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RED MOON/LUNA ROSSA
2001, Antonio Capuano, 116m
Aeschylus meets The Sopranos in this wryly fascinating chronicle of the
travails of a Neapolitan crime family. Back in the 70s, the Cammamaros
cold-bloodily expanded their criminal enterprise until they’d pretty
much dealt with all the serious competition. Their biggest threat,
however, doesn’t come from without but from within; several members of
the younger generation of Cammamaros seem to be tiring of the life and
are looking for ways out. Of special concern is young Orestes, whose
bold, anarchic streak might lead him to either take on the family
single-handedly — or perhaps even take it over. A painter and theatrical
set designer as well as a filmmaker, Antonio Capuano portrays the world
of the Cammamaros slightly off-kilter, almost hyper-real, giving the
action a constant sense of theatricality.
Fri June 7: 8:30; Sun June 9: 3:30;
Wed June 12: 1
 CHIMERA
2001, Pappi Corsicato, 90m
Structured as a kind of puzzle within a puzzle, CHIMERA begins as a
bedtime story told by Tomas, a master illusionist, to his lover Desirée.
Tomas recounts the tale of Emma and Sal, a married couple whose love
life has fallen into a rut. Hoping to rekindle the romantic fire, Emma
and Sal start to experiment with a series of increasingly bizarre and
elaborate personas, staging mini-dramas in which one must rescue the
other from an onrushing train or seduce someone to pay off a debt. But
as their passion re-ignites, a question arises: can they ever go back to
being just Emma and Sal? "Six years after his last feature, Neapolitan
writer-director Pappi Corsicato enters more ambitious territory. Notable
for its sharp visuals and meticulously composed retro-chic look, CHIMERA
is a stylized melodrama about love, sex and coupledom, plus the role of
dreams, illusion and fantasy in keeping romantic chemistry alive." —
David Rooney, Variety
Sat June 8: 5; Mon June 10: 1 & 6
 PAZ!
2002, Renato Di Maria, 102m
Italy has a great tradition of cartoons and comic books, and Renato De
Maria’s film is an homage to the world of Andrea Pazienza, a genial and
much-loved cartoonist who died tragically while in his early thirties.
For his second film, De Maria looks back to the 70s, the heady days of
student protest in the university town of Bologna; using three
characters invented by Pazienza (Zanna, the perpetual student;
Fiabeschi, a fragile student torn between love, military service and his
exams; and Pentothal, an anarchic cartoonist). De Maria creates a
stirring, touching portrait of an idealistic if self-destructive
generation in this tale of three roommates who never meet each other.
Several films in recent years have tried to evoke this much-debated
period in Italy’s recent past; many critics and others have claimed that
Paz! feels the most authentic of all of them.
Sat June 8: 9:30; Sun June 9: 8:15;
Tue June 11: 3:15
 ONE MAN UP/L'UOMO IN PIU
2001, Paolo Sorrentino, 100m
A former collaborator of Antonio Capuano, with whom he wrote the popular
hit Dust of Naples, Paolo Sorrentino wrote as well as directed this
ambitious dual story that follows the rises and falls of two very
different characters who happen to share the same name. Antonio Pisapia,
known as Tony, is a lounge lizard whose singing career never took off;
the other Antonio Pisapia is a professional soccer player whose team is
in the runoff for the UEFA cup. Two men who couldn’t be more different,
except that bad luck catches up with both of them like clockwork:
Antonio sustains a career-ending injury, while Tony seduces an underage
girl and is later accused of rape. Fate will eventually bring these two
together, but by then it may be too late. Basing his two stories loosely
on real people (singer Franco Califano and soccer player Agostino De
Bartolomei), ONE MAN UP is told in a subtle, at times elliptical style,
with scenes often suggested rather than fully shown. The film is also a
showcase for Sorrentino’s remarkable skill at creating sharp, effective
dialogue. The pivotal role of Tony the lounge singer is played by Toni
Servillo, one of the best actors working today in Italy.
Sun June 9: 1; Wed June 12: 3:15 & 9:30
 SAILING HOME/TORNANDO A CASA
2001, Vincenzo Marra, 88m
Vincenzo Marra won the award for Best First Film in the Critics’ Week of
the 2001 Venice Film Festival for this moving look at the lives of a
group of Neapolitan fishermen. Hoping for a bigger catch, Salvatore
illegally leads his crew into the territorial waters of Tunisia, risking
arrest and possible death. After a close encounter with the police they
return home, yet their homecoming only brings new problems. Some decide
to stay in Naples; others know of no other way to live. The youngest,
Franco, talks of trying his luck in America. Meanwhile, Salvatore runs
into trouble with the local authorities. SAILING HOME is an example of a
welcome new trend already seen in recent French cinema of films that
deal unsentimentally with workers and working life, exploring a segment
of society that rarely appears on screen. “SAILING HOME came about from
an image that has stayed with me for many years. When I was very small,
my parents took me on a trip to Pantelleria. From there we went to
Tunisia. . . . This small strip of sea that separates much more than two
continents has been for many years a theater of conflict and hope."—
Vincenzo Marra
Sun June 9: 6; Tue June 11: 1; Wed June 12: 5:15
 THE DERVISH/IL DERVISCIO
Alberto Rondalli, 2001, 115m
"A province of the Ottoman Empire, around 1900. Ahmed Nurettin, a
dervish (member of a Sufi order) lives in a provincial town in Bosnia.
He lives in a world of his own, defined by eternal truths revealed and
codified by the
Koran; he is a spectator, never a participant. But at a decisive moment,
life forces him to do what he's always avoided: to take action and to
choose sides. One day his younger brother is arrested, seemingly for no
reason. He tries to intervene, but soon realizes that despite his
honored position he will have no influence on those in power. Suddenly
filled with hatred and a desire for vegeance, Nurettin must confront
some harsh truths on his own identity and his place in society." — Locarno
Film Festival
"The personal tragedy that the protagonist, Nurettin, experiences is
like something that befalls characters in a classical tragedy. His
dilemma is having to choose between action and contemplation; driven by
a desire for vengeance, he risks his own downfall and ruin. From this
perspective, the story of Nurettin is a universal fable which touches
everyone." - Alberto Rondalli
Mon June 10: 3:30 & 8:15;
Wed June 12: 7:15
about the series |
film descriptions and times | filmlinc.com home
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THE LAST KISS/L'ULTIMO BACIO
LIGHT OF MY EYES/LUCE DEI MIEI OCCHI
SANTA MARADONA
SUN IN MY EYES aka EMPTY EYES
/SOLE NEGLI OCCHI
WINTER/L'INVERNO
DAYS/GIORNI
THE PROFESSION OF ARMS/IL MESTIERE DELLE ARMI