By Roger Costa
Premiering some exciting and entertaining new productions, the annual festival Open Roads: New Italian Cinema 2018, promoted by Istituto Luce Cinecittà and Film Society of Lincoln Center, will showcase important social issues through distinguished perspectives of inventive filmmaking styles. Here are 8 films not to be missed:
LOOK UP
A deliriously funny and macabre fantasy set on the roofs of Rome. Enjoying a break before closing the bake shop, three co-workers are suddenly caught up in the middle of a conspiracy involving freak nuns, a children’s squad and some intriguing birds among other eccentrics, in writer-director Fulvio Risuleo’s fascinating dreamy feature-debut. It’s like a magical encounter between Cronenberg and Fellini.
EQUILIBRIUM
A priest is transferred to a mysteriously quiet community where he increasingly notices the misbehavior and submission of some residents. Trying to adjust their lives, he ends up stirring up secrets and dark truths such as a child’s abuse and an estranged relationship between ill mother and gangster son. Prolific director Vincenzo Marra’s powerful drama is a fearless display of compassion and the need of standing up for righteousness.
BOYS CRY
In this compelling crime tale, two youngsters flirt with disaster after running someone over. Things only go worse as both engage in criminal activities while dealing with personal family issues. Raw, brilliantly performed and inclusive, writer-directors brothers Damiano and Fabio D’Innocenzo’s collaborative work is a knockout character-study.
FORTUNATA
Actress Jasmine Trinca gives a ravishing performance as a divorced hairstylist struggling to raise her daughter and to earn enough money to rent a proper place for her business. Funny, moving and timely, she won the Un Certain Regard Award for Best Actress in Cannes as well as the David di Donatello Award. Director Sergio Castellitto conceived a masterful emotional work on a woman’s resistance.
PURE HEARTS
Two dysfunctional souls meet under awkward circumstances and eventually fall in love. She is a Christian who shoplifts, and he is struggling with hard labor. Both hopeless and facing prejudice and uncertainty while shocked with the presence of refugees. An observational and sensitive look at the emotional complications in the likes of a Romeo & Juliet modern take, Roberto De Paolis’ conceived a breakthrough debut. He was nominated in Cannes and already won two European Awards for this. Bravo!
NAPLES IN VEILS
Director Ferzan Ozpetek’s award-winning film is a sexually-charged thriller about a woman seduced by a game of superstition and mysticism after her lover suddenly dies. When she meets a women’s cult, her fantasies, and pleasure-appetite, gets even deeper.
STORIES OF LOVE
A smart, sensual and glamorous battle of the sexes, Francesca Comencini’s comedy depicts the desires of two lovers dealing with a separation. Lucia Mascino and Thomas Trabacchi are superbly hilarious as the pair.
THE PLACE
Set in a diner, award-winning director Paolo Genovese’s metaphorical, ambiguous drama centers on the “directions” given by a mysterious man to several troubled people. The luminous cast includes Alba Rohrwacher and Silvia D’Amico.
Comments