Oct. 15--Making a movie about labor relations and workers' rights, a tightly coiled Italian filmmaker (Margherita Buy) copes with a headache of a visiting American star (John Turturro, delightfully egocentric) and a dying mother (Giulia Lazzarini) in director Nanni Moretti's partly autobiographical comedy-drama. It's a somewhat odd mixture of broad humor and quiet pathos; it's also a somewhat odd film with which to open the 51st Chicago International Film Festival, in that nobody actually involved with the film itself is scheduled to attend tonight's Auditorium Theatre festivities. These include various red-carpet appearances, live music and more. The festival begins in earnest and on several screens tomorrow, over at the home base venue: the AMC River East 21 multiplex.
6:30 p.m. Thursday, Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, 50 E. Congress Parkway. Tickets for opening night screening $18-$23 at 312-341-2300 or auditoriumtheatre.org. In Italian and English with English subtitles. Running time: 1:46.
-Michael Phillips
