Luciano Federico Movies
- 2006
The title is a literal one: Raimundo Garcia's satirical political comedy Cuba Libre (or 'Free Cuba') coincides with the first free elections in Cuba. As the story opens, a group of squatters are evicted from their cultural center and burst into the Cuban Embassy in Madrid - little realizing that their actions will make them the central targets of a die hard, take-no-prisoners reporter and an even more determined police force. Mario Arias, Luciano Federico and Sara Deray co-star; Garcia co-authored the original script with Enrique Calvo and Ulises Bermejo. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
Convinced that she has found a means of escaping her miserable existence after a million stolen euros landed in her lap, Julia discovers that money can sometimes cause more problems than it solves when the criminals who stole the cash in the first place come gunning for the fruits of their unlawful labor. But Julia is determined to reap the rewards of her windfall even if it kills her. Now, as her life becomes a deadly game of deception, murder, and treachery, it begins to look as if Julia's greed will lead her directly to the grave. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2002
Based on a true story, L'Ultima Lezione is a display of the rising unease following the yet unsolved disappearance of Federico Caffe (Roberto Herlitzka), an influential and celebrated professor of Economic Theory for the past 30 years. The 73-year-old mysteriously left his home on April 14, 1987, without his passport, glasses, watch, or provisions, never to be heard from again. Along with a group of his core students, the police searched far and wide, proposing a series of unlikely possibilities which ranged from suicide to kidnap by a terrorist network, and even an unpublicized decision to join a monastery. None of these theories led to any supporting evidence. Meanwhile, the fictional character of Andrea Collati (Ignazio Oliva), who left Caffe's doctoral program in order to take a job at a prestigious financial institution, has been ordered to fudge a report on a public stock proposal. Never having been put in a position such as this, she looks to flashbacks of Caffe for guidance. L'Ultima Lezione (The Final Lesson) is writer/director Fabio Rosi's debut feature. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roberto Herlitzka, Ignazio Oliva, (more)
A young man's infatuation for a beautiful older woman blooms amidst the outbreak of World War II in this bittersweet comedy-drama from Italy. Renato (Giuseppe Sulfaro) is a 13-year-old boy growing up in a small Sicilian community. Mussolini has risen to power and has declared war upon England and France, but Renato has other things on his mind -- mostly girls. While hanging out with his friends by the seashore, Renato spies Malèna (Monica Bellucci), the daughter of one of his schoolteachers, whose husband Nino (Gaetano Aronica) is fighting with Mussolini's army. Renato is immediately obsessed with Malèna and follows her like a lost puppy, spying on her whenever circumstances permit and imagining her as his co-star in elaborate erotic fantasies inspired by his favorite movies. Renato, however, is hardly the only man in town to be struck by Malèna's charms, and her beauty leads to resentment from the women of the community. Malèna's circumstances take a turn for the worst after her husband is reported to have died in combat, and she is forced to resort to prostitution to survive; she is brutally attacked by a pack of angry matrons and driven from town. Renato tries to keep track of her, and has some less than encouraging news to report when Nino turns out to be alive and finds his spouse is missing. Malèna was written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, best known for the art-house hit Nuovo Cinema Paradiso; Malèna was released in Europe at 106 minutes, while the American version was edited by ten minutes to tighten the pace and remove nudity and sexual material considered too strong for the U.S. marketplace. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Monica Bellucci, Giuseppe Sulfaro, (more)
- 1999
Gianluca Maria Tavarelli directs this nuanced portrait of an intermittent 20-year love affair told in 12 chapters that depict critical, though undramatized, turning points in the relationship. The film introduces Marco (Fabrizio Gifuni) and Sara (Lorenza Indovina) during a 1998 argument. Just as Sara insists that she wants to break up, an unseen photographer takes pictures of their encounter. Cut to 1982 when the two 20-year-old college students go on their first magical date. From there, the film jumps ahead by one or two year intervals during which time the relationship goes through periods of happiness and pain. The affair seems like it is over for good when Marco abruptly ends it in 1991, resulting in Sara moving to Argentina for three years. Yet upon their reunion, they realize that the same chemistry still exists, even though Marco has gotten married during the intervening time. By 1997, the two are in a full-blown affair, meeting in an apartment for their regular tryst. Yet their pretend relationship proves too unfulfilling, and Sara, in the argument that opened the film, breaks it off. Later during a 2000 New Year's Eve party, they stumble upon each other once again. This film was screened at the 2000 Rotterdam Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorenza Indovina, Fabrizio Gifuni, (more)
