Emilio Solfrizzi Movies
- 2006
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
- Starring:
- Fabrizio Bentivoglio, Paolo Briguglia, (more)
Silvio Soldini's comedy Agata e la Tempestra (Agatha and the Storm) follows what happens to middle age Agata (Licia Maglietta) when a young man attempts to in her heart. His actions cause a number of disruptions in her own life as well as in the lives of many of her acquaintances. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Licia Maglietta, Emilio Solfrizzi, (more)
Enzo Monteleone's World War II drama El Alamein: The Line of Fire is concerned with the life of Italian soldiers. Lieutenant Fiore (Emilio Solfrizzi) leads a group of soldiers stationed in Egypt. The troops, including Sargent Rizzo (Pierfrancesco Favino) and newbie Serra (Paolo Briguglia), are constantly under attack from the British. Eventually the commands from the military hierarchy become indecipherable, and the madness and horror of war overtake the men. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paolo Briguglia, Pierfrancesco Favino, (more)
- 2002
Italian filmmaker Giulio Manfredonia makes his feature debut with the fantasy comedy If I Were You. Three very different men are accidentally brought together for a drunken night on the beach. Andrea (Emilio Solfrizzi) is an unfulfilled family man, Bernardo (Gioele Dix) is an angry corporate businessman, and Christian (Fabio de Luigi) is a nice yet broke DJ. When each one wishes to be in another's place, they magically switch identities. Andrea gets Christian's life, where he finally fulfills his dream of being a stand up comedian. Bernardo gets Andrea's life, where he appreciates his wife and kids. And Christian gets Bernardo's life, where he finally has enough money. However, problems come up and they miss their old lives, causing them to reevaluate their initial wishes. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emilio Solfrizzi, Gioele Dix, (more)
- 2000
In this broad comedy from Italy, five buddies -- the owner of a cafe (Carlo Buccirosso), his best friend (Emilio Solfrizzi), a mama's boy schoolteacher (Gennaro Nunziante), a one-time professional soccer player (Claudio Amendola), and a bus driver (Alessandro Di Carlo) -- buy lottery tickets as a group, assuming that the more tickets they buy, the better their chances of winning, with the group sharing the prize if they hit the number. However, when their lucky day finally arrives and they have the right number for a $43 million jackpot, it's discovered that someone has pocketed the winning ticket and plans to keep the money for himself. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claudio Amendola, Carlo Buccirosso, (more)
- 2000
Cristina Comencini follows up her critically acclaimed 1998 opus Marriage (a funny though sensitive look at marriage in modern life) with this star-crossed comedy. Mafioso Michele Verrio (Michele Placido) has both a wife (Angelica Ippolito) and a long-suffering mistress, Lunetta (Lunetta Savino). Years ago, Verrio's henchmen bombed the car of Lunetta's muckraking brother Sergio (Francesco Paolantoni) after one of his scoops painted a rather negative portrait of the aging mobster. The incident prompted Sergio to go into hiding up north, leaving behind his child Sabina (Eleonora Sergio) and his wife Mara (Laura Morante). Mara eventually got remarried to Emilio (Emilio Solfrizzi), a car salesman, while Sabina went off to study in an American university -- only to return pregnant and engaged to Verrio's son Giovanni (Marco Morandi). Soon the two families that were once sworn enemies now have to try to get along. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laura Morante, Francesco Paolantoni, (more)
- 1999
- NR
Dilemmas of life, love and family are the subject of this multiple-narrative drama from Italy. The adopted son (played by Francesco Stella) of a well-known philanthropist, Don Tommaso (Toni Bertorelli), wants to travel to his native Morocco to attend his sister's wedding, but he must first hurdle the barricades of Italy's immigration laws. Meanwhile, Tommaso's maid Lucia (Elena Russo) has to deal with her black-sheep brother, who joined a theater troupe comprised of unemployed actors, only to quit to take part in a poorly organized bank robbery. If that weren't enough, Lucia is reunited with a boy who once loved her (Elilio Solfrizzi), who has returned to Italy after failing to make his fortune in the United States. Fine photography and a warm, human charm highlight this film, which was screened at the 1999 Roma Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Toni Bertorelli, Giuliana de Sio, (more)
- 1999
- NR
Horst Fantazzini was a thief who became famous in Italy for a long series of bank robberies where he made a point of never hurting his victims and behaving with as much courtesy as the situation allowed. When he was handed a 20-year prison sentence after finally being caught by the police, Fantazzini discovered life behind bars didn't agree with him, and, in 1973, he attempted to break out. This real-life escape plot provides the basis for the comedy/drama Ormai E Fatta!/Outlaw. Stefano Accosi plays the anarchist Fantazzini, who manages to sneak a gun into Piemonte, a progressive prison where he's being housed. However, Fantazzini turns out to be better at robbing banks than breaking out of jail. He ends up wounding three guards without ever getting outside, and finally takes two other guards hostage and barricades himself in an office at the jail, hoping to ransom his way out. Fantazzini's hostages, two men from Southern Italy who are new to the North and don't much care for it, are no happier in their surroundings than Horst is, and in his negotiations Fantazzini finds himself dealing with two polar opposites, a prison director who emphasizes lenience and trust, and a senior corrections officer who believes in swift, dramatic action. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stefano Accorsi, Giovanni Esposito, (more)
- 1998
Matrimony is a drama about the complexity of relationships. On Christmas Eve, perfect housewife Giulia ($Francesca Neri is worried about a family heirloom which has cracked and rushes to the junk shop to get it repaired -- little anticipating her perfect marriage is about to fall to pieces as well. While everyone in Bologna is making last minute preparations, Giulia runs into her childhood sweetheart, Fausto Paolo Sassanelli. The meeting rekindles old feelings and Giulia realizes that to create the perfect marriage which everyone adores, she has sacrificed her own personality. While waiting to meet her parents at the station, she climbs into a departing train and disappears. The family slowly disintegrates, as if she were the binding element. Cristina Comencini, the daughter of well-known Italian director Luigi Comencini, has written several scripts for her father before launching her own film career in 1988. Matrimoni is also scripted by her, and based on an idea by her and Roberta Mazzoni. It is definitely a woman's film, which tries examine complex feelings of women caught between familial responsibility and individuality. Matrimoni was screened as part of the Panorama section of the 49th International Berlin Film Festival, 1999. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Francesca Neri, Diego Abatantuono, (more)
- 1997
When snooty Gueflo's blue-blooded mother finally dies, he is delighted. At last the family fortune and estate will belong to him. However, his joy is short-lived for he learns that his mother bore an illegitimate son to whom she has bequeathed half her wealth. The bastard son turns out to be a waiter living in southern Italy. Upon learning of his good-fortune, he and his pal head north to Florence to take up residence in his newfound family's posh estate. Gueflo does not welcome his half brother and the two engage in heated battles that only worsen when a beautiful and very single baroness gets involved. The relationship between the quasi-siblings abruptly changes when another family secret is revealed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1995
In this goofy Italian farce a group of Italian tourists head off for a Christmas vacation tour in the Caribbean and end up stranded on a desert isle. Among the castaways are a womanizing plastic surgeon, a homely spinster, her eccentric Neapolitan professor of a brother, a married pair of Roman laborers, and two seductive American models. Bawdy slapstick humor abounds as they attempt to survive in their tropical island nest. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
