At Cinema
The strangeness by Roberto Andò, with Toni Servillo, Salvo Ficarra, Valentino Picone (Comedy, Italy, 103 ‘). It is 1920, the year in which Luigi Pirandello, during a trip to Sicily, meets Onofrio Principato and Sebastiano Vella, two actors who are rehearsing a new show with the actors of their amateur dramatics. The meeting between the brilliant author and the two amateurs will bring great surprises. A cultured, even learned, cinema of exquisite workmanship, slow to anger and rich in grace, metalinguistic, always literate and often literary: Pirandello and amateur dramatics, the author and the amateurs, parallel convergences of the same art, with the benefit of invention rather than inventory.
Triangle of Sadness by Ruben Östlund, with Woody Harrelson, Harris Dickinson, Charlbi Dean Kriek (Satiric, Sweden, 149 ‘). A celebrity couple are invited on a luxury cruise for the super rich. The yacht – whose captain is a rabid Marxist – sinks, leaving the two stranded on a desert island with a group of billionaires and a cleaning lady. The resulting struggle for survival will overturn the pre-existing hierarchy and change the dynamics of the group: the cleaning lady climbs to the top of the food chain because she is the only one who knows how to cook. Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival 2022.
Amsterdam by David O. Russell, with Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, David John Washington (Comedy-Yellow, USA, 134 ‘). Thirties. Three great friends, the doctor Burt, the nurse Valerie and the lawyer Harold, are witnesses to a murder, but in spite of themselves they will find themselves suspected and at the center of one of the most shocking secret conspiracies in American history. A mess that once again reveals the more uncontrolled and uncontrollable side of a wavering and inconstant director, who despite his reputation is still capable of attracting an incredible number of stars (there are Robert De Niro, Rami Malek, Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Rock, Mike Myers, Michael Shannon, Taylor Swift).
I am the abyss by Donato Carrisi, with Michela Cescon, Gabriel Montesi, Lidiya Liberman (Thriller, Italy). The Cleaner thinks there is a lot of secrets to be made out of waste. Why people tend to lie; garbage, on the other hand, never lies. The Cleaning Man believed he was invisible until he met the Girl with the Purple Crest. The Girl with the Purple Crest bursts into her tidy life because only an evil angel can save her now. Meanwhile, the Slayer knows there’s someone out there killing blonde-haired women. Even if no one believes her, she knows it. What she doesn’t know, however, is that there is something evil hiding behind the green door. The truth lies at the bottom of a dark and very deep abyss.
Miracle – Story of crossed destinies by Bogdan George Apetri, with Ioana Bugarin, Emanuel Parvu, Cezar Antal (Drama, Romania-Czech Republic-Latvia, 118 ‘). A young nun sneaks out of the monastery to attend to an urgent matter, but she never returns. A police detective in charge of the investigation uncovers clues and revelations that lead not only to the truth, but also to a miracle. Well written and equally acted, he proceeds with his feet firmly planted on the ground, dialectizes on the aporia of religion, except to leave for the transcendental tangent: the tension is Bressonian and the sociological detection, moreover, anthropological. Winner of the Interreligious Jury Prize at the Tertio Millennio for “the courage in directing choices and for the originality in addressing the theme of spirituality in an increasingly secularized world”.
The talent of Mr. Crocodile by Josh Gordon, Will Speck, with the voice of Luigi Strangis, Javier Bardem, Constance Wu (Animation-Musical-Adventure, USA, 106 ‘). When the Primm family moves to New York, young son Josh struggles to adjust to the new school and new friends. Everything changes when he discovers Lyle, a singing crocodile who loves baths, caviar, great music and who lives in the attic of his new home. The two quickly become friends, but when Lyle’s existence is threatened by the evil neighbor Mr. Grumps, the Primms must team up with Lyle’s charismatic owner, Hector P. Valenti, to prove to the world that a family can be found even in situations. more unexpected and that there is nothing wrong with a great singing crocodile with an even greater personality.
Dampyr by Riccardo Chemello, with Wade Briggs, Stuart Martin, Frida Gustavsson (Cinecomic, Italy). It is the 1990s and a cruel war is underway in the Balkans. The soldiers led by Kurjak are tasked with maintaining their post in the country of Yorvolak, but are massacred by mysterious bloodthirsty supernatural killers. Harlan Draka is called to help, a con man who roams the villages practicing false exorcisms and posing as a Dampyr, a vampire slayer. Harlan will soon discover that he is indeed a Dampyr, as the son of a human and a Master of the Night. And, with the help of Kurjak and a rebellious vampire, he will wage a violent battle to defeat the forces of Evil. From the comic by the same name created by Mauro Boselli and Maurizio Colombo and published by Bonelli,
Tell me about Africa tonight by Carolina Boco and Luca La Vopa, with Roberta Mastromichele, Corrado Fortuna, Diane Fleri (Drama, Italy). Two very different women meet against the backdrop of the magic and contradictions of sub-Saharan Africa. Emma, a lawyer who is experiencing a deep personal crisis, decides to take a break and leave for Africa. The young Nuri, on the other hand, caught between the rigid moral codes of the Muslim family from which she comes, nourishes the desire to discover what is outside her world. The two will come into contact with a group of activists engaged in the fight against elephant poaching, including the charming and mysterious Dylan and Finn, a young man with a stormy past. Emma and Nuri will come to terms with their inner ghosts and discover their own path, following it without regrets.