- 1998
Popular Italian rock star Luciano Ligabue made his directorial debut with this Italian drama based on Fuori e dentro il borgo, his collection of autobiographical short stories about growing up in small-town Italy of the '70s. DJ Bruno (Lucian Federico) reflects on the past, a small circle of friends, and the hopes of their generation. At the group's core is Freccia (Stefano Accorsi), a heroin user until Marzia (Patrizia Piccinini) steps in to help him kick the habit. As expected, Iena (Alessio Modica) marries and settles down, while unhappy Boris (Roberto Zibetti) is a victim of his own cynicism, and Tito (Enrico Salimbeni) is driven to violence by his dysfunctional family. An older bartender (singer-songwriter Francesco Guccini) listens to the group's woes and dreams. Along with a guitar score and a closing-credits song by Ligabue, tunes of the time include ones by Iggy Pop, Roxy Music, and David Bowie. Shown at the 1998 Venice Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stefano Accorsi, Luciano Federico, (more)
- 1994
The relationship between a working class father and son provides the focus of this Italian drama set in Genoa. Corrado works as a night watchman on the Genoan harbor. His wife works at a dry cleaners. He is close to retiring, but finds he misses the factory where he spent his youth. He gets his son Gabriele a job there instead. Gabriele wants to pursue his own interests and soon quits. This creates a great gulf between father and son. The conflict is only partially resolved at the film's end. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michele Placido, Stefano Dionisi, (more)
- 1992
Anna-Ambrogio grew up loving the sea and sailing, and nothing would please her more than being able to become a merchant seaman. However, it is the early 1960s, and women are not welcome either at sea or at the various marine academies that train youngsters for oceangoing careers. She has one supporter in her quest, a broad-minded and well-experienced sailor named Leo. With his encouragement, she batters down the men-only barriers at the merchant-marine academy, and through the force of her determination and persistence she manages to overcome the ingrained prejudices of her instructors and classmates to graduate. Afterwards, in Lisbon, she finds that even with her new credentials, overcoming the prejudices of potential employers is not simply a matter of determination and persistence, but then her old mentor comes to her assistance here, as well. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roberto Citran
- 1991
In Italy, Gloria is so dismayed to find that her husband has been carrying on an affair behind her back that she takes her two boys and goes to visit a sister in the U.S. who lives in St. Louis. The lads are intrigued to discover that their cousins are young women with very distinct attractions: one is blond, difficult and a bit of a hussy; the other sister is a brunette, very nice and sympathetic, but rather plain. Reviewers suggested that this film was shot in order to take advantage of the U.S. working visas that director Pupi Avati arranged in order to shoot the heartland jazz biography Bix, and they felt that this was not an especially successful effort. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Franco Nero, Anna Bonaiuto, (more)
- 1989
- PG
Richard Lester returned to his double-barreled successes of the 1970s, The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers, with Return of the Musketeers, a film that was inexplicably shelved for several years, making its belated premiere on cable television. Based on Alexandre Dumas's novel Twenty Years Later, the film takes place (appropriately enough) two decades after the death of Milady de Winter. Though Milady may have died, her nefarious schemes have been taken up by her daughter Justine (Kim Cattrall), who maneuvers with the conspiring Cardinal Mazarin (Philippe Noiret) to gain control of the crown through Queen Anne (Geraldine Chaplin). D'Artagnan (Michael York) calls for his old compatriots Porthos (Frank Finlay), Athos (Oliver Reed), and Aramis (Richard Chamberlain) to once again go "one for all and all for one." But complications set in when Athos and Aramis take sides with the crown and Athos' adopted son Raoul (C. Thomas Howell) falls in love in Justine. The film is dedicated to character actor Roy Kinnear who plays Planchet, who died in an equestrian accident during the production. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael York, Oliver Reed, (more)
