Article by Nicolò Cifarelli
Translation by Linh Carrara
The cold afternoon sun illuminates the pulsating arteries of Rome: in this body, instead of red blood cells, people flow, each with their own past, experiences and aspirations.
Continua la lettura di “N-EGO”, BY ELEONORA DANCOArticle by Francesca Strangis
Translation by Federica Lozito
What would one sacrifice for a few crumbs of love after a lifetime of starvation? Perhaps even one’s own freedom. Madame Ida investigates the consequences of lack of love through a tale steeped in tragedy and rich with symbolism.
Continua la lettura di “MADAME IDA”, BY JACOB MØLLERArticle by Orazio Oztas
Translation by Federica Lozito
“…(the nuns) taught us there are two ways through life: the way of Nature and the way of Grace. You have to choose which one you’ll follow.” This quote from Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life could limpidly sum up the story of the shepherd Zhenping, the protagonist of the documentary The Shepherd, if the word “grace” were replaced with the word “love.”
Continua la lettura di “THE SHEPHERD”, BY YUFEI ZHAOArticle by Giorgia Andrea Bergamasco
Translation by Vittorio Cavalli
I’m Not Everything I Want to Be is a biographical documentary in the second level: through the overlap of an extensive photographic archive and meticulously written personal diaries, the film retraces, step by step, from 1986 to the present day, the unceasing search for identity by Czech photographer Libuše Jarcovjáková.
Continua la lettura di “I’M NOT EVERYTHING I WANT TO BE”, BY KLÁRA TASOVSKÁArticle by Carlotta Profico
Translation by Martina Marino
A Man Imagined is an intimate and painful portrait of Lloyd, a homeless man with schizophrenia, who recounts his life from his childhood, moving between reality and imagination.
Continua la lettura di “A MAN IMAGINED”, BY MELANIE SHATZKY, BRIAN M. CASSIDYArticle by Pietro Torchia
Translation by Laura Cattani
If during the 42nd edition of the Turin Film Festival, dedicated to Marlon Brando, the audience had the opportunity to see again the most famous characters played by the actor on the big screen, the festival chose for its closure a film that abandons the vision of Brando as an actor, to show him as a person.
Continua la lettura di “WALTZING WITH BRANDO”, BY BILL FISHMANArticle by Giorgia Andrea Bergamasco
Translation by Cinzia Di Bucchianico
Amy Adams fills the shoes of a monstrous new mother in Marielle Heller’s latest film, based on Rachel Yoder’s homonymous novel and presented out of competition for its Italian premiere at the Torino Film Festival.
Continua la lettura di “NIGHTBITCH” BY MARIELLE HELLERArticle by Marilina Rita Monzo
Translation by Aurora Monteleone
Controluce – the documentary by Tony Saccucci, presented at the 42nd Torino Film Festival and produced by Luce Cinecittà – is an intense reflection on the life and work of Adolfo Porry-Pastorel, one of the leading figures in early 20th-century Italian photography. The movie skillfully combines archival footage and fictional sequences, creating a visual dialogue that surprises with its harmony and guides the viewer into a distant yet remarkably contemporary era.
Continua la lettura di “CONTROLUCE” BY TONY SACCUCCIArticle by Greta Maria Sorani
Translation by Linh Carrara
It is impossible not to feel perplexed after seeing AmicheMai (2024) by Maurizio Nichetti, the director, screenwriter and actor best known for his surreal comedy, he returned to directing twenty-three years after his last film Honolulu Baby (2001) with a comedy on the road that sees two protagonists played by Angela Finocchiaro and Serra Yilmaz.
Continua la lettura di “AMICHEMAI”, BY MAURIZIO NICHETTIArticle by Beatrice Bertino
Translation by Linh Carrara
Jenny (Emma Drogunova) and Bubbles (Paul Wollin) share a relationship where love and addiction are intertwined. Despite her pregnancy, Jenny cannot give up methamphetamine, which she uses daily with her partner. The situation is further precipitated when Jenny receives an order to execute a prison sentence, which forces her to report to a prison institution.
Continua la lettura di “VENA” BY CHIARA FLEISCHHACKERArticle by Pietro Torchia
Translation by Giorgia Mazzù
Premiered at the latest Toronto International Film Festival, The Assessment is set in a dystopian near future where humanity is the primary cause of the world’s destruction and the driving force behind the climate changes that have ravaged it. In response to this catastrophic situation, an extreme measure has been taken: the creation of a semi-dictatorial society, a fabricated paradise where every action is controlled, and individuals—deemed incapable of managing their freedom—are now confined by a dense web of constraints.
Continua la lettura di “THE ASSESSMENT” BY FLEUR FORTUNÉArticle by Orazio Oztas
Translation by Martina Perrero
The American Dream is a central theme in American cinema. “Dreamers” manifest themselves in different forms: on the one hand, character groups, such as those of Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola, whose mafia gangs offer a stark depiction of the lust for wealth and success; on the other hand, lonely dreamers, individuals willing to go to any lengths to pursue great ideals. However, stories that reflect the American Dream outside United States’ borders are often overlooked, demonstrating how these universal aspirations transcend cultures and geographies. Moreover, there are narratives inspired by this theme that do not resort to exaggeration but achieve a sober and realistic balance.
