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Saturday, May 10, 2008

Al Cinema! -- Part 1

Here's part 1 of my list of recommended movies that I think that you will enjoy. The Italian, in my opinion, is pretty accessible and make for excellent practice opportunities. I'll list the titles in English when provided along with the original Italian title:

This movie, Facing Windows (La finestra di fronte), by Ferzan Ozpetek, is a strange love story about two people who always seem to be "two ships passing in the night". I don't want to talk too much about this movie because I don't want to give away the story, but I think that this is a movie that you will enjoy very much. The language is very approachable.

The movie is currently out of print in the US but readily available in Italy from Internet Bookshop Italia.



Another wonderful film that I'm sure you will enjoy is My Best Enemy (Il mio miglior nemico) which debuted at the Italian Film Festival in 2006 in Australia. This wonderful comedy features noted Italian comic, Carlo Verdone. If you wish to purchase this film, check out IBS or Palace Films as part of the Italian Film Festival DVD set. Palace Films operates out of Australia so be sure to check that any purchases made will work on your DVD player in your home country. The Palace Films version has subtitles.



Also from that same film festival comes the mystery (giallo), Quo Vadis, Baby? -- based on a book by Grazia Verasani of the same title. In the story, a private detective receives a strange collection of home movies of her dead sister and decides to find out once and for all the truth behind her sister's death. I haven't had a chance to read the book, but I found the movie to be compelling and arresting, and the story had several unexpected twists that I did not anticipate. You can purchase it from IBS or from Palace Films as part of the festival DVD set.


One of my favorite films of all time is Un sacco bello. This film you'll only find from an Italian vendor (I've given the link for IBS, but you can probably find it from another preferred vendor). This delightfully funny film features Carlo Verdone playing three different characters in three different situations in the film. From hippy, to playboy to the bumbling fool, Verdone pulls off this funny and quirky film. The language used can be a bit tough at times, but it's not impossible, and I guarantee that you will enjoy this film.

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