Florestano Vancini Movies
- 1984
The lives of three generations of peasant farmers in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy are the focus of this unexciting, flat-footed saga by Florestano Vancini. When the grandfather (Marne Maitland) first decides to leave his job of canal-building and move to northern Italy, he takes up work as a peasant on the land of a local priest, while his oldest son Venancio (Massimo Ghini) starts driving a carriage. More of a visionary than a chauffeur, Venancio first gets involved in organizing the peasants into a kind of farmer's union, and when that movement goes under, he devotes himself to educating the farmers instead. Along the way, his mother dies, he marries Mariena (Anna Teresa Rossini), and they have children. Much to Venancio's sorrow, his own sons do not want to stay in farming, and as they grow older, only one remains at home to till the soil. In the meantime, the specter of fascism is growing stronger by the day and the clouds of war being to darken the horizon. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Massimo Ghini, Antonia Piazza, (more)
- 1979
Guido is an international journalist with an unusually difficult relationship with his daughter, Mimi. He hasn't seen her for several years and has just taken her away from the boarding school she was immured in. She is now 15, and for some reason is doing everything in her power to get him to have sex with her. She even brings herself to orgasm while lying in the bed next to him. He goes nearly apoplectic trying to avoid her advances. Eventually, her school chum Therese comes to visit them, and Guido at last has a semi-suitable object for his by now quite overheated passions. The story is loosely based on a novel by Guido Morselli. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Franco Nero, Dalila di Lazzaro, (more)
- 1974
An older woman and a much younger man explore their attraction and the differences between them in this romance, based on the novel by Carlo Bernari and set in the pre-World War II period. Among the obstacles they must face is the disapproval of the society around them. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1973
This film explores the events surrounding the assassination of Mussolini's chief political opponent, socialist Giacomo Matteotti (1885-1924). Matteotti (Franco Nero) was outspoken in his opposition to Mussolini and his principles. Because the investigation of the assassination by an honest judge (Vittorio De Sica) climbed up the rank and file of government officials and ultimately pointed directly to Mussolini himself, it made his political base very shaky, and he (Mario Adorf) moved from constitutional government to dictatorship. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1972
Set in the time of Garibaldi's revolutionary efforts to free and unify Italy (1860s), this Italian film brings to the screen the story of a Sicilian participant in the town of Bronte. The story pits two kinds of revolutionaries against one another: idealists, and land-grabbers. When the townspeople execute their local rulers, Garibaldi sends a general to restore order. Ironically, the ones arrested and punished are the moderates who were against the slayings. This film was shot on location in Yugoslavia rather than Sicily. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1966
In this slow-moving, sentimental drama, Vittorio (Enrico M. Salerno) is a 40-year-old journalist who reaches a mid-life crisis. His wife nags him constantly for ignoring her and their child. After his mistress dumps him, Vittorio returns to the town where he spent his childhood to reflect on the state of his life. Flashbacks are used to tell of Vittorio's relationship with his parents as a child and the effects World War II had on his development. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Enrico Maria Salerno, Jacqueline Sassard, (more)
- 1964
Catherine Spaak (Il Sorpasso/The Easy Life, Le Treu/The Night Watch) stars as a young woman who is convinced to vacation on a tropical island with a couple of young and eager men (Jacques Perrin and Fabrizio Capuci). While she enjoys her time in paradise, they each attempt to win her affection. Unable to decide between them, she eventually chooses an older fellow (Gabrele Ferzetti. Tragedy soon follows, prompting the young woman to go off on her own. Spaak sings Non e M'eute during titles as the talented and prolific Carlo Rustichelli provides the film's score. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Catherine Spaak, Gabriele Ferzetti, (more)
- 1960
That Long Night in '43 is long indeed-110 minutes-but never dull. As indicated by the title, the film takes place during World War 2. Courageous Italian resistance fighters, struggling against fascist oppression, must endure a single concerted effort to wipe out their movement. As The Inevitable approaches, we are witness to the psychological torment suffered by those literally staring death in the face. Thus far, That Long Night in '43 is the only directorial effort by Florestano Vancini to receive widespread American play. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1960
This is a dramatic, wartime story about the internecine fighting between Italians who opposed Mussolini during the war and those who supported fascism, even after 1945. Anna (Belinda Lee) is married to an invalid who spends his war years in their home in the Po Valley looking out the window and watching the changes. Anna begins an adulterous affair with her former lover, and one night the two of them meet to spend some time together. Their meeting was ill-advised in more than one respect because they and others, including her lover's father, are rounded up and accused of being traitors to the Mussolini government. None of the group of one dozen people are, in fact, resistance fighters but that is not the point. Now Anna and her lover are confronted with an urgent need to escape at all costs since only death awaits them if they remain captives. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Belinda Lee
- 1955
Sophia Loren was still in the "Anna Magnani" phase of her career when she starred in La Donna del Flume (The River Girl). Sophia is cast as Nives, the girlfriend of capricious cigarette smuggler Gino Lodi (Rik Battaglia). When Gino deserts her, the impregnated Nives is soured on all men, including the "right" one, a likeable police guard (Gerald Oury). The first half of the film plays for laughs, while the second half evolves into a lachrymose soap opera. Through it all, Sophia Loren looks like a million lire--and she even gets to sing and dance! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sophia Loren, Rik Battaglia, (more)
