“…food is more than just food.”
There was no shortage of brilliance in Mike White’s supremely popular second season of The White Lotus, from the complex characters, epic outfits and iconic one-liners to the dark chaos that unfolds. But for die-hard Italophiles, it was all the more fabulous for being set in Sicily. Fiery, mysterious, multi-faceted and largely misunderstood, Sicily is […]
“I’m always interested in capturing the symbolic essence of a character. This is what I’ve tried to do with Andreotti for Sorrentino, and with the Pope for Bellocchio. I want to put at the service of an important dramaturgical framework–which narrates a historical period–a character with a strong symbolic value.” –Toni Servillo
Jaw-dropping chases in Aston Martins, perfectly-tailored Savile Row suits, iconic soundtracks, cruel villains and mysterious femme fatales: these are just some of the ingredients, obviously shaken and never stirred, of every James Bond movie, the most famous secret agent in the world. But if we had to pinpoint the one characteristic that ties all these […]
“You portrayed those characteristics typical of a people so perfectly that they became your own: an irreverent joke is now an Alberto Sordi joke, and a thunderous and ringing laughter is yours too.”
That Italy is a pretty cinematic and photogenic country is a known fact (we are called the Bel Paese for a reason). Travel from north to south, and you’ll find postcard-perfect borghi and idyllic seaside scenes; rolling hills that seem to have come out of a painting and local folklore to keep you entertained for […]
Federico Fellini, Sophia Loren, Monica Vitti… who from the cinematic world has the same zodiac sign as you? (If luck is in your stars, you might even share a birthday!)
JANUARY An only-somewhat-subjective list of the best of the Italian cinematic world (37 movie recommendations included!):
“A century later, we still haven’t broken free from cinematic machismo.”
“Unfortunately, Naples isn’t just about having a good laugh.”
“In his nervous, caricatural stroke, in the garish colors, one can feel an almost childlike, exotic joy towards that place which so captivated him as a child.”
Cinema has always made us dream, transporting us to different worlds and immersing us in stories that are a unique blend of characters, plot and location. The latter requires decisive collaboration among every director, set designer and scenographer–creator of a story that must unfold in harmony with the world in which it is inserted. […]
“A worldwide sensation in the 1960s, the legacy of Spaghetti Westerns can be attributed to one man from Rome: Sergio Leone.”
“He would make his actresses cry, then gift them diamonds for Christmas.”
“The point of the film lies in its name: Life is Beautiful.”
“To walk around Rome is to immerse oneself in a film set.”
“Anna becomes the icon of a destroyed country, but also the symbol of its possible rebirth.”