Continua la lettura di “THE BLACK SEA” BY DERRICK B. HARDEN AND CRYSTAL MOSELLLEArticle by Greta Maria Sorani
Translation by Martina Bigi
What are we willing to do, and under what conditions are we willing to live, in order to stay true to our nature? This is the question that Ponyboi (2024) – the second feature film by Colombian director and screenwriter Esteban Arango, following Blast Beat (2020) – seems to ask the audience.
Continua la lettura di “PONYBOI ” BY ESTEBAN ARANGOArticle by Elisa Gnani
Translation by Federica Riccardi
The memory of Benedetto Croce’s last Christmas serves, in Pupi Avati’s film, as a pretext to illustrate the biography of one of the greatest key players of Italian history. From political depth to talent in studies, from the vocation for freedom to philosophical vision, the documentary – presented out of competition at the forty-second edition of the Turin Film Festival – opens up an original glimpse into the life of the Italian philosopher and senator.
Continua la lettura di “UN NATALE A CASA CROCE” BY PUPI AVATIArticle by Emidio Sciamanna
Translation by Vittorio Cavalli
The Kyiv of 1968, depicted by Stanislav Gurenko and Andrii Alf’erov in Dissident, is not a vibrant urban symphony like the avant-garde Berlin of Walter Ruttmann, but a grey, oppressive sprawl of streets and buildings constantly hit by a violent and unrelenting rain, a ghost of the Soviet Union that looms, heavy and suffocating, over the shoulders of the Ukrainian population. In the dissonant flow of a city in motion, the dreams, anxieties, and illusions of individuals abandoned to their fate intertwine, tormented by solitude and in perpetual conflict between a peaceful struggle for independence and a burning desire for rebellion.
Continua la lettura di “DISSIDENT” BY STANISLAV GURENKO AND ANDRII ALF’EROVArticle by Emidio Sciamanna
Translation by Giuditta Portaro
What is racism for you? Behind this simple question posed to elementary school’s children, centuries of discrimination and prejudices can hide, reiterated by the fear of the unknown, of what is unfamiliar or what, due to ignorance and dullness, one fears to know. However, the pure and innocent gaze of children tends to observe the world differently from adults, turning a frequently disappointing reality into the most imaginative and idyllic of fairy tales. It is precisely with the classic “once upon a time” that Julie Deply’s Les Barbares begins: a play, a ruthless farce around which twirl characters bordering on the surreal, grotesque masks of contemporary society.
Continua la lettura di “LES BARBARES” BY JULIE DELPYArticle by Davide Lassandro
Translation by Giorgia Mazzù
A white corridor. A blinding, almost divine light. A choir of voices that seem to emanate from the beyond. Mario Balsamo introduces the Anemos hospice in Turin in his latest documentary, In ultimo—a concise yet poignant title that encapsulates the mission pursued with care and dedication by the hospice staff: guiding individuals toward understanding their illness and embracing that condition in which we all stand as equals. Every shot is overexposed and prolonged, a deliberate choice that transports the viewer into a suspended, timeless dimension entirely removed from ordinary reality.
Continua la lettura di “IN ULTIMO” BY MARIO BALSAMOArticle by Marilina Rita Monzo
Translation by Irene Pezzini
L’amore che ho (The love I’ve got) by Paolo Licata, presented at the 42nd Torino Film Festival, celebrates Rosa Balisteri, an emblematic voice of Sicily and a symbol of social struggle and resistance. The film, based on the novel of the same name by Luca Torregrossa – the singer’s nephew – goes beyond merely recounting her musical career, but it also fully explores her personal battles and the most private and painful moments of her life.
Continua la lettura di “L’AMORE CHE HO” BY PAOLO LICATAArticle by Alessandra Sottini
Translation by Federica Riccardi
On an ordinary day, Manca Košir explains to his family the secret of the enchanting cherry blossom: its beauty captivates the observer, but its brittleness and the passage of time make quickly fade that instant of wonder. The eternity of being is enclosed in the celebratory activity of life, day by day. Slovenian director Nina Blažin, who has experienced first-hand the loss of a loved one, feels close to the joyful and combative personality of the protagonist of The Silence of Life, filmed between 2019 and 2023.
Continua la lettura di “THE SILENCE OF LIFE” BY NINA BLAŽINArticle by Greta Maria Sorani
Translation by Federica Lozito
“The figure of the shaman arose in primitive societies to solve basic problems for the survival of societies. He tends to assume the behavior of an ecstatic character, acting as a bridge between spiritual and earthly energies, a channel for the divine will and for the forces of nature that he makes available to humanity through love and understanding”. This is an academic description of the shaman, the leading figure in City of Wind (2023), the feature debut by Mongolian director Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir, which was presented in the Horizons section of the 80th Venice Film Festival.
Continua la lettura di “CITY OF WIND” BY LKHAGVADULAM PUREV-OCHIR
