Gianni Esposito Movies

The Decameron was the first of director Pier Paolo Pasolini's "trilogy of life." The film, based on the sexually supercharged tales of Boccaccio, is a patchwork of many of Pasolini's favorite themes. Pasolini himself plays the role of an aspiring fresco painter who is advised that his completed work will never be as satisfying as his dream of that work. The film is followed by Pasolini's The Canterbury Tales and The Arabian Nights. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this melodrama a prodigal son returns to his home village after he is acquitted of his stepfather's death to find that most of his former neighbors now shun him. At least his best friend sticks by him. Soon the young man finds himself drawn to his loyal buddy's lover. He and the woman have an affair. Later his friend finds out and vows to kill him. He cannot do it. At the same time, the young man cannot keep hurting his only true friend. As a result he spurns the woman, who runs off into the darkness and gets hit by a car driven by her first lover's mother's car. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Paris Nous Appartient begins at the end-with a mysterious suicide. Curious as to why a young Spaniard would take his own life, Betty Schneider visits many of the places frequented by the dead youth. She learns from theatre-director Giani Esposito that the suicide victim was part of a sinister international conspiracy. She further learns from American-expatriate Daniel Crohem that Esposito has also been targeted for persecution by the conspirators. By the time Schneider realizes that the conspiracy was merely a figment of the neurotic Crohem's imagination, the terrified Esposito has killed himself. The intrigues of the plot take second place to the film's centerpiece: an eternally-in-progress stage production of Shakespeare's Pericles, Prince of Tyre. Now regarded as one of the pioneering efforts in the French "New Wave" movement, Paris Belongs to Us was also the first feature-length effort of director (and former critic and film theorist) Jacques Rivette. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This is a conventional, wartime drama by Jean Dreville about the French pilots who escaped the Nazi occupation of their country to join the Russians in fighting the Germans. The Frenchmen are put together in one squadron after they arrive in Russia, and language barriers prove not to be insurmountable in the end. As forays are flown in combat, the French suffer their own losses along with the Russians. Meanwhile, some background on the political currents in France during the Vichy government is provided. Location footage in Russia and historical, archival shots add to the realism of the story. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Reproduction Interdite (Copying Forbidden) is a heavily plotted meller about an art forgery. A clever gang of thieves plots to remove a valuable Gaugin from a museum, create an imitation of the masterpiece, then pass off the phony as the genuine article. Yes, the villains are clever, but they never figure in the human element. Complicating this "perfect crime" is an imperfect murder and a few other unforeseen roadblocks to success. Reproduction Interdite was purchased for American consumption by a TV syndication firm specializing in providing "new" material for the Late Late Shows throughout the nation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Beautifully photographed, this comedy drama from Jean Renoir chronicles the revival of Paris' most notorious dance as it tells the story of a theater producer who turns a humble washerwoman into a star at the Moulin Rouge. The film is also title Only the French Can. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide