Tonino Guerra Movies

Director Nacer Khemir traces the profound journey of a young girl and her blind grandfather into the desert as they search for a legendary gathering of elders in an unknown location. Bab'Aziz is a noble dervish who, along with his spirited granddaughter Ishtar, has been invited to attend a special gathering that is said to take place somewhere deep in the dunes of the eternal desert. There are no directions to the location of the gathering, however, as it is said that those who are meant to attend will certainly find their way. As Bab'Aziz and Ishtar set out to find their destiny through the strength of their intuition and the power of their faith, Bab'Aziz imparts the tale of an ancient prince who once made a similar pilgrimage to his beloved granddaughter. Along the way, Ishtar will learn the value of patience, and both will encounter a series of fellow travelers whose remarkable stories help to unlock ancient mysteries and provide a better understanding of their barren kingdom. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Master Greek filmmaker Theo Angelopoulos wrote and directed this downbeat look at his nation's often blighted history, as seen through the eyes of an unfortunate young couple. In 1919, a band of Greek refugees who had found a home in Odessa are forced to return to their homeland following the Russian Revolution, and they settle in Thessaloniki, a forbidding riverside village where few wish to dwell. Eleni is a youngster who arrives in Thessaloniki and is taken in by Spyros (Vassilis Kolovos), one of the village leaders. While Eleni is raised as a member of the family alongside Alexis, Spyros' son, the two find themselves attracted to one another as they grow older, and they pledge to someday marry. By the age of 16, Eleni (Alexandra Aidini) becomes pregnant by Alexis (Nikos Poursadinis), and she gives birth to twins, which Spyros puts up for adoption. However, after the death of his wife, Spyros declares that he will make the now-grown Eleni his new spouse. Eleni and Alexis see no choice but to run away together, and they join up with a band of traveling musicians led by Nikos (Giorgos Armenis). But an angry Spyros declares that he will find the runaways, while Eleni and Alexis attempt to stay one step ahead of him while searching for their lost children. Theo Angelopoulos announced that The Weeping Meadow will be the first film in a trilogy which will represent his final works. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A young man learns how hard growing up can be in this family themed drama. Maimyl (Mirlan Abdykalykov), or "the Chimp," is a teenager growing up in a quiet town in the Central Asian nation of Kirgizstan; he gained his nickname thanks to his large, protruding ears. There isn't much for a young man to do in Maimyl's hometown except kill time and wait to be drafted, and as he waits for his call-up for mandatory military service, Maimyl tries to sort out his relationship with his girlfriend and make peace with his father (Dzylkycy Dzakypov), who has a severe drinking problem. However, he soon has bigger family problems to deal with when his mother (Aingul Essenkoyeva) decides she's had enough of her husband's alcoholism and leaves him, taking their younger daughter with her. Maimyl was screened as part of the Un Certain Regard program at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This Russian animated fable about growing old is suitable for all ages. The story takes place within a traveling circus and chronicles the exploits of an aging ringmaster, and an aging lion. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The many ways in which men are fascinated, compelled, and confused by their attraction to women are explored in this four part drama. As a filmmaker (John Malkovich) tries to sort out his plans for his next film, he considers several stories about women and the men who love them. Silvano (Kim Rossi Stuart) meets Carmen (Ines Sastre) and immediately asks her for a date, but despite his attraction, he can't follow through on his feelings for her. The director spies a woman on the streets (Sophie Marceau) and follows her obsessively, but when he finally meets her, he's disappointed, despite their mutual physical attraction. Roberto (Peter Weller) and his wife Patricia (Fanny Ardant) have to deal with their anger about each other's infidelities, as well as their problems with their lovers, Olga (Chiara Caselli) and Carlo (Jean Reno). And Niccolo (Vincent Perez) falls in love at first sight with a young woman (Irene Jacob), unaware that she is studying to become a nun. Par-Dela Les Nuages was Michelangelo Antonioni's first film after a massive stroke derailed his directorial career in 1985; Wim Wenders served as his collaborator on the project. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Three very odd relationships provide the basis for this thought-provoking Italian anthology that is overseen by director Bernardo Bertolucci. The first tale, "The Blue Dog" centers on a barber who becomes the fixation of a mysteriously devoted dog with an unusual blue spot upon his head. In "Especially on Sunday," a traveler encounters a woman and a man beside a river and offers them a ride. The woman is quite the coquette and she chattily explains that she is visiting her companion, who suffers from a debilitating breakdown. They all stop for lunch and her friend begins telling them a disturbing, surreal tale. The third tale "Snow on the Fire," features a repentant woman who confesses a dark secret to the town priest. It seems the old woman has grown addicted to watching her son make passionate love to his new bride, who knows that she is watching and seems to enjoy it all the more. