Vincere

The Chicago International Film Festival is now over. It was really good this year. A lot of the films looked really good (although I did not get to see nearly as many as I wanted because of my class schedule). I am hoping to catch more of them when they come out on dvd. This year was really cool. I actually got to volunteer. I met some great people and even saw Jacqueline Bisset. There was one film in particular that I got to see that I want to mention and definitely recommend to anyone that is interesting in international cinema.

The closely guarded story of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's secret lover and son is revealed in fittingly operatic proportions is this electrifying tour de force. Thunderstruck by the young Mussolini's charisms, Ida Dalser gives up everything to help champion his revolutionary ideas. When he disappears during World War I and later resurfaces with a new wife, the scorned Dasler and her son are locked away in separate asylums for more than a decade. But Ida will not disappear without a fight...

Vincere was written and directed by Marco Bellocchio. It stars Giovanna Messogiorno as Ida Dalser. She did an absolutely amazing job. International audiences may recognize her from her role in Love in the Time of Cholera. I also saw her earlier this year at the Chicago Cultural Center in Notturno Bus (also definitely worth checking out...click here to see my review). It also stars Filippo Timi as Benito Mussolini and Benito Albino. He also did an amazing job. I really look forward to seeing him again this coming year in The American with George Clooney.

The synopsis above mentions that the film is very operatic. This is a perfect adjective to describe it. I had to sit in the front row, because I had rush tickets. I didn't mind. The film was visually spectacular, and the subtitles were really large. I also really liked that the film was interlaced with actual, historical footage. It is the perfect film for someone interested in history or this time period or even someone that doesn't know that much about this period of time.

If anyone sees it, let me know what you think.

Movie Reviews: Part Two

I rented a lot of movies that I had never seen before over winter break. I tried to remember all of them but could only remember about half of them:

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Death at a Funeral
The Hustler
Dancing at the Blue Iguana
The Owl and the Pussycat
Deception
Sweet Bird of Youth
Silence Becomes You
Fear
Love in the Time of Cholera
Cool Hand Luke
Tank Girl
Big Trouble in Little China
Amadeus
Torn Curtain
The Strangers
Prom Night
Mad Money
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: the Beginning

I don't really feel like talking about all of them. All of the titles are linked in case anyone feels like checking one out. I am only going to talk about the ones that I especially enjoyed.

First of all, I absolutely loved Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. I used to really not like westerns all that much, but as I am getting older, I am learning to appreciate them more and more. I also don't think that you can really go wrong with Paul Newman and Robert Redford. They worked really well together in the film.

I don't know why I had put off seeing Love in the Time of Cholera for so long. I ended up really liking it. It was a little long at parts, but overall was really well-done. I haven't had a chance to read the book that it is based on yet, but I really want to.

I was really surprised by the Strangers. I had seen the trailer before, but it didn't really seem that spectacular. I ended up watching it in a friend's basement with all of the lights turned off. I was absolutely horrified. The movie was brilliant. It was really scary without showing tons of gore in the way that many horror films do today.

I had heard many good things about Tank Girl (especially from my roommate, Brittany), but I had never gotten a chance to see it. I really liked it. I feel like a dork for saying so, but I must say that the random Kangaroo guy is, I believe, Ice-T's absolute best role ever.

Lastly, I really enjoyed Cool Hand Luke. I know that it is a classic, so I am not exactly original in my praise of it, but I just really enjoyed it. As you have probably noticed, there are quite a few Paul Newman films on the list. I realized over break how few of his films I've seen. I just kept getting more and more amazed by what a wonderful actor he is.

So, that's all for now. If anyone saw any one has seen any really good movies recently or wants to comment on any of the films mentioned, please do so in the comments.

Currently Reading for Pleasure:
Death by Latte by Linda Gerber

Currently Watching:
Skins Season Two

Currently Listening to:
The Killers