111 ..........beautiful Italy, but the rest is not so pretty

I have just finished watching Maggie Smith in "My house in Umbria". The film is a story that, according to the blurb is a "charming, evocative drama tells the story of a group of travelers in Italy who find solace and friendship in a rural villa after being thrown together in the wake of a terrorist attack. Acclaimed actress Dame Maggie Smith .......... is one of four survivors of a mysterious explosion in a compartment of a train bound for Milan."

As usual with such films, I found that what the film lacked in plot and drama was more than made up for in the delightful backdrop.

Seeing as the forum had covered rose-tinted books........has anyone found a Italian film (or one based in Italy) where the story was on a par with the scenery?

Oh, please, no-one mention "under the Tuscan Sun" (I won't be able to keep my dinner down!) and on the flip-side, no-one gets any points for praising La Vita è bella......that one gets 10 out of 10, every time!

Category
General chat about Italy

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 03/13/2005 - 03:33

Lets start the ball rolling with two films that used Venice to great effect - "Death in Venice" directed by Lucchin Visconti and "Don't Look Now" directed by Nicholas Roeg

Neither of them are pretty heavy going but well worth the effort.

For lighter viewing how about "Il Postino"?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 03/13/2005 - 05:17

I recently saw Cinema Paridiso which i thoguht was very beautiful.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 03/13/2005 - 07:02

My favourite Italian picture is "Bicycle Thieves" by Vittorio De Sica.Acknowleged as a landmark in Italian neo-realism cinema.Using a cast of non actors and using the streets of Rome it is a poweful and bleak work.
"My Beautiful Life" is a great film and deserved its five oscars!
In both of these films you could not say that the landscape overcomes the story.However in my third choice " A month by the Lake" with Vanessa Redgrave the opposite is true, Lake Como is the star of the show and having seen the film I organised our first trip to Italy.Bellagio was not a bad starting point for a subsequently eventful journey.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 03/19/2005 - 17:11

Bicycle thieves, yes, Paradiso, yes.

Also, Fortunella, Cabiria, La Strada and Giuglietta degli Spiriti.

Fantastic. sometimes to be found in Rome. (Roma c'è)

Ernie