Francesca D'Aloja Movies
- 2003
Long a staple of Italian theater and vocal music, Marco Filiberti makes an auspicious debut as a feature-film writer/director in this melodrama set against the decadent backdrop of the porn industry. Filiberti plays the tanned, toned, and egotistical Riki, whose name is well-known to the country's gay adult-film connoisseurs. After the death of his aristocratic father, Riki is brought back into contact with his estranged brother Federico (Urbano Barberini), who views his brother's chosen profession with a combination of disdain and curiosity. As the two reconcile their differences, Riki has to come to terms with growing up and taking responsibility, which for him includes the desire to become a father by adopting an orphan. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marco Filiberti, Urbano Barberini, (more)
Shot on digital video, this no-holds-barred, semi-autobiographical film from Italian actress/model Asia Argento presents the bleak decent of a popular actress into a haze of drugs and overindulgence. Anna Battista (Argento) has seemingly everything anyone could ever want, yet sometimes everything is never enough. Fed up with going through the motions as an actor, Battista aspires to seek a career as a director so that she may truly explore her currently latent artistic talent. The queen of excess, Battista's attempts to realize her true talent are time and again shattered as the she is used and abused by everyone she comes into contact with. After a one-night fling with an emotionally distant and uncaring Australian rock star (Jean Sheperd) leaves the self-confessed whore a lovelorn mother-to-be, Battista's desperation to bring her story to the screen finds her dealing with a shady American producer (Joe Coleman), an agent reluctant to assist her in branching out, and a heroin-addicted former filmmaker who is as close to ending his life as Battista is to beginning hers. Her career in disarray and her uncertain future growing increasingly grim, Battista embarks on a numbing binge of sex and drugs that takes her from Europe to America and back again. Attempting to seek-out the father of her unborn child and find some sense of stability, Battista finds the truth about her one-time lover. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Asia Argento, Herbert Fritsch, (more)
- 1999
Italian director Marco Risi directs this ensemble farce about a series of separate mishaps around a luxurious apartment complex. On New Year's Eve, at the edge of Rome, there is a traffic accident, followed by a soccer team crashing a high-brow ball. Three Mafioso rob a trussed up masochist, and a pair of druggies whacked out on low-grade paint throw dynamite in the heating system. All of these events culminate in one gigantic finale. Kaputt Mundi was screened at the 1999 Mill Valley Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Monica Bellucci, Alessandro Haber, (more)
- 1999
This film was inspired by a news item from the 1970s and a novel on the same subject called Le notte di Arancia meccanica. The heroes are a bunch of criminals from the suburbs of Rome who earn their living robbing the richer neighborhoods. They attack their victims on the street and force them to go to their homes. This proves to be a very effective technique. Remo Guerra, a tough and angry young man, has a regular job as a policeman alongside his criminal activities, which causes a personal crisis. He also has difficulties getting along with the other members of the gang. As he can't stand his own face anymore, he begins to contemplate plastic surgery until he comes to the realization that he can change his face but not his conscience. The film mixes hard-core realism with symbolism, trying to reflect the psychology of the criminals. L'odore della notte was screened at the 1999 International Film Festival in Rotterdam. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Valerio Mastandrea, Marco Giallini, (more)
- 1998
This complexly plotted comedy interweaves snippets from the lives of nearly 40 diverse patrons sitting at 14 tables in a little Italian trattoria. Though the diners come from all levels of society, most are bound by one or two common threads: their engagement in illicit romantic affairs and the fact that they are, for the most part, morally and spiritually bankrupt. The restaurant's unflappable, wise owner Flora (Fanny Ardant) is the only one with any real common sense. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fanny Ardant, Vittorio Gassman, (more)
- 1998
This $5 million Italian comedy is based on a novella by Nicolo Ammaniti (from his 1996 collection Mud). With a structure reminiscent of Robert Altman, interweaving events transpire in 12 hours on New Year's Eve as the film explores the lives of dwellers in a suburban Rome apartment complex: Just before her dinner guests are due, a hostess learns her lover has been sleeping with her best friend; a gigolo hired for the night is surprised by soccer players from his hometown; thieves interrupt the S&M session of a dominatrix and a lawyer; a family prepares for a fireworks display; the building's doorkeeper entertains the maintenance staff while her son sniffs glue; and a woman attempting suicide wanders the halls. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Monica Bellucci, Alessandro Haber, (more)
Tired of his troubled marriage and his profession, an overly tense Italian businessman's life changes dramatically after he learns that an aunt has left him property in Istanbul. Francesco Alessandro Gassman(the son of internationally renowned actor Vittorio Gassman) arrives to the Turkish city hoping that he can take care of the matter swiftly and return to Italy. He is surprised to discover that the property is actually one of the last traditional hamams (old-fashioned bath houses) in Turkey. The lawyer in charge of the inheritance seems to dawdle and this frustrates Francesco who is not used to the slow pace of the neighborhood where the bath is located. But then the family that has been running the Turkish bath for his aunt, takes him in and Francesco gradually rediscovers a long-missing sense of family as he accustoms himself to Turkish culture. Matters become complicated though when the couple's daughter Fusun falls for Francesco, who discovers himself increasingly and disconcertingly interested in her darkly handsome brother Mehmet. The Italian decides to remain in Istanbul for a while to help restore the baths. The situation comes to a head when Francesco's wife arrives to make an announcement. The ensuing conflicts cause Francesco great upheaval, but they also lead him to grow in unexpected ways. Having spent two decades in Italy, Turkish-born filmmaker Ferzan Ozpetek brings a sense of realism in observing the cultural differences between Francesco and his adopted family. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alessandro Gassman, Francesca D'Aloja, (more)
A withdrawn Beunos Aries movie buff develops an unusually charged relationship with his new roommate in this off-beat psychological thriller. Reclusive and demanding, movie theater owner Adrian LeDuc is none too happy when circumstances force him to share his apartment. His outlook begins to shift, however, when he meets Jack Carney, a confident charmer with movie star looks. Adrian is both strangely attracted to and resentful of Jack, and the two form a sometimes awkward, often unspoken bond. This connection is challenged, however, when it is revealed that Jack may be hiding a horrible secret in regards to his enigmatic past. While it always remains grounded in the dynamics of the roommate's relationship, the film expands to encompass much more, from an implicit critique of obsessive movie fandom to a look at the bloody politics of the Argentinean military regime. Ultimately, however, the film is primarily concerned with creating a mood of slowly building suspense mixed with a streak of black humor, which becomes more pronounced as the film approaches its violent climax. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Colin Firth, Hart Bochner, (more)
