Furio Scarpelli Movies

The insidious emergence of state-sanctioned anti-Semitism in Fascist Italy sets the stage for this historical drama. In 1938, Umberto (Diego Abatantuono) is a tailor who is beginning to lose business to Leone (Sergio Castellito), a haberdasher whose shop is next door to Umberto's. Leone offers stock much like Umberto's and at lower prices, which has brought plenty of customers into his store, causing Umberto no small amount of annoyance. Umberto's ire is hardly soothed by the fact that his teenage son Paolo (Elio Germano) is dating Leone's daughter, Susanna (Gioia Spaziani), or that the two men's younger sons, Pietruccio (Walter Dragonetti) and Lele (Simone Ascani), are best friends. The rivalry between the two shopkeepers eventually leads to a heated public argument, in which Umberto refers to Leone's Jewish faith in a derogatory manner. A policeman overhears this, and Leone, who had previously been quiet about his Jewish heritage, soon finds himself having to deal with the sanctions being levied against Jewish citizens. As Umberto sees his neighbor slowly stripped of his property, his rights, and his dignity, his anger turns to sympathy and to a wish that he could do something to help a man not so different from himself. Concorrenza Sleale was directed by Ettore Scola, who previously examined Italy during Mussolini's rule in Una Giornata Speciale. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this bittersweet coming-of-age comedy, seven-year-old Piero (Matteo Campus) lives in Livorno, a city along the coast of Tuscany, in a low-rent shantytown the locals call "Ovosodo" (which literally translates as "hard boiled eggs"). Piero is forced to grow up at an early age after the death of his mother, leaving his father to raise him and his mentally challenged brother on his own. As Piero turns 13 (now played by Malcolm Lunghi), his dad -- a second rate criminal with no gift for staying out of jail -- complicates matters by bringing his new (and pregnant) girlfriend Mara (Monica Brachini) to live with the family. Despite his difficult childhood, Piero is a bright boy, and he is encouraged to pursue greater educational opportunities by Giovanna (Nicoletta Braschi), a widow who teaches at his school. Piero gains a friend at his new school, Tommaso (Marco Cocci), a rich but troubled boy, and a few years, later the 18-year-old Piero (Edoardo Gabbriellini) finds love with a girl named Lisa, though sadly it's not destined to last. Ovosodo won the Special Jury Prize at the 1997 Venice Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A courageous man stands up to the Mafia and ends up paying a terrible price. This Italian drama is based on a true story and begins in 1990 when Milanese salesman Piero Nava witnesses the mob killing of a prominent magistrate. A man of integrity, Nava reports the crime and later testifies against the killers in court. In order to protect himself and his family, Nava enters the convoluted, bureaucratic government witness protection program. The traumatic experiences he suffers leaves the disillusioned Nava wondering whether he would have been better off remaining silent. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this remake of the 1983 Ardiente Paciencia by Antonio Skarmeta, the time and place have been changed to Italy in the 1950s, but the relationship between the Chilean Nobel Prize-winning poet Pablo Neruda and Mario (Massimo Troisi), the postman who delivers his copious mail, is still the focus of attention. In this version of the story, scripted by a collective of Anna Pavignano, the director Michael Radford, Troisi himself, and a few others (based on Skarmeta's original story), Neruda is an aloof and slightly elitist figure who is seeking solitude on an island off the coast of Italy, taking a respite from political problems at home. Mario is a poet at heart and employs every measure he is capable of inventing to win his way into the affections and attention of the great author. As his efforts start to bear fruit and Neruda unbends and begins to share conversation and philosophy with Mario, the postman idolizes the poet all the more. Eventually, Neruda shares his leftist political philosophy as well -- and helps him win over the captivating Beatrice, the woman of Mario's dreams. When Neruda leaves, Mario enters into high gear as he prepares material for the next time he sees Neruda -- his ardor and patience, alluded to in the original title -- are essentially indestructible. (Massimo Troisi) was fated never to know that Il Postino would receive worldwide acclaim and be nominated for an Oscar for "Best Picture" in 1995 (the first foreign film nominated in that category since Ingmar Bergman's Cries and Whispers 22 years earlier). Suffering from a heart ailment and unable to work more than an hour or two on the filming of Il Postino each day, he died in his sleep at the age of 41, the day after shooting ended on the film. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Serafina, Pulcinella and Isabella are three lusty, beautiful members of a traveling theatrical troupe touring the French countryside in the 17th century, leaving in their wake a crop of broken hearts. This picaresque romantic comedy is based on the 1863 novel Le Capitaine Fracasse by Theophile Gauthier. In the story, the company stops at a castle owned by the scruffy young Baron de Sigognac (Vincent Perez), who is deeply smitten with the charms of the middle-aged (and somewhat morose) beauty Serafina (Ornella Muti). He decides to travel with the company, and Serafina perversely tries to get him to woo the youngest of the company, the newly bereaved Isabella (Emmanuelle Béart). When the company plays before a group of noblemen, the three women make yet more conquests, a few of them unwelcome, and a series of competitions and duels for the hearts of the lovely ladies follows, before everyone settles down with the "right" person. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

