Silvia Scola Movies
- 2001
The insidious emergence of state-sanctioned anti-Semitism in Fascist Italy sets the stage for this historical drama. In 1938, Umberto (Diego Abatantuono) is a tailor who is beginning to lose business to Leone (Sergio Castellito), a haberdasher whose shop is next door to Umberto's. Leone offers stock much like Umberto's and at lower prices, which has brought plenty of customers into his store, causing Umberto no small amount of annoyance. Umberto's ire is hardly soothed by the fact that his teenage son Paolo (Elio Germano) is dating Leone's daughter, Susanna (Gioia Spaziani), or that the two men's younger sons, Pietruccio (Walter Dragonetti) and Lele (Simone Ascani), are best friends. The rivalry between the two shopkeepers eventually leads to a heated public argument, in which Umberto refers to Leone's Jewish faith in a derogatory manner. A policeman overhears this, and Leone, who had previously been quiet about his Jewish heritage, soon finds himself having to deal with the sanctions being levied against Jewish citizens. As Umberto sees his neighbor slowly stripped of his property, his rights, and his dignity, his anger turns to sympathy and to a wish that he could do something to help a man not so different from himself. Concorrenza Sleale was directed by Ettore Scola, who previously examined Italy during Mussolini's rule in Una Giornata Speciale. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Diego Abatantuono, Sergio Castellitto, (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)
- 1995
Unhappy neighbors hatch a homicidal scheme, then turn on each other in this Italian thriller similar to Strangers on a Train (1951). Vincenzo Persico (Rolando Ravello) is a miserable man. Despite graduating from college six years ago, he can't land a teaching position, so he's forced to live in humiliation with his mother, a pensioner. Vincenzo's neighbor, the 70-year-old Bartoloni (Alberto Sordi) is in a similar position. His wife, once a gorgeous artist, is now an obese, abusive alcoholic. One night Bartoloni gets Vincenzo drunk and makes him a proposition -- he'll pay him a large sum of money if the young man will kill his wife. The intoxicated Vincenzo doesn't agree, but the offer plagues his mind. Not long after, Mrs. Bartoloni is killed in a fall from her balcony. When her husband discovers his money missing, he assumes that Vincenzo is responsible. At the same time, Vincenzo claims to have landed a job, buying his mother gifts and taking his girlfriend out dancing. Bartoloni betrays Vincenzo, accusing him of murder. Arrested, Vincenzo unemotionally claims his innocence. The police investigation reveals Bartoloni's love for another woman, leaving them baffled over a case that had seemed to be an accident. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- 1994
A young Italian Communist couple come to grips with the fall of Italy's Communist Party and find themselves drifting apart in this Italian-French drama. As the Berlin Wall collapsed in the late '80s, so did the Italian Communist Party. In it's stead has come the more left-wing party the PDS. Since adolescence, Mario and Maria Boschi have been good communist party members. Now that the party is gone, they find themselves drifting apart; especially when Mario eagerly joins the new party while Maria remains a steadfast Communist. Maria soon finds herself drawn to Sicilian Communist Mario Della Rocca. He too is married, but when Maria's mate goes to a conference, she and the new Mario begin a romance. The experience of falling in and out of love makes Maria physically ill. She recuperates at her brother's house and subsequently makes love to the Sicilian. The months fly by. The three are all living alone as they reconcile their many problems. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Giulio Scarpati, Valeria Cavalli, (more)
- 1989
- R
Marcello (Marcello Mastroiano) has worked hard all his life to achieve a certain standing and success as a lawyer in Rome. He is pleased to be able to offer the fruits of his success to his son Michele (Massimo Troisi), and is perplexed and distressed that his unambitious son has no interest in any of these things. Michele is serving a term in the Italian military in the port town of Civitavecchia, and Marcello is visiting him there. Here he meets Michele's salty girlfriend Loredana (Anne Parillaud). The father and son share some meals and explore their differences. Though at first it appears that these two men will not be able to tolerate one another, they eventually decide to live and let live. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marcello Mastroianni, Massimo Troisi, (more)
