Italian Cinema Today

“The Leisure Seeker” is Italian director Paolo Virzìs first English-language feature film. Starring Helen Mirren as Ella and Donald Sutherland as John, it follows a couple who leave town, traveling from Massachusetts to Florida, without informing anyone, including their two adult children. The kids find out about their departure when their son, Will, pays them a visit and is informed by the couple’s neighbor that she heard them depart very early in the morning in their 1975 Winnebago, which bears the name of the film’s title. Will then launches a hunt to find his parents and return them safely home, but Ella has other plans. She intends to take John, an intellectual and aficionado of Ernest Hemingway, to the Hemingway Home & Museum in Key West.   John is grappling with dementia and Ella, who copes with her sorrow by drinking a steady stream of whiskey, is clearly knocking on death’s door. “The Leisure Seeker” is a testament to their right to spend their final days as they wish ...

Photo by Siebbi His intense dramatic performances have earned him a spot as one of contemporary Italian cinema’s top leading men. Born in 1984, Luca Marinelli was no stranger to cinema when he enrolled in the Rome drama school Silvio d’Amico National Academy of Dramatic Art. His father, Eugenio Marinelli, is an actor and noted voiceover artist, having interpreted the likes of John Goodman, Gene Wilder and Ving Rhames for Italian audiences. Marinelli graduated from film school in 2009 and hit the ground running as a lead actor. His breakout role was his very first in a feature film, Saverio Costanzo’s 2010 drama “La solitudine dei numeri primi” (The Solitude of Prime Numbers). Three years later, he was named a Shooting Star at the 2013 Berlin International Film Festival for his role in Paolo Virzì’s “Tutti i santi giorni” (Every Blessed Day). That same year, he had a small role as the tormented Andrea in Paolo Sorrentino’s Academy Award-winning “La grande bellezza” (The Great Beauty)...

Matilde Gioli and Matteo Martari in a scene from 2Night When she answered a casting call, Matilde Gioli’s just wanted to make a few extra bucks to support her university education. Months later, she was offered a starring role in one of Italy’s most successful contemporary films. Born in Milan in 1989, Gioli studied at Beccaria High School and then graduated in Philosophy at the State University. “I never thought of becoming an actress. When I was at university, I worked various jobs. I was 21 years old. One day my mother found an announcement: they were looking for extras for a film by Paolo Virzì. So I went to audition. I did not expect anything," she explained in a recent interview with Forbes Magazine in Italy. She didn’t hear anything for four months. Then one day, she received word that Virzì wanted to meet her for a another audition. “The following day, he offered me the role of Serena Ossola in the film Human Capital . From there my career started.” Matilde G...

Americans know her as Rosa Napolitano from " The Golden Door ," Emanuele Crialese's   heartfelt story of immigration in America at the turn of the 20th century. Italians know her as a diverse contemporary actress always mesmerizing audiences as she wondrously transforms herself into her characters.  Born in Palermo in 1981, Isabella Ragonese studied her craft in her hometown with theater director Michele Perriera. Her studies included interpretations of his work whether it'd be writing, directing or starring in adaptations. Upon graduating, she received her first big break in Crialese's "Nuovomondo" (The Golden Door) and just two years later, headed the all-star cast of Paolo Virzì's  "Tutta la vita davanti" (The Whole Life Ahead). She went on to appear in numerous productions on both the big and small screen. Then in 2014, she teamed up again with her "Tutta la vita davanti" costar Elio Germano for ...

Based on a novel by American writer Stephen Amidon, "Human Capital" is a story of intricate emotions and human qualities. Its characters are complicated, fragile and flawed. They struggle to succeed, to find their passions, to love, to leave, to stay and to live. Yet within each of them is a longing for stability and normalcy, to live life to the fullest while being cradled in the love and support of the people closest to them. The film begins at the breakdown of a banquet when one of the servers is run off the road while riding home on his bicycle. What follows is a series of chapters in which director Paolo Virzì vividly takes us through the lives of several key players directly or indirectly involved in the accident. This analysis uncovers the secrets and struggles of the story’s characters. The film offers a side of Italian society that we don’t often see in Italian films released in the U.S. Virzì sheds light on Italy's high society of CEOs, financial advisors, ...

The cast of "Human Capital" Starting today, Paolo Virzì’s latest film, "Human Capital," begins showing at theaters across the country. The Wikipedia definition of human capital is- the stock of knowledge, habits, social and personality attributes, including creativity, embodied in the ability to perform labor so as to produce economic value. Well, the film, which was adapted from American writer, Stephen Amidon’s book pretty much covers all these attributes. The story begins after a cyclist is run off the road. That incident sets the stage for a rollercoaster ride of drama, egos, greed, opulence and destruction. The director’s visual expression of the novel has drawn incredible performances from his actors. Virzì has a history of empathizing with his characters to really get into their heads, which in turn leads to complete transformation, and it helps to have some of the most talented contemporary Italian actors, such as Fabrizio Bentivoglio , Valeria Gol...