Italian Cinema Today

Her beauty captured the attention of producers on two continents, but her talent kept her working through seven decades. Born Virna Pieralisi in Ancona on Nov. 8, 1936, Virna Lisi began acting as a teenager and was cast in her first starring role in the 1953 melodrama “...e Napoli canta!” (Napoli Sings). Although the role opened doors, most directors were not yet able to see beyond her striking beauty and therefore cast her in roles based more on her looks than her acting ability. One of those early parts was as an extra opposite Alberto Sordi in Antonio Pietrangeli’s 1956 “Lo scapolo” (The Bachelor) .  In 1961, she starred in Francesco Maselli’s drama “La donna del giorno” (The Doll That Took the Town) as Liliana, a struggling model who makes up a story about being assaulted by three men. The film was released in the United States, where Hollywood executives saw her and believed they had discovered the European version of Marilyn Monroe.  Lisi made her American debut a few y...

It was just announced on Friday that director, Cristina Comencini will be attending the North American premiere of her latest film, Latin Lover at the 2015 edition of Lincoln Center’s annual film series, Open Roads: New Italian Cinema. The female ensemble comedy tells the story of four sisters. Ten years after the death of their father, the famous actor, Saverio (Francesco Scianna), they are forced to face secrets buried in the past.The film explores the consequences of infidelity and how the offspring of multiple marriages and affairs have to deal with the voids, resentment and in this case, sisters from other mothers. I felt a lot of anger while I watched this film, anger towards the man that created all this drama, an arrogant, aloof, self-centered actor, portrayed perfectly by Sicilian born, Francesco Scianna. A few years ago, Maria Sole Tognazzi’s film, L’uomo che ama (The Man Who Loves) was presented at Open Roads. It showed infidelity through the eyes of a man whose fiancé ...

Virna Lisi's last film, "Latin Lover" is released today in theaters across Italy. Directed by Cristina Comencini, the all-female ensemble comedy tells the story of four sisters, ten years after the death of their father and famous actor, Saverio (Francesco Scianna), forced to face secrets buried in the past. There is the Italian daughter Susanna (Angela Finocchiaro), the French daughter, Stephanie (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi), the Spanish daughter, Segunda (Candela Peña), who is married to an unrepentant traitor and the youngest Swedish daughter (Pihla Viitala), that didn't see her father often. Then there is a possible fifth daughter, an American, Shelley (Nadeah Miranda) awaiting a DNA test. Virna Lisi plays the role of the first Italian wife, Rita. None of the daughters experienced a truly great father, but each has mythologized and loved him in different periods of his triumphant career.

In two short decades, Ambra Angiolini emerged as a star on two continents, dazzling audiences first as a teen host of Italian TV, and then as a chart-topping singer in Europe and South America before making her way onto the big screen as a captivating actress. Born in Rome on April 22, 1977,   Angiolini began her career in 1992 at the age of 15 as a host of RAI Television's "Non è la Rai."   Two years later, she recorded her first album, "T'appartengo," in both Italian and Spanish. The album was a huge hit in Spain as well as other countries such as Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela and Chile. As a result of that sucsess, Angiolini was invited to perform at the popular Chilean music festival, "Viña del Mar" in 1996. Meanwhile, she was recording her self-titled album, "Angiolini," which included the hits, "Tu sei," "Ti stravoglio," "Buoni Amici" and "Aspettavo te."   That same year, she made her acting ...