Domenico Procacci Movies

Elio Germano stars in this tense crime thriller as Giorgio, a law student with virtually impeccable behavior and a perfect record - until his path crosses with that of the shady Francesco (Michele Riondino). The latter is professional gambler who makes a practice of infiltrating casinos and cheating at poker. Francesco systematically lures Elio out of law school classrooms and into gambling halls, and soon Elio finds himself helplessly drawn into an unfamiliar and dangerous yet all too exciting realm. Director Daniele Vicari co-adapted the bestselling novel by Gianrico Carofiglio with the author and Francesco Carofiglio. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

A fresh-faced law student and a crafty card shark form a volatile friendship based on mutual treachery in Maximum Velocity director Daniele Vicari's adaptation of Gianrico Carofiglio's best-selling novel. At first, all fast friends Giorgio (Elio Germano) and Francesco (Michele Riondino) were interested in was playing a little poker and making some extra cash, but it didn't take long for greed to take hold and before long the pair had begun their fateful descent down the slippery slope of criminality. After realizing the profit they could make by rigging the game, the two con artists realized that in order to maintain their lavish lifestyle they would have to get creative. Before long, Giorgio and Francesco were dealing drugs and making a killing. But the further down the rabbit hole they ventured, the more detached Giorgio grew from his middle-class family and the more unpredictable his partner in crime became. By the time a sinister, more violent side of Francesco's personality began to emerge, it was far too late for turning back. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

An eccentric but brilliant early 19th Century scientist attempts to convince the Prime Minister that the world will end in 2008 in director Rolf de Heer's silent, monochromatic tribute to the slapstick classics of Mack Sennett and Hal Roach. Dr. Plonk (Nigel Lunghi) may be living in the year 1907, but he has recently discovered that mankind's time on planet Earth is about to expire. As Dr. Plonk's mute assistant Paulus (Paul Blackwell) lumbers around the lab doing his best to keep the various experiments moving along, Mrs. Plonk (Magda Szubanski) drives her overworked maid (Phoebe Paterson de Heer) to the point of exhaustion and the family pooch does his best to simply stay out from under everyone's feet. Upon discovering that the world will end in exactly 101 years, Dr. Plonk makes an unsuccessful attempt to convince unbelieving Prime Minister Stalk (Wayne Anthoney) that something must be done before it's too late. In a desperate bit to back up his findings, Dr. Plonk constructs a time machine that will allow him to travel into the future and bring back irrefutable evidence of mankind's ultimate demise. Though their misadventures through time at first find Dr. Plonk and Paulus appearing in the free-love era and nearly turning up as dinner for a tribe of hungry cannibals, the pair eventually gets it right and makes it to Adelaide of 2007. Though the public at large seems hopelessly clueless about the impending destruction that's plain to see for anyone willing to open their eyes, Dr. Plonk beliefs himself fortunate when he scores an exclusive one-on-one with 21st Century Prime Minister Short (South Australian Premier Mike Rann). Unfortunately for Dr. Plonk, and perhaps all of mankind, clueless officials immediately deem the genius time traveler a terrorist suspect and attempt to capture him for questioning before he makes the leap back to 1907. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The title of Carlo Mazzacurati's tense and moody small-town drama La Giusta Distanza (AKA The Right Distance, 2007) refers to a writer's need to maintain an appropriate amount of professional "distance" from his or her subject; the journalist in question here is Giovanni (neophyte Giovanni Capovilla), a late adolescent with a flair for journalistic correspondence. As the story opens, Giovanni attaches himself to a big city paper and agrees to cover events that transpire in his Po River Valley hamlet. Meanwhile, the arrival in town of fetching teacher Mara (Valentina Lodovini) turns more than a few heads, including Giovanni's and that of Hassan, a local immigrant mechanic from Tunisia. Mara herself just happens to be single, but finds a dearth of acceptable suitors in the community, except for Guido, a bus driver; problem is, he's already romantically involved with another. Mara then finds Hassan spying through her window one night; she manages to overlook this, however, and then - on an ill-advised note - begins a romance with the mechanic, without recognizing the extent of what she's getting herself into. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

When the efforts of a Philosophy teacher from the Italian Region of Puglia and his two brothers to sell an old family farm are stalled by their boorish and aggressive step-brother, the family's dark past is soon dragged into the harsh light of the presence in director Sergio Rubini's simmering family drama. Luigi moved to Milan years ago to escape the tyranny of his brutish father. Though Luigi and his two brothers are currently attempting to negotiate the sale of an old farm that has fallen to disrepair, their loutish, womanizing, half-brother Aldo seems to be doing everything in his power to sink the potentially lucrative deal. Eventually deciding to take the matter into his own hands, former childhood hellion Luigi returns to Puglia only to find that little has changed in his explosively dysfunctional family. When the brothers are acquitted of a homicide and heated accusations begin to fly among family members, Luigi launches a furtive investigation into the case that finds him putting his relationships with his family, and his wife, under the microscope for closer inspection. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A good-natured Saturday night gathering amongst a group of thirtysomethings takes a decidedly perilous turn in director Fausto Paravidinio's moody entry into the 2007 Karlovy Vary Int'l Film Festival. At first the celebration was going strong, but when memories of two previous events arise and bitterness rears its ugly head, the events soon threaten to take a turn toward the tragic. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Directed by Paolo Benvenuti, Segreti Di Stato (Secret File) is a pseudo-documentary chronicling an old political incident which many Italians believe to be a violently anti-Communist plot masterminded by the Christian Democratic Party and bandit Salvatore Giuliano. Most of the focus centers on the trial held after Giuliano's death; though he himself was out of the picture, his right-hand man was left sitting in prison. The investigation is led by good-hearted lawyer Antonio Catania, who researches mounds of documentation and forensic evidence in hopes of delving to the conspiracy's center. The film features David Coco, Aldo Puglisi, Sergio Graziani, and Francesco Guzzo. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

Directed by Gian Tavarelli, Liberi (Break Free) centers on the freckle-faced Vince (Elio Germano), whose life in a Roman mountain village is unfulfilling, to say the least. His father Cenzo (Luigi Maria Burruano) lost his job after a local chemical plant closed; shortly afterward, Cenzo's wife Paola (Anita Zagaria) dumped him for a politician. Fed up, Vince travels to the beach town of Pescara and lands a job as a junior cook at a tourist resort. While there, he falls in love with Genny (Nicole Grimaudo), a waitress plagued by a phobia of traveling. Just as the romance begins to take off, Cenzo appears at Vince's doorstep demanding that his son help him get Paola back. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

Matteo Garrone's The Embalmer tells the sad story of a love triangle. Peppino (Ernesto Mahieux), a mob-connected dwarf who works as a taxidermist, establishes a working relationship with Valerio (Valerio Foglia Manzillo), who loves animals. The closeted Peppino, who carries a torch for Valerio, is threatened when Valerio takes up with Deborah (Elisabetta Rocchetti), who moves in with the pair. Soon the tension leads to horrible acts committed by and on the different members of the group. The Embalmer was screened at the Director's Fortnight during the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide