Good luck locating a copy of this film with English subtitles. I was lucky enough to see it at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2004. It's a great Italian story about life in and around Naples, Italy. It really captures the 'real insides of Italy'. If you can ever see this story I would highly recommend it. I am sure if one does an internet search they can find a way to stream view this classic.
Vento Di Terra (wind of the earth) is an Italian film about an 18 year old boy (Vicenzo Pacilli) from a poor suburb of Napoli, Italy who finds himself burdened by expectations of supporting his mother after his father dies from an unexpected heart attack. Working in a blue-collar factory job, Vince soon finds that he does not have enough money to support himself, let alone his frail recently widowed mother. His sister departs to Cassano to finally end her employment drought by getting a job in the local FIAT factory. Vince is left alone to support his mother.
He gets involved in a heist, and then out of guilt confesses his sin to a close family friend, who suggests he joins the Italian army. In the army Vince meets a new found friend through his training period, and they are soon deployed together to the war torn state of Kosovo in the Former Yugoslavia, where he is exposed to the brutality of war.
This film is gripping, even though it has a sad storyline. It does have an abrupt ending but the story in and of itself is so very well done. Some things remain unresolved but--like most movies--one has to leave filling in the blanks and using ones own imagination. Think of this one as a 'slice of Italian life'.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
The English Patient - 1996
This film has a personal significance for me because my mother called me one day to say she saw such a good move. It was this one...
The English Patient is a 1996 romantic drama film based on the novel of the same name by Sri Lankan-Canadian writer Michael Ondaatje. The film, written for the screen and directed by Anthony Minghella, won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Ondaatje worked closely with the filmmakers.
The film is set during World War II and depicts a critically burned man, at first known only as "the English patient," who is being looked after by Hana (Juliette Binoche), a French-Canadian nurse in an abandoned Italian monastery. The patient is reluctant to disclose any personal information but through a series of flashbacks, viewers are allowed into his past. It is slowly revealed that he is in fact a Hungarian geographer, Count László de Almásy (Ralph Fiennes), who was making a map of the Sahara Desert, and whose affair with a married woman, Katharine Clifton (Kristin Scott Thomas), ultimately brought about his present situation. As the patient remembers more, David Caravaggio (Willem Dafoe), a Canadian intelligence operative and former thief, arrives at the monastery. Caravaggio lost his thumbs while being interrogated by a German army officer, and he gradually reveals that it was the patient's actions that had brought about his torture.
In addition to the patient's story, the film devotes time to Hana and her romance with Kip (Naveen Andrews), an Indian Sikh sapper in the British Army. Due to various events in her past, Hana believes that anyone who comes close to her is likely to die, and Kip's position as a bomb defuser makes their romance full of tension.
In his book The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film (2002) Michael Ondaatje records his conversations with the film's editor and sound designer Walter Murch, who won two Academy Awards for the film. Murch describes the complexity of editing a film with multiple flashbacks and timeframes; he edited and reedited numerous times and notes that the final film features over 40 time transitions.
The movie was filmed on location in Tunisia and Italy.
The English Patient is a 1996 romantic drama film based on the novel of the same name by Sri Lankan-Canadian writer Michael Ondaatje. The film, written for the screen and directed by Anthony Minghella, won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Ondaatje worked closely with the filmmakers.
The film is set during World War II and depicts a critically burned man, at first known only as "the English patient," who is being looked after by Hana (Juliette Binoche), a French-Canadian nurse in an abandoned Italian monastery. The patient is reluctant to disclose any personal information but through a series of flashbacks, viewers are allowed into his past. It is slowly revealed that he is in fact a Hungarian geographer, Count László de Almásy (Ralph Fiennes), who was making a map of the Sahara Desert, and whose affair with a married woman, Katharine Clifton (Kristin Scott Thomas), ultimately brought about his present situation. As the patient remembers more, David Caravaggio (Willem Dafoe), a Canadian intelligence operative and former thief, arrives at the monastery. Caravaggio lost his thumbs while being interrogated by a German army officer, and he gradually reveals that it was the patient's actions that had brought about his torture.
In addition to the patient's story, the film devotes time to Hana and her romance with Kip (Naveen Andrews), an Indian Sikh sapper in the British Army. Due to various events in her past, Hana believes that anyone who comes close to her is likely to die, and Kip's position as a bomb defuser makes their romance full of tension.
In his book The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film (2002) Michael Ondaatje records his conversations with the film's editor and sound designer Walter Murch, who won two Academy Awards for the film. Murch describes the complexity of editing a film with multiple flashbacks and timeframes; he edited and reedited numerous times and notes that the final film features over 40 time transitions.
The movie was filmed on location in Tunisia and Italy.
Julie and Julia - 2009
Julie & Julia is a 2009 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Nora Ephron starring Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci, Amy Adams, and Chris Messina. The film contrasts the life of chef Julia Child in the early years of her culinary career with the life of young New Yorker Julie Powell, who aspires to cook all 524 recipes in Child's cookbook in 365 days, a challenge she described on her popular blog that would make her a published author.
Ephron's screenplay is adapted from two books: My Life in France, Child's autobiography written with Alex Prud'homme, and a memoir by Powell documenting online her daily experiences cooking each of the 524 recipes in Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and she later began reworking that blog, The Julie/Julia Project. Both of these books were written and published in the same time frame (2004–06). The film is the first major motion picture based on a blog.
In March 2008, Ephron began filming with Streep as Child and Adams as Powell. On July 30, 2009, the film officially premiered at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York; and, on August 7, 2009, it opened throughout North America. Streep and Adams previously starred together in Doubt (2008). Streep and Tucci previously starred together in The Devil Wears Prada (2006).
Ephron's screenplay is adapted from two books: My Life in France, Child's autobiography written with Alex Prud'homme, and a memoir by Powell documenting online her daily experiences cooking each of the 524 recipes in Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and she later began reworking that blog, The Julie/Julia Project. Both of these books were written and published in the same time frame (2004–06). The film is the first major motion picture based on a blog.
In March 2008, Ephron began filming with Streep as Child and Adams as Powell. On July 30, 2009, the film officially premiered at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York; and, on August 7, 2009, it opened throughout North America. Streep and Adams previously starred together in Doubt (2008). Streep and Tucci previously starred together in The Devil Wears Prada (2006).
Little Children - 2006
anLittle Children is a 2006 American drama film directed by Todd Field. It is based on the novel of the same name by Tom Perrotta, who along with Field wrote the screenplay. It stars Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson, Jennifer Connelly, Jackie Earle Haley, Noah Emmerich, Gregg Edelman, Phyllis Somerville and Will Lyman. The original music score is composed by Thomas Newman. The film premiered at the 44th New York Film Festival organized by the Film Society of Lincoln Center.
Sarah Pierce (Kate Winslet) is a reluctant housewife and mother in an upper-middle class suburb of Boston. She is married to Richard Pierce (Gregg Edelman), a successful yet distant husband, who is secretly obsessed with an internet porn star. Sarah refers to her daughter Lucy as an "unknowable little person" and feels out of place around the other mothers at a local playground.
Brad Adamson (Patrick Wilson) is a former college football player who's married to Kathy (Jennifer Connelly), a documentary filmmaker, with a young son named Aaron. Brad is depressed and frustrated, as his wife is the breadwinner and he is a stay-at-home father who has failed the bar exam twice. Each day he leaves home with the pretense of going to the library to study, but spends the time watching skateboarders at the nearby park. He joins a policeman's touch football team at the urging of a friend, Larry Hedges (Noah Emmerich), a disgraced former police officer.
The Los Angeles Times's Carina Chocano said "Little Children is one of those rare films that transcends its source material. Firmly rooted in the present and in our current frame of mind — a time and frame of mind that few artists have shown interest in really exploring — the movie is one of the few films I can think of that examines the baffling combination of smugness, self-abnegation, ceremonial deference and status anxiety that characterizes middle-class Gen X parenting, and find sheer, white-knuckled terror at its core."
Sarah Pierce (Kate Winslet) is a reluctant housewife and mother in an upper-middle class suburb of Boston. She is married to Richard Pierce (Gregg Edelman), a successful yet distant husband, who is secretly obsessed with an internet porn star. Sarah refers to her daughter Lucy as an "unknowable little person" and feels out of place around the other mothers at a local playground.
Brad Adamson (Patrick Wilson) is a former college football player who's married to Kathy (Jennifer Connelly), a documentary filmmaker, with a young son named Aaron. Brad is depressed and frustrated, as his wife is the breadwinner and he is a stay-at-home father who has failed the bar exam twice. Each day he leaves home with the pretense of going to the library to study, but spends the time watching skateboarders at the nearby park. He joins a policeman's touch football team at the urging of a friend, Larry Hedges (Noah Emmerich), a disgraced former police officer.
The Los Angeles Times's Carina Chocano said "Little Children is one of those rare films that transcends its source material. Firmly rooted in the present and in our current frame of mind — a time and frame of mind that few artists have shown interest in really exploring — the movie is one of the few films I can think of that examines the baffling combination of smugness, self-abnegation, ceremonial deference and status anxiety that characterizes middle-class Gen X parenting, and find sheer, white-knuckled terror at its core."
