Antonello Grimaldi Movies
With Quiet Chaos (Caos Calmo), acclaimed Italian helmer Nanni Moretti steps away from his standard directorial role to essay the lead and co-author the script in a gentle psychological drama directed by Antonello Grimaldi. Moretti stars as Pietro, a film executive whose life takes an irreversible and devastating turn one fateful morning. During a trip to the beach with his brother, Pietro's path intersects with that of a woman, Eleonora (Isabella Ferrari), who is drowning in the ocean; horrified, Pietro rushes in to save her. He subsequently returns home only to discover that his wife, Lara, just died in a nasty falling accident; devastated to the core, this nascent widower must make the necessary psychological accommodations to adjust to life as a single parent, with sole responsibility for raising his ten-year-old daughter, Claudia (Blu Yoshimi). Almost instinctively, as a reaction to Lara's death, Pietro opts to sit and wait for his daughter to finish school each day (in a park across from the school), in lieu of abandoning her to his own priorities and commitments. This means that the fellow's colleagues in the film industry must, by necessity, come to do business with him in the park. Through it all, Pietro remains silently dumbfounded that the tragedy itself hasn't shaken him more, that the grief (the "quiet chaos" of the title) is subtly agonizing instead of grossly traumatizing and debilitating. Nevertheless, he ultimately begins to approach a full realization and acceptance of his loss, and gains an enhanced awareness of himself and others from the potentially crippling events thrust into his path. Valeria Golino (Rain Man) co-stars; Roman Polanski appears in a cameo as one of Pietro's industry colleagues. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nanni Moretti, Valeria Golino, (more)
- 2006
- PG
Controversial Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berluscoi is just one of the targets of writer and director Nanni Moretti's satiric focus in this sharp comedy-drama. In the 1970's, Bruno (Silvio Orlando) was one of Italy's most daring and best-respected filmmakers, while his wife Paola (Margherita Buy) was a leading box-office star. However, come the new millennium, things are a whole lot different for Bruno -- Paola is divorcing him, his production company is on the verge of bankruptcy, and he can't get a new project off the ground. When Teresa (Jasmine Trinca), a young woman down on her luck, approaches Bruno with a script, he agrees to take on the project, even though he hasn't read it and doesn't know how he'll raise the money. Bruno discovers he's put himself in hot water when he reads the screenplay and discovers it's a frontal assault on Silvio Berluscoi that doesn't shy away from allegations of his connection to organized crime, tax evasion, bribery and influence peddling. While Italian firms won't dare touch the project, Bruno discovers a Polish financier (Jerzy Stuhr) who will put up the money, but under one condition -- Bruno has to persuade box-office idol Marco Pulici (Michele Placidio) to play Berluscoi. Il Caimano (aka The Caiman) received its North American premier at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Silvio Orlando, Margherita Buy, (more)
- 2001
An attorney's reckless personal life catches up with him -- or does it? -- in this whodunit. Valerio Grau (Lino Capolicchio) is a successful lawyer with a secret. For the past ten years, he's been having an affair with Lauretta (Angela Molina), who is also an attorney and also married. One day, Valerio suddenly dies after drinking a cup of poisoned coffee, and Lauretta's husband (Giancarlo Monticelli), a judge, immediately becomes a suspect. Pani (Ivano Marescotti), the city attorney assigned to the case, thinks the judge is the most likely culprit, and hires Piero (Carlo Cecchi), a detective struggling to work past a career embarrassment, to find out what he can about the judge. Piero is assigned to work alongside an assistant magistrate (Rinaldo Rocco) who once worked with Valerio and shares Pani's suspicions, but Piero isn't so certain, and he discovers that Lauretta was not the only "other woman" in Valerio's life. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carlo Cecchi, Ángela Molina, (more)
