Luisa Ranieri: A Contemporary Classic

Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Hand of God” has advanced to the short list in the 2022 Oscar race. The film is available stateside on Netflix. One of the stars of the film is actress Luisa Ranieri as the eccentric, troubled Aunt Patrizia.

Luisa Ranieri

Born in Naples in 1973, Ranieri hit the ground running, finding her break out film just two years after starting her acting career. That project, a made for television movie on the life of Maria Callas in which she played the starring role, immediately made her one of the country’s most popular actresses.

After numerous supporting roles in both television and film, Ranieri scored the title role in Lodovico Gasparini’s 2016 miniseries “Luisa Spagnoli,” giving her another opportunity to portray a deeply complex character. The film follows the trailblazing entrepreneur who created the Perugina chocolate brand as well as a popular clothing line that still bears her name.

“I was born poor like you and know how hard life can be.” That inspiring line was part of her speech to rally the female employees who were left to run her candy factory after the men were called upon to fight World War I. Spagnoli revolutionized the role of women in the workplace, providing them comprehensive benefits, allowing them to bring their children to work and offering them paid time to nurse their babies. After the men returned from the war, the women remained in their positions. The series also focuses on Spagnoli’s romantic life and sheds light on her love affair with pasta magnate Giovanni Buitoni.

Luisa Ranieri as Luisa Spagnoli

Ranieri wholeheartedly embraces Spagnoli’s outgoing personality, courage and infinite creativity as she juggles running a business with being a wife and mother of three during the early 1900s. She radiates pride in portraying Spagnoli and takes command of every scene. Enchanting sets and a whimsical soundtrack, along with outstanding supporting performances by Antonello Fassari and Gianmarco Tognazzi, also play their parts in making the series both entertaining and informative.

At the other end of the spectrum is Fausto Brizzi’s 2016 comedy “Forever Young,” which tracks a group of friends and acquaintances ranging in age from 49-70 who can’t accept getting older. Ranieri plays Sonia, a 40-something single mother who advises her hairstylist, Angela (Sabrina Ferilli), to date a younger man. When Angela takes her advice, the two are not so pleasantly surprised to discover the young man is Sonia’s 19-year-old son. Ranieri shows off her talent for comedy while lending her character an introspective side. The film was a huge hit in Italy and features an exceptional cast delivering superb performances.

"The Music of Silence"

Ranieri is also moving in a rare English-language role as the mother of the main character in “La musica del silenzio” (The Music of Silence). Directed by Michael Radford (“Il postino”) and based on Andrea Bocelli’s autobiography of the same name, the 2017 biopic delves into the Italian tenor’s life, from the loss of his eyesight to his love of music and rise to stardom. The main character of the film is Amos, the name Bocelli would have chosen for himself, as he explains at the outset.

Ranieri’s natural empathy comes through as she conveys the heartbreak of having to teach her son, with tough love at times, to be strong and make his way through a world filled with darkness. Ennio Fantastichini is wonderful in the role of a loving and outgoing uncle who urges Amos to embrace music, opera in particular. A beautiful soundtrack that includes Bocelli’s captivating voice accompanies much of the film.

Ranieri is married to fellow actor Luca Zingaretti, who is best known for his lead role in the popular television series “Inspector Montalbano.” The couple met on the set of Riccardo Milani’s 2005 miniseries “Cefalonia.” They have two children.

All the aforementioned works are available to stream on Amazon. “The Hand of God” is available on Netflix. Click on the titles for direct links to stream them. The forceful performances, detailed set designs and excellent production values speak to the high quality of films coming out of Italy today and to why so many contemporary Italian films are available in the United States.

-Written by Jeannine Guilyard for the January 2022 issue of Fra Noi Magazine. Click here to subscribe.

Comments

Anna Foglietta: Actress and Activist with Old School Elegance

One look at actress Anna Foglietta in her any of her roles, and the Golden Age of Italian cinema comes to mind. Among Italy’s most sought-after actresses today, Foglietta brings to the table a classic eloquence of yesterday while representing Italy’s modern woman. Born in Rome in 1979, Foglietta began her career in 2005 with a role in the RAI television series La squadra . Her character Agent Anna De Luca had a two-year run on the series as she was transitioning to cinema with Paolo Virzì’s 2006 ensemble project 4-4-2- Il gioco più bello del mondo . Since then, she has become one of Italy’s most diverse actresses, transforming herself into interesting, layered characters for comedies and dramas alike. Aside from a small part in Anton Corbijn’s 2010 film The American starring George Clooney, Foglietta’s work began reaching mainstream American audiences in 2015. As Elisa in Edoardo Leo’s 2015 comedy Noi e la Giulia , Foglietta showed her funny side playing a goofball pregn...

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...

Eric LoPresti: Fusing art and tech

Known for contemporary landscapes that fuse art and technology, Eric LoPresti is a Brooklyn-based artist with a strong sense of Italian identity. “My father’s family emigrated from Sicily via Ellis Island in 1905, which might explain a deep connection I still feel with that incredible Italian landscape,” LoPresti explains. Before attending graduate school at the Maryland Institute College of Art, he studied sculpture at several schools in Europe, including one in Greppocorgno near Perugia in the region of Umbria, under the guidance of the Boston-based sculptor Vincent Ricci. “For me, this was a transcendent experience — my first time in Italy — and a chance to connect with the Italian modernist tradition,” he says. Since then, he has focused on painting landscapes and other natural subjects, many of them inspired by the vast deserts of the Columbia Plateau in Washington State. The COVID lockdown was a particular productive period for LoPre...

"Ennio" — Portrait of a Genius

Though he wasn't a filmmaker, his name is inextricably bound with Italian cinema and some of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters. Known for his longtime collaborations with directors Giuseppe Tornatore, Sergio Leone, and Quentin Tarantino, Ennio Morricone created the soundtracks for Italian classics like "Cinema Paradiso" and "Malena" and American films like "The Hateful Eight," for which he won an Oscar, and "The Untouchables." Now, we have a deeply moving documentary that immerses us in the life and music of this modest genius. Written and directed by Tornatore, "Ennio" traces Morricone's path to becoming a renowned composer, focusing on his work on numerous films. It features archival and original footage, poignant interviews with Morricone conducted between 2015 and 2016, and heartfelt conversations with his peers and collaborators. The film spans Morricone's 80+ years in music, from trumpet lessons at six years old to ...

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...

Italian Cinema Today

Search This Blog