The Painted Veil - 2006
What a great movie. The cast members Naomi Watts, Edward Norton and Liev Schreiber are amazing here. You can understand how/why Naomi and Liev ended up marrying in real-life after seeing this film (steamy love scene).
The Painted Veil is a 1925 novel by British author W. Somerset Maugham that has much more detail than the film.
The Painted Veil is a 2006 Chinese-American drama film directed by John Curran. The screenplay by Ron Nyswaner is based on the 1925 novel of the same title by W. Somerset Maugham. Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, Toby Jones, Anthony Wong Chau Sang and Liev Schreiber appear in the leading roles.
This is the third screen adaptation of the Maugham book, following a 1934 film starring Herbert Marshall and Greta Garbo and a 1957 version called The Seventh Sin with Bill Travers and Eleanor Parker. On a brief trip back to London, earnest, bookish bacteriologist Walter Fane (Edward Norton) is dazzled by Kitty Garstin (Naomi Watts), a vivacious, vain, and vacuous London socialite. He proposes; she accepts (mostly to upset her mother), and the ill-suited couple embark on a tense relationship in China. Following a honeymoon in Venice, the couple go to Shanghai, where the doctor is stationed in a government lab studying infectious diseases. Kitty meets Charles Townsend (Liev Schreiber), a married British vice consul, and the two engage in a clandestine affair.
Filming took place on location in China. The director did not want to build a set for the cholera-stricken village, instead seeking out an untouched parcel of land in China. He found Huang Yao, which served as the location for the village. The director described the location, "Even the Chinese crew members were amazed at the place we found... It was like going back in time." According to Nyswaner, a large amount of time of the film production was spent negotiating with the Chinese government for the completion of the film, as there were disagreements over issues in the script. Most of the film was shot in Guilin, Guangxi. Director John Curran commented, "We wanted this movie to be distinctly Chinese. We didn’t want it to look like a film that you could shoot in Canada or Mexico or Italy." After a search of location in Hunan province, the scouts chose the location in Guilin, Guangxi for the film. Line producer Antonia Barnard states that initially the film, like the novel, was going to be set in Hong Kong, however the crew realized Hong Kong of the time period would be difficult to replicate, thus the story was altered so it would take place in Shanghai; the crew shot "Shanghai for Shanghai in the period, and shot London scenes in Shanghai as well." It's true--this film takes you back in time.
The Painted Veil is a 1925 novel by British author W. Somerset Maugham that has much more detail than the film.
The Painted Veil is a 2006 Chinese-American drama film directed by John Curran. The screenplay by Ron Nyswaner is based on the 1925 novel of the same title by W. Somerset Maugham. Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, Toby Jones, Anthony Wong Chau Sang and Liev Schreiber appear in the leading roles.
This is the third screen adaptation of the Maugham book, following a 1934 film starring Herbert Marshall and Greta Garbo and a 1957 version called The Seventh Sin with Bill Travers and Eleanor Parker. On a brief trip back to London, earnest, bookish bacteriologist Walter Fane (Edward Norton) is dazzled by Kitty Garstin (Naomi Watts), a vivacious, vain, and vacuous London socialite. He proposes; she accepts (mostly to upset her mother), and the ill-suited couple embark on a tense relationship in China. Following a honeymoon in Venice, the couple go to Shanghai, where the doctor is stationed in a government lab studying infectious diseases. Kitty meets Charles Townsend (Liev Schreiber), a married British vice consul, and the two engage in a clandestine affair.
Filming took place on location in China. The director did not want to build a set for the cholera-stricken village, instead seeking out an untouched parcel of land in China. He found Huang Yao, which served as the location for the village. The director described the location, "Even the Chinese crew members were amazed at the place we found... It was like going back in time." According to Nyswaner, a large amount of time of the film production was spent negotiating with the Chinese government for the completion of the film, as there were disagreements over issues in the script. Most of the film was shot in Guilin, Guangxi. Director John Curran commented, "We wanted this movie to be distinctly Chinese. We didn’t want it to look like a film that you could shoot in Canada or Mexico or Italy." After a search of location in Hunan province, the scouts chose the location in Guilin, Guangxi for the film. Line producer Antonia Barnard states that initially the film, like the novel, was going to be set in Hong Kong, however the crew realized Hong Kong of the time period would be difficult to replicate, thus the story was altered so it would take place in Shanghai; the crew shot "Shanghai for Shanghai in the period, and shot London scenes in Shanghai as well." It's true--this film takes you back in time.
The Family That Preys - 2008
In the mood for a soap-opera like story that is superb? This is it. Tyler Perry does wonders with this excellent cast. Kathy Bates really steals the show with some of her lines. It's a must-see.