Youthful idealism meets teenage lust in this teen comedy from Italy. A large group of teenage activists are occupying their high school as part of a protest against privatized education and efforts for greater standardization among students. But one of them, Silvio (Silvio Muccino), is more than a bit preoccupied by Valentina (Giulia Carmignani), a pretty girl in his class who unfortunately already has a boyfriend, Martino (Simone Pagani). One day, Silvio is hanging out with Valentina and Martino, and Martino steps away long enough for Silvio to kiss Valentina. Silvio then makes the mistake of telling his best friend Ponzi (Giuseppe Sanfelice di Monteforte) about it; soon the entire school knows, including a very angry Martino and an equally enraged Claudia (Giulia Steigerwalt), who has a crush on Silvio. As things get more complicated for him at school, Silvio is finding no respite at home; his parents (Anna Galiena and Luca De Flippo) want to know why they don't talk anymore, his brother (Enrico Silvestrin) needs romantic advice, and his sister (Giulia Ciccone) has a secret. To get a better feel for contemporary teenage life, writer/director Gabriele Muccino collaborated on the screenplay with two 16-year-olds, Silvio Muccino and Adele Tulli, both of whom have roles in the film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Silvio Muccino, Guiseppe Sanfelice DiMonteforte, (more)
- 1999
Delving into the uncharted territory of hardcore melodrama and three-hanky pornography, director Davide Ferrario recounts this tale of the life and death of an Italian X-rated icon. Nina (Elisabetta Cavallotti) is a middle-class woman who finds herself drawn to the adult film industry because she really, really likes sex and because she enjoys having men ogle her. Yet in spite of her daily rounds of athletic heterosexual coupling, she becomes romantically attached to Cristiana (Stefania Orsola Garello), an editor of a hardcore magazine. During a checkup, Nina learns that she has cancer and tries to continue to work in spite of ongoing chemotherapy treatment. Yet when word of her malady gets around, she soon learns that she is no longer in demand. The weight of Nina's illness proves to be too much, and she dumps Cristiana in favor of fellow cancer victim Flavio (Flavio Insinna). Ferrario punctuates this work with sketches of the porn biz including bored set technicians and sleazy producers who are into S&M. This film was screened at the 1999 Venice Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stefania Orsola Garello, Flavio Insinna, (more)
- 1998
Darker undertones infiltrate this lightweight Italian romantic comedy, as a troubled young man's fancy turns to obsession and jealousy. While most of his friends are eagerly preparing to graduate from high school, Matteo realizes that his poor grades are going to hold him back unless he can devise a plan to radically alter his records. His buddy Piterone has the same problem. Matteo's depression lifts when he meets the free-spirited, slightly older artist Margherita and falls in love. She seems to return his affection, and the youth eagerly moves into her studio apartment. At first Matteo is happy, but as time passes, he begins discovering small signs around the place that imply that his beloved has not only had an active past love-life, but that she may also be cheating on him. The more things he finds, the more suspicious Matteo becomes, and when suspicion becomes paranoid obsession, his relationship with Margherita begins to crumble. At the same time, Matteo and Pietrone attempt a desperate ploy to change their grades, an action that brings the story to its climax. The feature-film debut of documentary and television director Gabriele Muccino, Ecco Fatto competed in the 1998 Turin Film Festival. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Giorgio Pasotti, Barbora Bobulova, (more)
- 1996
The English title of this complex Italian film is apt. Featuring 65 main characters and 130 speaking parts (famous faces abound and many of the actors appeared gratis), and ranging in tone from tartly humorous to darkly tragic, it presents 30 interwoven slices from the lives of modern day Romans during a single day. The lone, silent figure of a lone jogger provides a sort of continuity between the vignettes. Beginning at sunset of the previous day, the jogger is seen warming up on his apartment terrace, looking for all the world as if he would like to jump. The rest of the stories seem to be randomly presented. Stories include the robbery of a Chinese restaurant that causes a birthday celebrant to die of fright, two different newlyweds who find themselves attracted to each other, an opportunistic mechanic's plan to capitalize on the death of a rival, a sneaky, sadistic meter maid and others. One uniting feature of the stories is their underlying bitter assessment of modern humanity. People are seen as selfish and basically cruel, still the stories move quickly and the balance between humor and drama, affection and cynicism, and shallowness and complexity is carefully maintained. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
