Lord of the Ants (2023) Open Roads 2023

LORD OF THE ANTS tells the story of the affair noted poet Aldo Braibanti and his younger lover. Braibanti was sent to prison under a Mussolini era law. Here the the court case is investigated by a journalist who senses that something wasn’t right with the whole affair. As he looks into the matter we get to see how events played out. It’s a film with its heart in the right place but which doesn’t seem to really want to offend.

I’m really mixed on  this film. A great looking film, it looks and feels like one of the films from the masters of Italian cinema that we don't see anymore because the masters are now gone. I loved the visual texture of the film. The bare bones nature of the story is intriguing, the problem is that the presentation here never grabbed me. Blame the portrayal of Braibanti who comes a cross as aloof and entitled. He’s a man we admire but not someone we really would want to sit down and have a meal with. I kind of understood why some people would have wanted to lock him up.  

The other problem is presentation is kind of toothless. It doesn’t really want to make the stand it could have or should have. It's kind of like passing a guy on a street who mumbles something is bad about the government when they should be waving a sign like an angry protester. The result is a film where we feel no indignation, rather we are just being told a story.

I was disappointed.

At the same time I should point out that in researching this film I did run across a couple of people who were deeply moved by the film because things in it kicked up things from their own life.

While not bad LORD OF THE ANTS is just okay. The choice to see it is up to you.

Dry (2022) and Like Turtles (2023) Open Roads

DRY
Three years into a drought any remaining water is weeks away from running out. As life goes on people try to cope and figure out their future.

Scattershot comedy never really comes together. Nominally about climate change and future predicaments the film also finds time to have long conversations about pandemics,cancel culture and life in today's world. Some of the discussions are interesting, but they belong in another film. Actually much of this film belongs somewhere else since there are so many thematic threads running through this film it never really feels it's about anything. 

After a certain point I tuned out because I didn't know why I was watching the film.

LIKE TURTLES

After her husband leaves, a woman hides in a wardrobe and leaves her kids to fend for themselves.

This is an okay family drama that has some sweet moments. Is it high art? No but it entertains. Actually my feeling was some American star is going to buy the rights and turn it into a saccharine feel good film.a Perish the thought.

As it stands it's an amusing trifle.

Chiara (2022) Open Roads 2023

Portrait of St. Clare who was a follower of St Francis of Assisi. She gave up her wealthy life style and went into the church instead, much to dislike of her family.

Well done, one of a kind film is a film I admire more than like. A decidedly off kilter retelling of the story with musical numbers and bits that destroy the fourth wall, it’s a film that has it’s own mind set. It’s a film that is doing things its own way and to hell with convention.  It’s a move that doesn’t always work.

The problem is that the film very much wants to let you know it’s about something. After several iterations of Clare's story I’m not sure there is anything left to say. The film also loves to show off its flourishes which distract more than inform. After a while I kind of stopped caring because this was more about the show then the story.

No, it isn’t bad, I mean I don’t hate the film,  but at the same time if I wasn’t going to have to try and cobble a few words together on the film I would have left the film somewhere in the middle.

The Strangeness (2022) Open Roads 2023

I suspect that your reaction to this wonderful film is going to be either anger and annoyance at the odd rambling nature of the narrative or you are going to be enthralled and cheering, kind of like the depiction of the reaction to Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of An Exit that ends this film.

I was cheering.

The plot of the film has the writer Luigi Pirandello going to Sicily for a funeral of a friend. On top of the loss he is blocked and unable to write anything.  Into his life stumble two men who run the funeral home being used for the burial. They are a crazed duo who have theatrical aspirations. As Pirandello interacts with the two men the seeds for his best known work are planted.

Playing like a Pirandello play, THE STRANGENESS is a film that requires that you give yourself over to it. You have to go with the seemingly random nature of some of the early sections in order for the later more controlled parts to make sense. The film is a structured so that we are given a bunch of characters and themes at the start that come together when we realize that nothing was as random as we thought. The film is simply trying to misdirect in order to better inform us as to what is going on.

