Luca Lionello Movies
The story of the would-be Portuguese nobleman who rejected a life of materialism to become a Franciscan monk and stand up for the poor and oppressed comes to the big screen in this lavish hagiography starring Jordi Molla, Joe Capalbo, and Matt Patresti. Had he wanted, St. Anthony (Molla) could have lived a life of leisure. Though born to Portuguese nobles, the pious St. Anthony left it all behind in order to become a symbol of hope for the downtrodden and disadvantaged. His mind was sound, but his body was fragile, and as St. Anthony began his tireless campaign against injustice, Folco (Paolo De Vita) became his most trusted disciple. When greedy money lender Ronaldo (Damir Todorovic) used his wealth to enslave the desperate people of Padua, the revolutionary saint made a vow to defend the common people even if it meant taking the fight to the highest levels of society and the church. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jordi Mollà, Paolo DeVita, (more)
- 2006
Italian director Carmine Amoroso's politically tinged, slice-of-life seriocomedy Cover Boy... Last Revolution details the wild, unpredictable, and bittersweet experiences of Ioan (Eduard Gabia), an illegal Romanian immigrant who passes into Italy undetected and attempts to eke out a life for himself in the land of Caesar. After an introductory montage of stock footage dramatizing Romanian political history -- including the fall of Ceausescu -- Amoroso moves into Ioan's personal story. When his father, Florin (Gabriel Spahiu), is shot dead in Bucharest, Ioan accepts an invitation from a friend to travel with him to Italy, but en route, authorities discover the friend's illegal immigrant status and promptly deport him, leaving Ioan to fend for himself. In a seemingly chance encounter, the young traveler meets Michele (Luca Lionello), a fourtysomething who promptly invites Ioan to share a room with him -- never admitting his sublimated gay attraction to the newcomer. For a time, Ioan struggles to keep himself afloat with menial jobs -- until a sexy and enterprising young fashion photographer notices Ioan and sees in him Milan's freshest modeling sensation. She thus ensures that Ioan's life will never be the same. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luca Lionello, Chiara Caselli, (more)
Mel Gibson's well-publicized production The Passion of the Christ concerns the last 12 hours in the life of Jesus of Nazareth. The dialogue is spoken in the ancient Aramaic language, along with Latin and Hebrew. In the Garden of Gethsemane near the Mount of Olives, Jesus (James Caviezel) is betrayed by Judas Iscariot (Luca Lionello). Jesus is condemned to death for blasphemy and brought before Pontius Pilate (Hristo Naumov Shopov), the Roman governor of Judea, for sentencing. The roaring crowd demand his death, so Pilate orders his crucifixion. Jesus is severely beaten and made to carry his cross up to Golgotha, the hill outside Jerusalem, where he is nailed to the cross. Romanian theatrical actress Maia Morgenstern plays Mary, Mother of God, and Italian superstar Monica Bellucci plays Mary Magdalene. Amid much controversy involving Gibson and various religious organizations, The Passion of the Christ received an international theatrical release in February of 2004. In March 2005, Gibson released an unrated version of the film, dubbed The Passion Recut, that eliminated five to six minutes of the more graphic scenes of flogging and crucifixion. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Caviezel, Monica Bellucci, (more)
- 1996
The English title of this complex Italian film is apt. Featuring 65 main characters and 130 speaking parts (famous faces abound and many of the actors appeared gratis), and ranging in tone from tartly humorous to darkly tragic, it presents 30 interwoven slices from the lives of modern day Romans during a single day. The lone, silent figure of a lone jogger provides a sort of continuity between the vignettes. Beginning at sunset of the previous day, the jogger is seen warming up on his apartment terrace, looking for all the world as if he would like to jump. The rest of the stories seem to be randomly presented. Stories include the robbery of a Chinese restaurant that causes a birthday celebrant to die of fright, two different newlyweds who find themselves attracted to each other, an opportunistic mechanic's plan to capitalize on the death of a rival, a sneaky, sadistic meter maid and others. One uniting feature of the stories is their underlying bitter assessment of modern humanity. People are seen as selfish and basically cruel, still the stories move quickly and the balance between humor and drama, affection and cynicism, and shallowness and complexity is carefully maintained. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
