of themes such as loneliness, desire and emotional vulnerability. Based on Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novella of the same name, it transports the tale from 19th-century St. Petersburg to a dreamy mid-20th-century Italian setting. While Visconti remains largely faithful to Dostoevsky’s narrative, his characteristic style infuses the film with emotional depth, striking visuals, and a focus on class and societal constraints. The story follows a young man named Matteo, played by Marcello Mastroianni, who lives a solitary life in a small Italian town. One evening, he encounters a beautiful young woman named Natalia, portrayed by Austrian-Swiss actress Maria Schell, who is also feeling isolated. Although she is initially reluctant, Natalia eventually confides in Matteo about her love for a man who has promised to return and marry her, but he ha...

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 ...

Alberto Sordi Like You've Never Seen Him..

Twenty two-year-old Alberto Sordi on the set of "I tre aquilotti" Directed by Mario Mattoli, the 1942 film"I tre aquilotti" (The Three Pilots) is set at the Royal Air Force Academy of Caserta where three students– Mario (Carlo Minello), Marco (Leonardo Cortese) and Filippo (Alberto Sordi) become close friends. Towards the end of his studies, Marco casually meets and falls in love with Mario's sister, Adriana (Michela Belmonte). Mario shows his opposition to Marco and this causes the end of their friendship. Due to an accident during a training flight, Marco is demoted from the sailors role to the service role, thus not getting the military pilot's license. After the end of the course, the three friends split up for various destinations but all three find themselves in Russia, with Mario and Filippo already decorated with medals of merit, while Marco is in charge of logistics services. During a war action Mario is hit in flight and is forced to land in en...

Italian Cinema Today

Search This Blog