I really liked this film a great deal. It brought up an interview I saw many years ago where in the middle of a career spanning interview Richard Harris took a detour to discuss Pirandello's work. At the time he was doing a Pirandello play in London, and managed to explain the author's work in a way that was infinitely better, briefer and more user friendly than any course or book that I had read on the subject. Harris’ take on Pirandello’s play was very much like what we are seeing here. There is a mix of serious and playful that gets us engaged and thinking.

That the  film works as well as it does is entirely due to the three leads. Toni Servillo is a wonderful Pirandello. While I know some people don’t think he is given much to do, he does in fact push things forward. It’s a quiet and restrained performance where he reveals the world in looks and small gestures. Sure he isn’t as flashy as Salvo Ficarra and Valentino Picone as the undertakers but if he wasn’t as solid as he is the film would implode. As for Ficarra and Picone they are sheer perfection. The two are on another plane of existence and simply tear down the house. They just go and go and go, where is anyone’s guess, but that’s okay, since it’s a universe where they are known and loved. The paring is quite simply one of the greatest things I’ve seen on screen in the last five years.  If nothing else, their interplay is a reason to see this film. Just wow. You need to see them, trust me

THE STRANGENESS delighted me. Initially not on my must see list for Open Roads is won me over in grand fashion and is, in my humble opinion, the best films in the series. I can’t recommend the film enough.

Delta (2022) Open Roads 2023

If you can get to one of the Open Roads screenings of DELTA do so. This is a moody thriller that was shot with a big screen in mind. (And yes it will look good on your TV but you will be in the delta if you see it on the big screen)

The film is the story of a depressed delta area in the north of Italy.  Industry wants to start polluting the waters again with their waste and the fishermen are struggling to catch enough fish. One fisherman is getting around traditional methods of getting fish by using electricity. This provides enough fish but rapidly decreases their population.  It’s a move that gets him on the radar of a game warden who begins to play a game of cat and mouse with him.

This is a visually stunning thriller that looks so good that you can smell the waters and feel the rain on your face.  Few films of the last decade or so have looked this good.  Every shot is absolutely perfect and adds volumes to story the film is telling. This film really should be up for an Oscar for cinematography, if not for other things as well.

The reality is this is a bleak tale where no one really wins. You have the feeling the fishermen and their families are pretty much doomed, their way of life slipping away. The wardens are fighting a no win battle since all they are doing is delaying the inevitable. The bleakness of the situation results in a tale that is a more like a film noir than many of the classic film noirs.

I want to try and compare DELTA to other films but that really isn’t possible. Sure certain films remind me of this film or novel or that, but it is only a shot or a moment. The reality is DELTA is its own thing. It may pull things from elsewhere, but the way it puts them all together is uniquely its own doing.

I absolutely loved this film. I loved the look, I loved the feel. I just loved that it felt like a honest to god real movie instead of a prepackaged product that is put out just to turn a buck. …

Actually …this feels like one of the great thrillers of the 1970’s where the director was going for broke by making a gritty film that feel lived in.

I can’t recommend this film enough. One of the best films at Open Roads.

Open Roads New Italian Cinema 2023 starts June 1

I am a huge Open Roads fan.

I discovered the festival early in the run of Unseen Films and I have been a fan ever since.  What initially drew me to the festival was the fact that it brought many of my favorite Italian film directors and personalities to New York. What kept me going back was it was opening up my eyes to all sort of great films I never knew existed, thus introducing me to new directors I need to keep an eye out for.

The festival is so good that I end up cursing myself for missing the films I catch at a later point. (This year I was annoyed I missed Freaks Vs The The Riech which is one of the best super  hero movies ever made.)

As this posts I’m still wading through the selections.  There are a lot of interesting films playing here so you’ll want to get tickets. While there are lot of good  films there are two that I think are on my list for the absolute best films of this year so far::

THE STRANGENESS a story about how Luigi Pirandello came up for the idea for 6 Characters in Search of an Exit. It is a film you need to go with because of the structure, but you won’t mind because it has some of the craziest characters you’ll ever see.

THE DELTA is a moody thriller set in a rural region of Italy. Set in a swampy area it’s a film that looks and feels like nothing of recent vintage and more like the moody thrillers from the 70’s. This film blew me away and I’m trying to see if I can see it on the BIG screen. This is going to get a lot of chatter once more people see it.

Tickets are on sale now and I think if a film piques your interest you should just buy a ticket and go.