Profile: Alba Caterina Rohrwacher

Photo by Fabio Lovino

Actress Alba Rohrwacher has been working more than ever lately and currently has two films receiving international praise; Le meraviglie which was directed by her sister, Alice, and won the Grand Prix at the 67th annual Cannes Film Festival; and Via Castellana Bandiera which is about to be shown in New York City at the Open Roads: New Italian Cinema film series at Lincoln Center.

Born to an Italian mother and German father, Rohrwacher has taken Italian cinema by storm since her debut in 2004. With her trademark red locks and blue eyes, she does not have the typical Italian look of most screen sirens in her country, but that is exactly what sets her apart from the rest.

Born in Tuscany, Rohrwacher relocated to Rome where she studied her craft at the Scuola Nazionale di Cinema. Shortly thereafter, she began working in theater and film. Her first big screen appearances were in smaller supporting roles in films such as Carlo Mazzacurati's 2004 L'amore ritrovato (An Italian Romance), the 2005 comedy, Kiss Me Lorena and Marco Bellocchio's hit movie, Il regista di matrimoni (The Wedding Director). Each of those films earned her enough recognition to catch the attention of veteran directors, Pupi Avati and Silvio Soldini. It was her role in Pupi Avati's 2008 film, Il papà di Giovanna (Giovanna's Father) that jump started her career as a leading lady. In Il papà di Giovanna, she plays the role of Giovanna Casali, an emotionally fragile teenager who is jailed for the murder of a fellow classmate. The role earned her a David di Donatello Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role and a Golden Globe for Best Breakthrough Actress.

L'uomo che verrà

Rohrwacher has a mysterious quality about her that makes her characters complicated and emotionally layered. In a Jury's comment from the Venice Film Festival, she was described as an actress that "possesses an utterly natural skill, and each of her performances is always profound and complex." It is no wonder that Rohrwacher was named one of Europe's up and coming "Shooting Stars." She entrusts her characters with painstaking intensity and vulnerability. One role in which those qualities were thoroughly employed was Giorgio Diritti's 2008 drama, L'uomo che verrà (The Man Who WIll Come). The film is set during World War II in the German occupied territory of Monte Sole, just outside Bologna, and tells the tragic events referred to as "The Marzabotto Massacre," when villagers were forced to endure murder and torture at the hands of the Nazis during the decline of Mussolini. Rohrwacher plays the role of a protector to a little girl she is trying to save. She balances a fine line of fear and bravery while looking death right in the face.

Cosa voglio di più

Rohrwacher's 2011 release, Cosa voglio di più (Come Undone) in which she costars with Pier Francesco Favino, demonstrates a sensual side of the actress. "Cosa voglio di più" is about two people who are in committed relationships but are wildly attracted to each other and engage in an illicit affair. The sultry love scenes and radical nature of Rohrwacher's character uncover yet another dimension of her wide acting range. In "Cosa voglio di più," she suppresses her inhibitions and delivers a passionate performance. The film marks new territory for Rohrwacher and has given the young actress even more international recognition and praise.

Via Castellana Bandiera

In Emma Dante's, Via Castellana Bandiera (A Street in Palermo), Rohrwacher delivers a fierce performance alongside Dante, who also stars in the film. The story recounts two young women on their way to celebrate a friend’s marriage when they decide to take a shortcut through town. That’s when they enter a one-way street with another car trying to get through. As both drivers are experiencing frustration and conflict in their own personal lives, they are not in the mood to give in and let the other through. So, there they stay camped out in their cars until one is forced by dire circumstances to finally move her car. The title, Via Castellana Bandiera is named after the narrow street in Palermo where the women remain, refusing to move their cars.

Alba Rohrwacher is prolific in her work, always taking on new projects to challenge her skills, making her grow as an actress. She currently has three upcoming releases in production: Hungry Hearts by Saverio Costanzo, Racconto dei racconti by Matteo Garrone and Vergine giurata by Laura Bispuri.

Comments

7 Days - 7 Women: Interview with Actress Sabrina Impacciatore

Photo by Rossella Vetrano On Day 6 of our series, 7 Days - 7 Women, in which we are profiling seven strong, talented women working as filmmakers, writers or visual artists, we talk with actress Sabrina Impacciatore about the diversity of her roles. Whether she's playing a devoted mother trying to protect her child, Jesus Christ's "Veronica" in Mel Gibson's controversial film, "Passion of the Christ" or a young woman coming of age, Impacciatore escapes into the life and mind of each character she takes on, sometimes so deeply that she believes she is actually them. It's a fine line between reality and fiction, but she treads it carefully and anyone watching her performance benefits from her emotional connection to the character that she becomes. I spoke with Impacciatore at the 2010 Open Roads: New Italian Film series in New York City. We talked about her lifelong dream of becoming an actress. She also gave me some insight into the diff...

A Conversation with Actor Mirko Frezza of David di Donatello Winner "Il più grande sogno"

The 2017 David di Donatello award show, which took place on Monday, was an exciting event that celebrated many great contemporary talents of Italian cinema. I was fortunate to have seen most of the nominees. Among my personal favorites is Michele Vannucci's Il più grande sogno simply because it is based on one of the most inspiring, beautiful stories I've ever heard, and the person behind that story is as authentic and down-to-earth as they come. The film won the 3 Future Award, which is determined by the public. With Director Michele Vannucci and Actor Mirko Frezza I first saw Il più grande sogno last September when it premiered at the Venice Film Festival. I didn't make it to Venice, but thanks to a great online platform called Festival Scope , which offers a handful of premieres to be screened on the web, I felt like I was there. The film itself blew me away, and then when I realized it was based on a true story, I knew t...

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...

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...

Review: “Hitler Versus Picasso and the Others” by Claudio Poli

A compelling 2018 documentary by Claudio Poli aims to shed light on a chapter of Nazi history that is still relevant today. “Hitler Versus Picasso and the Others” is the story of how the Führer didn’t just take countless human lives but also robbed a whole culture of its artistic heritage. Narrated by actor Toni Servillo, “Hitler Versus Picasso and the Others” takes viewers on an incredible journey in search of masterpieces stolen during World War II. The stories of individual works are told by people who witnessed the looting, much of which took place during raids on homes and galleries belonging to Jewish collectors. The documentary reveals that 600,000 works of art were stolen from private owners, museums, churches and galleries. The confiscated artwork was either kept by the Nazi elite, warehoused, sold or destroyed in bonfires. Few benefited more from this large-scale heist than Hildebrand Gurlitt, Hitler’s so-called art dealer, who kept many of the most priceless treasures ...

Italian Cinema Today

Search This Blog