The classics of Italian film are a rite of passage for any self-respecting cinephile. Bicycle Thieves, La Dolce Vita, The Leopard, Cinema Paradiso ... Check. These 20th-century classics – to name but a few – are known and loved far beyond Italy’s borders.
So, what next for Italian cinema fans? The country’s film industry, like everything else, moves with the times. The iconic status of 1950s and 1960s hits may be hard to match, but there are celluloid rewards aplenty for those who enjoy big (and small) screen Italy.
“We are at a turning point in the Italian film industry,” says Clara Caleo Green, founder of CinemaItalia UK. The London-based monthly film club shows some of the country’s best new work – subtitled in English and not on general release in the UK - as well as past gems unknown to a UK audience. “Italian cinema has definitely suffered thanks to political and economic turmoil but the current government seems to be working hard to address that. Italians want it to work.”
While some of the industry’s biggest names are now working outside Italy, there are still exciting films being made at home. “It is easier even for the top names to shoot here. There is more money. People will see the films,” says Caleo Green. “Filmgoers can discover compelling stories, young artists and understand better what’s going on in Italy through the world of cinema. People who love Italy – and there are so many of them – need to see contemporary Italian films, ideally on the cinema screen.”
2016 has already seen two English language, Italian-directed films on widespread UK release. Paolo Sorrentino’s latest, Youth, depicts septuagenarian friends (Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel) reflecting on life and ageing in a Swiss holiday resort.
While The Bigger Splash, from Sicilian director, Luca Guadagnino explores the fall out when a rock star’s Pantelleria holiday hideout is visited by an old friend and his daughter. (Matthias Schoenaerts, Ralph Fiennes, Tilda Swinton and Dakota Johnson star.)
Already on release in Italy, La Corrispondenza (The Correspondence), a bittersweet love story directed by Giuseppe Tornatore with an Ennio Morricone score (and starring Jeremy Irons), is another English language production which will be shown here this year.
“Italian film really shines in this type of irony and satire,” says Caleo Green. “It is neither tragedy nor slapstick. We are strong in this kind of ‘comedy of errors’ film, which is basically about putting up with what reality gives us.”
Amongst other offerings from top Italian directors is Tale of Tales, a sumptuous fantasy-horror based on fairytales by the 17th-century Neapolitan poet, Giambattista Basile. Directed by Matteo Garrone (Reality, 2012) and starring Salma Hayek and Toby Jones, the film was successful at Cannes and in Italy and is expected to reach the UK in 2016.
In the field of documentary, Gianfranco Rosi’s Fuocoammare (Fire at Sea), winner of the Golden Bear for best film at the Berlinale festival, is one to see. Filmed over the course of a year on Lampedusa, it shines a powerful spotlight on the refugee crisis.
Notable too is Ridendo e Scherzando (Laughing and Joking), which is coming to CinemaItalia UK in March. This touching documentary by Paola and Silvia Scola serves as a love letter to their father, the revered director Ettore Scola who died just weeks before its February Italian release. Using extensive interviews with Scola, film clips, backstage footage and family video, the picture charts his award-winning career.
Assolo, written, directed and acted by Laura Morante, hit Italian screens earlier this year and is also coming to CinemaItalia UK. It tells the story of middle-aged Flavia, mother, ex-wife (twice) and lonely.
The film, says Caleo Green, is unshowy, honest and worthwhile. “This is a well-known actress who loves her work, is genuine and is addressing something which concerns her and many others.”
While Italian cinemas may be as dominated by the Hollywood machine as any others, Quo Vado (Where Am I Going?), released in Italy on New Year’s Day, shows that homegrown film is still a powerful force. A satirical comedy about the out-dated concept of cosy public sector jobs for life, starring actor Checco Zalone, it has become the year’s first unexpected blockbuster, beating takings for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Trevi fountain frolics and careering Vespas may be its enduring images, but clearly the Italian film industry still has plenty more to show us.
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