Lunetta Savino Movies
Turkish-born director Ferzan Ozpetek's meditative, character-driven ensemble drama Saturno Contro (a French-Italian-Turkish co-production, from a script co-authored by Ozpetek and Gianni Romoli) studies the interrelationships of a tightly-knit group of gay and straight friends, in the period surrounding the premature death of one young man and the split of a married hetero couple. At the story's center are Lorenzo (Luca Argentero), a confident, surreally handsome, 30-year-old Italian man, and his live-in lover, the author Davide (Pierfrancesco Favino. They spend their non-working hours with a colorful clique that includes: bright, spunky cocaine addict Roberta (Ambra Angiolini); husband-and-wife (and parents) Antonio (Stefano Accorsi) and Angelica (Margherita Buy); caustic Neval (Serra Yilmaz) and her husband, a cop (Filippo Timi); Davide's former lover, the acid-tongued Sergio (Ennio Fantastichini); and a new arrival to the group, Paolo. After Ozpetek and Romoli take time and care to introduce the characters, an unforeseen crisis arises: Lorenzo is rushed to the hospital, and dies. In time, his distanced father (Luigi Diberti) turns up, accompanied by his second wife, Minnie (Lunetta Savino) and still grappling with the knowledge of his son's homosexuality. Meanwhile, Antonio and Angelica split, the latter devastated by the sudden discovery of her husband's infidelity with a florist (Isabella Ferrari). ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Starring:
- Stefano Accorsi, Margherita Buy, (more)
- 2002
Italian filmmaker Giulio Manfredonia makes his feature debut with the fantasy comedy If I Were You. Three very different men are accidentally brought together for a drunken night on the beach. Andrea (Emilio Solfrizzi) is an unfulfilled family man, Bernardo (Gioele Dix) is an angry corporate businessman, and Christian (Fabio de Luigi) is a nice yet broke DJ. When each one wishes to be in another's place, they magically switch identities. Andrea gets Christian's life, where he finally fulfills his dream of being a stand up comedian. Bernardo gets Andrea's life, where he appreciates his wife and kids. And Christian gets Bernardo's life, where he finally has enough money. However, problems come up and they miss their old lives, causing them to reevaluate their initial wishes. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
- Starring:
- Emilio Solfrizzi, Gioele Dix, (more)
- 2000
Cristina Comencini follows up her critically acclaimed 1998 opus Marriage (a funny though sensitive look at marriage in modern life) with this star-crossed comedy. Mafioso Michele Verrio (Michele Placido) has both a wife (Angelica Ippolito) and a long-suffering mistress, Lunetta (Lunetta Savino). Years ago, Verrio's henchmen bombed the car of Lunetta's muckraking brother Sergio (Francesco Paolantoni) after one of his scoops painted a rather negative portrait of the aging mobster. The incident prompted Sergio to go into hiding up north, leaving behind his child Sabina (Eleonora Sergio) and his wife Mara (Laura Morante). Mara eventually got remarried to Emilio (Emilio Solfrizzi), a car salesman, while Sabina went off to study in an American university -- only to return pregnant and engaged to Verrio's son Giovanni (Marco Morandi). Soon the two families that were once sworn enemies now have to try to get along. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Starring:
- Laura Morante, Francesco Paolantoni, (more)
- 1998
Matrimony is a drama about the complexity of relationships. On Christmas Eve, perfect housewife Giulia Francesca Neri is worried about a family heirloom which has cracked and rushes to the junk shop to get it repaired -- little anticipating her perfect marriage is about to fall to pieces as well. While everyone in Bologna is making last minute preparations, Giulia runs into her childhood sweetheart, Fausto Paolo Sassanelli. The meeting rekindles old feelings and Giulia realizes that to create the perfect marriage which everyone adores, she has sacrificed her own personality. While waiting to meet her parents at the station, she climbs into a departing train and disappears. The family slowly disintegrates, as if she were the binding element. Cristina Comencini, the daughter of well-known Italian director Luigi Comencini, has written several scripts for her father before launching her own film career in 1988. Matrimoni is also scripted by her, and based on an idea by her and Roberta Mazzoni. It is definitely a woman's film, which tries examine complex feelings of women caught between familial responsibility and individuality. Matrimoni was screened as part of the Panorama section of the 49th International Berlin Film Festival, 1999. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi
- Starring:
- Francesca Neri, Diego Abatantuono, (more)
