Italian Cinema Today

As 2023 has drawn to a close, we look back at one event that honored a living legend. Organizers of the 80 th  edition of the Venice Film Festival, which ran August 30 – September 9, recognized several iconic artists. Tributes included a film retrospective dedicated to Gina Lollobrigida , who passed away in January.   One special recognition went to director Liliana Cavani , who was awarded a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement. Now 90 years old, Cavani was there to receive her award and later presented her new film, "L'ordine del tempo,” which premiered out of competition.    Actress Charlotte Rampling, who starred in Cavani’s 1974 devastating Holocaust drama, "Il portiere di notte" (The Night Porter) , presented Cavani with the award.    Charlotte Rampling in "The Night Porter" “From the early 1960s, Liliana Cavani has been forcing us to confront the beautiful, the ugly, and the unresolved. With her relentless questioning through her documentaries and fi...

Join me in beginning the Lenten season with my favorite adaptation of one of the Gospels-  Pier Paolo Pasolini's  1964 “Il Vangolo Secondo Matteo" (The Gospel According to St. Matthew) and a few classics that I recently discovered.  Considered by the Vatican to be among the best film adaptations of the Gospels, Pasolini's film was shot in the regions of Basilicata and Calabria. He cast his mother as Mary and many locals as extras. Spanish actor Enrique Irazoqui was cast in the role of Jesus. He was just 18-years-old when he landed the part. He had been in Rome at the time of casting and auditioned for the role. I contacted Irazoqui around this time last year to ask him about his experience making the film. He suggested that we have a conversation via Skype. Although the connection wasn’t very good, it was thrilling to talk directly with this actor whose film I had been watching for at least 20 years. He was very friendly and nostalgic in his recollections espe...