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.

Chicago International Film Festival

The Chicago International Film Festival happens every year in October. So far, only seventeen of the films have been announced. More will be announced later this month. I thought that I would say a little bit about the films that I am planning on seeing.

The first film is called Antichrist. It is written and directed by Lars von Trier and stars Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg. It is a dark, erotic love story from the controversial writer/director of Dogville, Dancer in the Dark and Breaking Waves. A grieving couple retreats to an isolated cabin in the woods to repair their broken hearts an troubled marriage. But nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse...

Vincere is written and directed by Marco Bellocchio and stars Giovanna Mezzogiorno and Filippo Timi. The closely guarded story of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's secret lover and son is revealed in fittingly operatic proportiona in this electrifying tour de force.

A Frozen Flower is directed by Ha Yu and stars Jin-mo Ju and Ji-hyo Song. This bold and provocative tale of the forbidden love between a 13th-century Korean king and his male guard is laced with lust, betrayal, and epic battles.

Hipsters is written and directed by Valery Todorovsky. Moscow, 1955. soviet uniformity is the order of the day, but incurring the wrath of all the grim-faced comrades in Russia isn't enough to stop a group of young "hipsters" from donning outrageous threads, puffing up their pompadours, pushing up their cleavage, throwing back martinis, and shakin' their hips. Could this romantic, infectiously fun musical be this year's Slumdog Millionaire?