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this sentimental, tragicomic drama, Matteo Scuro (Marcello Mastroianni) is an old widower living in Sicily. His five grown children have scattered all over Italy, and he has heard nothing but glowing reports from them about their lives and careers. One day he takes it into his head to visit these paragons who have fulfilled every one of his ambitions for them. Eventually he discovers that all his children have been lying to him for a very long time because they were afraid to disappoint their papa; their lives are shabby and very much on the edge, and one of them has long-since committed suicide (unbeknownst to him). This daunting truth provokes a heart attack in the old man, who still has a few lies yet to tell and hear, because he insists (as do his children) that "everything is fine." ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In this wry comedy, if it were not for the fact that screenwriter Giuseppe Marchi (Giancarlo Giannini) is clearly overwhelmed by attacks of guilt at his sometimes caddish behavior, it would be easy to dislike him as he is shown disclosing his inner life to his psychiatrist (Vittorio Caprioli). Instead, he is seen to have suffered a series of acute psychosomatic illnesses which were misdiagnosed so that he suffered a slew of unnecessary abdominal operations. Eventually some shred of self-understanding, coupled with a deep sense of resignation at life's unfairness, prompts him to leave all his travails behind for a simple, if lonely, life in Calabria. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This political drama chronicles the corruption of a mayoral candidate for New York City. His ordeal begins when he launches a campaign for the legalization of heretofore illegal narcotics. Alarmed by the support it gets, Mafiosos frame the candidate for a crime he did not commit and force him to choose between joining their ranks or going to jail. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Alexander Sokurov made this biography of filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky during the final years of the Russian master's life, when he was living in exile in Western Europe. Completed shortly after Tarkovsky's death in 1986, the movie eschews by-the-numbers portraiture, opting for a more ruminative approach that evinces its subject's influence. Sokurov flits back and forth between scenes of contemporary Moscow and of Tarkovsky directing his last two pictures, Nostalghia and The Sacrifice. Using footage of Tarkovsky at work and play, Sokurov assembles a touching scrapbook of a stateless artist, forced to live in exile to continue working. (After leaving the U.S.S.R. to film Nostalghia in 1982, Tarkovsky was soon told by Soviet officials that he would no longer be allowed to make movies if he returned home.) Moscow Elegy also features generous excerpts from both Nostalghia and The Sacrifice, and priceless clips of Tarkosky's turn in front of the camera in the 1963 film The Gates of Ilyich. Infused with personal feeling, Sokurov's paean to his mentor is a heartfelt document that devotees of both filmmakers will not want to miss. ~ Elbert Ventura, All Movie Guide

The always innovative Taviani Brothers pay homage to another unique filmmaker, D. W. Griffith, in Good Morning, Babylon. Vincent Spano and Joaquim de Almeida star as Nicola and Andrea Bonnano, the latest in a long line of Tuscany-born cathedral builders. Emigrating to America, the brothers settle in Los Angeles in 1915, even as director Griffith (Charles Dance) is preparing his epic production Intolerance. The boys are hired to help construct the massive sets for the film's Babylonian sequence (hence the title), for no other reason than the fact that Griffith is impressed by Italian craftsmanship. As the film progresses, Nicola and Andrea assimilate to their new surroundings, even launching a romance with a pair of pretty movie extras. On the verge of continuing the family tradition, the boys' ambitions are cut short by events well beyond their control. Still, their past artistic accomplishments, like those of their forebears, survive the ages -- but only on the ethereal silver screen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director Federico Fellini gently lampoons the world of small-time show business in Ginger and Fred. Giulietta Masina and Marcello Mastroianni star as Amelia Bonetti and Pippo Botticella, a onetime celebrity song-and-dance team. Having risen to fame with a dancing act where they recreated the acts of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire (hoping to become the Fred and Ginger of Italy), Amelia and Pippo parted company to pursue their separate lives. Neither one was particularly successful in other fields of endeavor, so when after many years Amelia is offered a guest-star gig on a TV variety show, she jumps at the chance. She also seeks out her former partner, Pippo, who may have looked like Astaire in his younger days, but now....The overall good cheer of the film was dampened when the real Ginger Rogers sued the distributors of Ginger and Fred for "defamation of character." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide