Alberto di Stasio Movies
German filmmaker Tom Tykwer made his English-language debut with this feature, which was adapted from a screenplay co-authored by the late Krzysztof Kieslowski. Philippa (Cate Blanchett) is a British schoolteacher living in Italy, whose husband fell victim to a drug overdose, as have several of her students. Marco Vendice (Stefano Santospago) is a powerful local drug dealer who sold the dope which killed Philippa's husband, as well as a number of neighborhood teens. Disgusted with the inability of the police to bring Vendice to justice, Philippa takes the law into her own hands, planting a bomb which is intended to kill the dealer. However, Philippa's plan goes awry, and instead the bomb kills four innocent bystanders. Philippa is arrested and brought before the police for questioning, not knowing that the interrogating officer in charge of the case, Pini (Mattia Sbragia), is one of Vendice's secret business associates. More comfortable with English than Italian, Philippa requests a translator, and multilingual officer Filippo (Giovanni Ribisi) is brought in to serve as interpreter. Filippo finds himself falling in love with Philippa, and with his help she's able to escape and go into hiding; however, despite her deep regrets about the loss of four lives in the bombing, she is still bound and determined to see Vendice dead. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cate Blanchett, Giovanni Ribisi, (more)
- 1996
Franco Melis is utterly humiliated at being reduced to performing stand-up comedy before young unappreciative audiences who do not realize that he was once a great and highly respected star, and, desperate for a chance to reclaim his lost fame, he jumps at the opportunity to appear in a low-budget independent art film. It is being specially made for exhibition at the Venice Film festival. This Italian comedy chronicles the struggle of Melis, one that grows even more difficult in the face of a press that is more interested in the juicy details of his personal life than in his new movie. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Luca (Stefano Abbati) was a political activist, sure. He fought corruption with the best of them, and worked with other who did. But now he has a decent life as a deejay at a radio station, and a girlfriend who doesn't ask too much of him. Why should he go along with his friend Giovanni (Alberto DiStasio) when he asks him to help with the production of a documentary on the terrorism of the 1970s? For one thing, he hasn't seen his parents and some of the old crowd for years, and wonders how they've been doing. For another, maybe it's time to reassess his decision. Soon enough, in this combination drama and thriller, he rediscovers why he got out of the game. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stefano Abbati, Alberto di Stasio, (more)
- 1986
One of the more difficult docudramas to come out of Italy in recent years, this is a fictionalized account of the murders that occurred in Florence once a year between 1970 and 1985. The difficulty lies in the fact that the movie was made without the criminal ever being caught. And so the director and writer do not have any idea who he is and have to postulate a young killer whose problems started in early childhood because of a traumatic sexual encounter he witnessed. This serial killer only murders lovers. Another difficulty lies in the fact that the victims' families understandably do not want their slain sons and daughters represented as gory corpses, or in the process of dying. Director Cesare Ferrario has therefore had to tone down his film, and trace the story by focusing mainly on the first and last murders. A fictional reporter named Andreas Ackermann (Leonard Mann) is followed as he tracks down leads in the developing story. The monster in fact turned out to be more than one man. In March, 1998, a 70-year-old ex-postal worker named Mario Vanni was sentenced to life imprisonment for five of the total of 8 double murders committed by the "monster of Florence." At the same time, 58-year-old Giancarlo Lotti was given 30 years for participating in the last four double murders. A third man was acquitted and a fourth convicted but then later released for lack of sufficient evidence. The last man, Pietro Pacciani, died in 1998 at the age of 73. All four men were friends. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leonard Mann, Lidia Mancinelli, (more)
Bearing no particular relation to any literary or cinematic work of the same title, this erotic drama by Marco Bellocchio uses sexual expression to work out a character's hang-ups, problems, and personality. Andrea (Federico Ptizalis) is in his last year of high school when he meets Giulia (Maruschka Detmers). Her father was killed by terrorists, yet Giulia is engaged to marry a former terrorist who is released from prison after he names names. After Andrea and Giulia meet, they have some torrid sexual encounters, though Giulia continues her engagement to the ex-terrorist because her wealthy family opposes any liaison with the lower-class Andrea. Mixed in with Giulia's two love affairs are several odd characters, such as the former terrorist's mother. No one is particularly stable, least of all Giulia. This film was released in the United States in both R and X-rated versions, the latter featuring a brief but explicit oral sex scene. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maruschka Detmers, Federico Pitzalis, (more)
