Lenora Addio (2022) Open Roads 2022

Paolo Taviani's first solo film since the death of brother is a kind of an odd duck film. While it's beautiful and has it's moments I'm not certain it all hangs together.

The first hour or so of the film is firmly focused in the death of author Luigi Pirandello in 1936 and the efforts of his family to get his ashes to Sicily for burial. Its a beautiful black and white tale that meanders all over the place but doesn't seem to add up to much beyond a footnote. The last third of the film is an adaption of Pirandello's final story called The Nail which is about murder in New York City. Its a beautiful little tale that never really connected up to the rest of the film.

This is a magnificently made film that seems to be incredibly personal for Taviani. Dedicated to his late brother the film feels like a message between siblings more than a message for the world. While normally that would doom most films, this is a work from a master director and it is still a stunning achievement by any stretch. Taviani's work has always been head and shoulders above most other directors so his least films are better than most directors best. 

I may not have gotten all should have out of it but I enjoyed the ride.

Recommended.

Three Floors (2021) Open Roads 2022

 

Nanni Moretti's  adaption of Eshkov Nevo's novel is a decidedly uneven affair. The film is the story of three families living on three floors of the same apartment building in Rome. One story is the fall out of the arrest of a couples teenage son for a drunk driving accident, another is the friction caused between a couple in the wake of the birth of their daughter and the third is the story of a conflict between neighbors over potential abuse.

Well made and well acted, as all Moretti's films are, the film doesn't really come together in a fully compelling way. This is a film that should have been a mini series with each story not being as fully fleshed out as it should have been. It doesn't make the film bad, rather it simply makes the film less than it could have been. Do understand that I am quibbling here because what is here is choice, and good enough that I want more.

If my words make you hesitant to try the film, might I tell you that the film has two stunning sequences that make the film worth seeing. The first is the opening where the car accident happens and is so well done it will make you gasp. I had been told about it but it still is a killer sequence. (its so good  in fact the rest of the film can't compare to it). The second is a dance sequence late in the film that is both out of left field and charming.

While I like THREE FLOORS and can recommend it, I don't think it's one of Moretti's best. Then again lesser Moretti is better than many filmmakers best efforts.

The Code of Silence (aka Una femmina) (2022) Open Roads 2022

Rosa has spent her life in a small town in Calabria. She has lived with her grandmother since her mother died many years earlier. Now a full grown adult she still has no idea what happened to her mother or why.  Deciding to investigate she runs smack into the Ndrangheta , the local crime syndicate.

This is a great looking and moody thriller that has style to burn. This is one of those films you'll want to hang on your wall. Its a film that visually grabs you and drags you along all the way to the end. Its a beautifully acted film where the performances circle being iconic.

I really liked this film a great deal. Its a hell of a ride of the sort that they don't make any more. Its a revenge tale that owes much to films like the finest noir films along with westerns like Estwood supernatural westerns with echoes of BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK. The result is something one of a kind and really special.

One word of warning, towards the end of the film, as the emotions get cranked up some of the performances can be seen as a bit over the top. There is a bit of literal hand wringing that kind of borders on being silly. If Francesco Costabile's  direction wasn't as tight as it is this might have become silly, instead it ends up being kick ass. Trust me- the final images made the hair up on my arms stand up.

You have to see this.

Very recommended.

The Giants (2021) Open Roads 2022

 

Five friends meet up at villa in the Italian country side. As the food, alcohol and drugs flow old times are discussed, emotions are stirred and things get completely out of hand.

Dark meditation on the male psyche is walk on the wild side. Its a film that ponders male friendships as well as everything else you can think of as it wonders how much of it is a show and posturing. At the same time it peels back the macho shield to show what is festering beneath it. 

This is an unpleasant journey that raises a lot of questions and leaves us wounded by the answers.

This is a nasty little confection that made me feel uncomfortable because I honestly couldn't say any of it was out of line.

Recommended 

The Legionnaire (2021) Open Roads 2022

 

The only AfroItalian member of the police force is forced to ponder his place in the world when the police are asked to remove the squatters living in a certain building. The building is the one where he grew up and where his parents still reside. It leads to conflict not only with himself but with his brother.

Solid drama looking at questions of race and the place of immigrants with in society. While the film specifically speaks to the situation in Italy there are also threads that reach out across the globe as police officers of various races and ethnicities are being forced to participate in actions that might cause them problems with in their ethnic group.

I really liked this film a great deal so much so that if I had to quibble about anything concerning it it is the fact that it is a much too brief 80 minutes.

Recommended.

VICA, DANCES WITH FILMS and OPEN ROADS all start this week

I know this week the focus at Unseen Films is going to be on Tribeca however there are three other festivals happening at the same time and they are all worth your time.

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Film at Lincoln Center is hosting the annual Open Roads look at recent Italian films. 

This is one of my favorite film fests every year because it always shows me some really cool films. Running the complete gamut of films genres this film always surprises us. As this posts I've seen about half a dozen of the titles and I've pretty much liked them all. 

While reviews will be coming, if you want to see something special I highly recommend THE CODE OF SILENCE (see the picture above) a film about a search for truth and revenge.

Details can be found here. 

(FYI there is no online component so you will have to go in person)

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I discovered Dances with Films a bunch of years ago when I was sent films from a number of filmmakers who told me their films were at the festival. I investigated it and fell madly in love.

Based in LA and showcasing every type of film under the sun the festival shows well over 250 films every year making it nigh impossible to see everything- though I know it would be fun to  try.

If you love off Hollywood films this is the fest for you. The level of creativity is amazing. While I have not seen a lot of films from this year's fest as this posts what I've seen has amazed me with their insistence at not taking the road well traveled.

While not well known in some cinema circles it is a festival programmed to near perfection as I've seen.

If you are in Los Angeles this is a must.

Details can be found here.

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In 2020 as we went into lockdown I was asked to cover the Venice Institute of Contemporary Art's (VICA)Fine Art Film Festival.  My jaw  dropped because this mix of art films and films about art blew me away. I had not seen anything like this before.

I dove into the films with abandon and was delighted beyond words.

Last year despite the festival ended up colliding with Tribeca I ended up buying a full virtual pass and spent my off hours from that fest watching the treasures from this one. (And no I never wrote them up because the films were for me- I mean I have to be able to just watch and enjoy films for myself now and again)

This year the festival is going to crash into Tribeca again- and guess what I am going to be doing to relax- watching films virtually from VICA.

As this posts I have seen none of the films. I have limited notions of whats playing- but I don't care, they program such great stuff that it doesn't matter, I'll try everything.

While the festival is in person and if you can get to VICA  I highly recommend you go. 

On the other hand if you can't get to the theater stay home and watch the fest at home. While you can buy blocks of films for ten bucks or buy it all for twenty five. (Its thirty five to buy access to everything on line and in person) Also if you buy the All Access you get access for the whole festival so you have 10 days to watch it all.

For more information for in person or virtual options or to buy an All Access Pass like me go here.