The Family That Preys is a 2008 American drama written, produced and directed by Tyler Perry. The screenplay, focuses on two families, one wealthy and the other working class, whose lives are intertwined in both love and business.
In a prologue, socialite Charlotte Cartwright (Kathy Bates) hosts the wedding of her best friend Alice Evan's (Alfre Woodard) daughter Andrea (Sanaa Lathan), who is marrying ambitious construction worker Chris Bennett (Rockmond Dunbar). The couple is congratulated by Charlotte's son William (Cole Hauser) and his wife Jillian (KaDee Strickland), who deprived Charlotte of planning an elaborate reception for them by eloping. William suggests the newlyweds contact him for employment with the Cartwright family's highly successful Atlanta construction company after they return from their honeymoon.
Four years later, Ben (Tyler Perry), is married to Andrea's sister Pam (Taraji P. Henson). Pam looks after Andrea's three-year-old son for extra income while working at her mother's diner. It troubles her that Andrea doesn't do more to help their mother financially when her designer clothes and new Mercedes make it clear she is prospering. What Pam doesn't realize is her sister is involved in an extramarital affair with William and enjoying all the perks that come with the relationship.
The Family That Preys is a 2008 American drama written, produced and directed by Tyler Perry. The screenplay, focuses on two families, one wealthy and the other working class, whose lives are intertwined in both love and business.
In a prologue, socialite Charlotte Cartwright (Kathy Bates) hosts the wedding of her best friend Alice Evan's (Alfre Woodard) daughter Andrea (Sanaa Lathan), who is marrying ambitious construction worker Chris Bennett (Rockmond Dunbar). The couple is congratulated by Charlotte's son William (Cole Hauser) and his wife Jillian (KaDee Strickland), who deprived Charlotte of planning an elaborate reception for them by eloping. William suggests the newlyweds contact him for employment with the Cartwright family's highly successful Atlanta construction company after they return from their honeymoon.
Four years later, Ben (Tyler Perry), is married to Andrea's sister Pam (Taraji P. Henson). Pam looks after Andrea's three-year-old son for extra income while working at her mother's diner. It troubles her that Andrea doesn't do more to help their mother financially when her designer clothes and new Mercedes make it clear she is prospering. What Pam doesn't realize is her sister is involved in an extramarital affair with William and enjoying all the perks that come with the relationship.
Jurassic Park - 1993
More American children should see this one just for the inspiration of science, archaelogy and biology. The scene where a dinosaur egg is hatching is so utterly amazing to view on-screen.
Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. It stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough and Bob Peck. The film centers on the fictional Isla Nublar near Costa Rica in the Central American Pacific Coast, where a billionaire philanthropist and a small team of genetic scientists have created an amusement park of cloned dinosaurs.
Before Crichton's book was even published, studios such as Warner Bros., Columbia TriStar, 20th Century Fox, and Universal had already begun bidding to acquire the picture rights. Spielberg, with the backing of Universal Studios, acquired the rights before publication in 1990, and Crichton was hired for an additional $500,000 to adapt the novel for the screen. David Koepp wrote the final draft, which left out much of the novel's exposition and violence, and made numerous changes to the characters.
Jurassic Park is regarded as a landmark in the use of computer-generated imagery, and received highly positive reviews from critics for such. During its release, the film grossed more than $914 million worldwide, becoming the most successful film released up to that time (surpassing E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and surpassed 4 years later by Titanic), and it is currently the 16th highest grossing feature film (taking inflation into account, it is the 18th-highest-grossing film in North America). It is the most financially successful film for NBCUniversal and Steven Spielberg. It won the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing, and Best Visual Effects.
Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. It stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough and Bob Peck. The film centers on the fictional Isla Nublar near Costa Rica in the Central American Pacific Coast, where a billionaire philanthropist and a small team of genetic scientists have created an amusement park of cloned dinosaurs.
Before Crichton's book was even published, studios such as Warner Bros., Columbia TriStar, 20th Century Fox, and Universal had already begun bidding to acquire the picture rights. Spielberg, with the backing of Universal Studios, acquired the rights before publication in 1990, and Crichton was hired for an additional $500,000 to adapt the novel for the screen. David Koepp wrote the final draft, which left out much of the novel's exposition and violence, and made numerous changes to the characters.
Jurassic Park is regarded as a landmark in the use of computer-generated imagery, and received highly positive reviews from critics for such. During its release, the film grossed more than $914 million worldwide, becoming the most successful film released up to that time (surpassing E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and surpassed 4 years later by Titanic), and it is currently the 16th highest grossing feature film (taking inflation into account, it is the 18th-highest-grossing film in North America). It is the most financially successful film for NBCUniversal and Steven Spielberg. It won the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing, and Best Visual Effects.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)