The Prince of Melchior Joy by Andrea Castoldi, with Silvio Cavallo, Valeria Bonalume, Marco Stefano Speziale (Comedy, Italy, 87 ‘). At the end of the 90s Via Melchiorre Gioia was the street of cheap nocturnal perdition, but it was above all the area of the Prince, a royal character, whose “useless” story Castoldi was inspired by. Almost every evening, the Prince arrives by bus from the suburbs to start his good nights. A nightlife full of characters, like him, unlikely. The story alternates between two timelines: 1998 and today, where the Prince is a fifty-year-old, unemployed and suffering from chronic listlessness, who struggles without too much effort with jobs that lead him to the places and memories of the revels of the past. In a society founded on goals to be achieved and results to be achieved, ours is a predestined anti-hero. A professional of defeat.
Friends for life by Pierluigi Di Lallo, with Filippo Laganà, Massimo Ghini, Nancy Brill (Drama, Italy, 81 ‘). Filippo is a twenty year old full of life and plans for the future. His life changes when, during a vacation in the United States, he is seized by severe abdominal pain that forced him to return immediately to Italy. He is hospitalized urgently and the response of the doctors leaves no doubt: a liver transplant is necessary. This is the beginning of an odyssey that will lead Philip to make important decisions and put aside his passions. But, thanks to his will to live and the deep bond with his parents, he is able to face this difficult situation with a smile. From a true story.
The Grand Bolero by Gabriele Fabbro, with Lidia Vitale, Ludovica Mancini, Marcello Mariani (Thriller, Italy, 90 ‘). Roxanne, a rude middle-aged pipe organ restorer, tries to control her obsessive attraction to Lucia, her new and mysterious young assistant who mutes her. Set during the first lockdown, the film voices the fear of “contact” that each of us experienced, in one way or another, during the pandemic. A romantic thriller set in northern Italy during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Coldplay Live Broadcast From Buenos Aires (Concert film, USA). A special event on the occasion of the spectacular Music of the Spheres World Tour live from the River Plate Stadium in Buenos Aires. The contemporary global event will offer fans around the world the chance to attend Coldplay’s acclaimed live concert, which garnered rave reviews from fans and critics alike: The Guardian called it “genuinely jaw-dropping,” the The New York Post talked about “a history book evening” and the Glasgow Evening Times called it “the greatest show on Earth”.
Cut – Zombies vs Zombies by Michel Hazanavicius, with Romain Duris, Bérénice Bejo, Grégory Gadebois (Comedy, France, 110 ‘). On the set of a Z movie, everything turns to disaster. Surrounded by weary technicians and disinterested actors, the director appears to be the only person with the energy needed to bring another low-budget zombie film to life. But as they prepare to shoot a particularly uninspiring scene, they are shocked by the arrival of the real living dead. Metacinematographic remake of Japanese Zombie vs Zombie – One Cut of the Deada flood of crap, limbs and severed heads, hatchets and vomit, the praise of creativity and chaos, which from a “technical” point of view will add little to the origin, but which can give moments of contagious hilarity.
Streaming
Time is Up 2 by Elisa Amoruso, with Bella Thorne, Benjamin Mascolo (Romantico, Italy). FIRST VIDEOS. Sequel to last year’s film, it returns to tell the love story between Vivien and Roy. In real life, however, the two performers broke up.
Beyond the universe by Diego Freitas, with Henrique Zaga, Giulia Be, João Miguel (Romantic comedy, Brazil, 126 ‘). NETFLIX. The talented pianist Nina must overcome the difficulties of lupus, an autoimmune disease that can attack any organ, in her case the kidneys. The young woman is surprised to discover the strong bond that unites her to Gabriel, one of the doctors who takes care of her and who will help her overcome her insecurity as she faces the challenge of playing with a huge orchestra on a stage at St. Paul.
Cici by Berkun Oya, with Fatih Artman, Sevval Balkan, Ayça Bingöl (Drama, Turkey, 151 ‘). NETFLIX. A family moves to the city after a tragic death. When she reunites together in her place of origin thirty years later, suppressed emotions and painful secrets come to the surface.
Nothing new on the western front by Edward Berger, with Daniel Brühl, Albrecht Schuch, Felix Kammerer (War, Germany-USA, 147 ‘). NETFLIX. A new version of the novel by Erich Maria Remarque, a masterpiece of anti-militarist literature, tells the compelling story of a young German soldier on the front line in the west during the Great War. Paul and his fellow soldiers live on their own skin as the initial euphoria of conflict turns into despair and fear as they fight for their lives and each other in the trenches.
Run Sweetheart Run by Shana Feste, with Ella Balinska, Pilou Asbæk, Shohreh Aghdashloo (Horror, USA, 97 ‘). FIRST VIDEOS. When a blind date starts to turn violent, a woman attempts to return home to Los Angeles. But the man continues to follow her.
What comes out from October 27, in theaters and in streaming