When tough-minded slum dweller Claudio Scanna Claudio Amendola is drafted into the Italian Army for his obligatory one-year tour of service, he hardly expects to have to serve the entire year on latrine duty. However, that's just what happens in this exposé of injustices of the draft system. Claudio has inadvertently humiliated his lieutenant, a petty and small-minded man who cannot abide the knowledge that Claudio is definitely a better man than he is. Before the year is out, though, they will have a definitive confrontation. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

The vast differences 27 years makes between Italian comedy, the city of Rome, the stars in this film, and filmmaking itself are apparent in this 1985 sequel to the 1958 I Soliti Ignoti. Clips from the earlier film highlight the changes. Returning to reprise their roles are Marcello Mastroianni, Vittorio Gassman, and Tiberio Murgia. Tiberio (the character played by Mastroianni) has been released from jail, and he is unable to find work. Forced to reluctantly join up with the old gang leader Peppe (Gassman), Tiberio agrees to do a smuggling job when Peppe falls ill. Packing his vehicle with decoy passengers for the border guards, the run works well until everyone is heading back again -- then a series of misunderstandings lead to an unexpected turn of events and a mistaken killing. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this youth-oriented, standard romantic comedy, Anna (Marina Suma) and Calogero (Jerry Cala) are in love and living together in a low-scale apartment while going to the University of Milan. When Anna discovers she is pregnant, Calogero handles the situation like the moral coward he is, and Anna makes the painful decision to have an abortion. That fateful moment eventually tears them apart, and although Anna comes back for awhile, the relationship continues to flounder, leaving neither very certain about the future. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

A unique look at the history of 20th century France as illustrated in popular culture, Le Bal is set in a Parisian dance hall and features no narrative, no dialogue, and no continuous characters. The film moves from one dance number to the next, as the music reflects the political and cultural tenor of the times, from the Popular Front of 1936 to the German Occupation of World War II, on to the breezy openness of the post-war era and the open rebellion and turmoil of May 1968, and finally closing in the early 1980s. A troupe of dancers portrays all the film's characters, with make-up and costume changes (as well as appropriate period music) indicating the different time periods. Directed by Ettore Scola, Le Bal was based on a stage production that was a great success in Europe. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Perhaps a little over-ambitious for the casual audience unfamiliar with the Italian world of entertainment and politics, La Terrazza involves a total of eight main protagonists and how they have changed or are changing. All eight are sitting on a terrace talking, while flashbacks and flashforwards fill in their past, present, and future relationships. Enrico (Jean-Louis Tritignant) is a burnt-out screenwriter, Amedeo (Ugo Tognazzi) is a self-made producer, Mario (Vittorio Gassman) is a communist member of parliament who is having an affair with the married Giovanna (Stefania Sandrelli) and is otherwise having a hard time trying to tow the tough, virtuous line the party demands. Giovanna, as well as the other women on the terrace, have all the spirit of people looking forward to the future while the men have been there and found it wanting. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide