Toni Bertorelli Movies

Francois Girard's adaptation of Alessandro Baricco's novel Silk stars Michael Pitt as a young Frenchman who travels to Japan at the request of a wealthy silkworm magnate who asks him to smuggle back some new worms. The mission succeeds, and this allows the man to live in great comfort with his wife (Keira Knightley). After a few years, they are unable to conceive a child, a situation that leads to the man taking on a lover during his subsequent visits to Japan. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Giancarlo De Cataldo's best-selling tale about three lifelong friends effectively take control of organized crime in modern-day Rome comes to the screen in this sweeping crime drama from director Michele Placido. Libanese (Pierfrancesco Favino) is the cold-hearted leader of a juvenile delinquent trio that also includes undyingly loyal Freddo (Kim Rossi Stuart) and power-hungry Dandi (Claudio Santamaria). After kidnapping and casually murdering a baron (Franco Interlenghi), the scheming friends soon form the shady alliances with the local gangsters, corrupt cops, and secret service members that will allow them the opportunity to effectively corner the market on heroin sales. Meanwhile, determined Inspector Sciloja (Stefano Accorsi), who has made it his goal to bring Libanese and his cronies to justice, stealthily manages to trace back the marked ransom money from the baron's kidnapping to Dandi's girlfriend Patrizia (Anna Mouglalis) - an alluring call girl whom the inspector soon finds himself falling for. But Inspector Sciloja isn't the only one to fall under the spell of a female who seems strangely out of his reach. On the other side of the law, Freddo becomes enamored by the decidedly pure Roberta (Jasmine Trinca), whose attempts to educate the smitten thug in the beauty of the Italian Masters seem to be made in vain. In projecting a fictionalized tale of murderous criminality against the larger backdrop of Italy's turbulent social history during the waning decades of the 20th Century, director Placido strives to craft a film that is not only entertaining, but historically relevant as well. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Mel Gibson's well-publicized production The Passion of the Christ concerns the last 12 hours in the life of Jesus of Nazareth. The dialogue is spoken in the ancient Aramaic language, along with Latin and Hebrew. In the Garden of Gethsemane near the Mount of Olives, Jesus (James Caviezel) is betrayed by Judas Iscariot (Luca Lionello). Jesus is condemned to death for blasphemy and brought before Pontius Pilate (Hristo Naumov Shopov), the Roman governor of Judea, for sentencing. The roaring crowd demand his death, so Pilate orders his crucifixion. Jesus is severely beaten and made to carry his cross up to Golgotha, the hill outside Jerusalem, where he is nailed to the cross. Romanian theatrical actress Maia Morgenstern plays Mary, Mother of God, and Italian superstar Monica Bellucci plays Mary Magdalene. Amid much controversy involving Gibson and various religious organizations, The Passion of the Christ received an international theatrical release in February of 2004. In March 2005, Gibson released an unrated version of the film, dubbed The Passion Recut, that eliminated five to six minutes of the more graphic scenes of flogging and crucifixion. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Ernesto (Sergio Castellitto of Va Savoir) is a successful artist and devout atheist who finds out that his mother, whom he despised, is being considered for sainthood. Ernesto's young son, Leonardo (Alberto Mondini), influenced by his religion teacher, has developed a fear of God, whom he tries to shoo away like a pest. "If He's everywhere," Leonardo reasons, "then I'm not free -- even for a second." Ernesto's estranged wife, Irene (Jacqueline Lustig), encourages Leonardo's faith, and seems to be on the side of Ernesto's family, who are greedily clamoring to get Ernesto to participate in the canonization process. His mentally unstable brother, Egidio (Donato Placido), who will speak only to Ernesto, murdered their mother years earlier, and holds the key to her beatification. At a party, Ernesto insults a deranged monarchist, Conte Bulla (Toni Bertorelli), who then challenges him to a duel. Ernesto goes to complain to Leonardo's religion teacher, expecting to find an ugly old woman, and instead finds Diana (Chiara Conti), an impossibly beautiful young woman who admires his work. Ernesto meets the Cardinal (Maurizio Donadoni), and tells the man that his mother was "stupid" and "had no passion." "Loving someone is the best way to declare my atheism," he declares. But as he gets caught up in all the intrigue, Ernesto recognizes a connection to his hated mother that he cannot escape; he has the same mocking smile. Marco Bellocchio's My Mother's Smile was shown at the 2002 New York Film Festival and at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, where it won a Special Mention for the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

A young woman who has mastered the strategies of the chess board finds it doesn't always help her in the real world in this drama from Italy. Maria (Barbara Bobulova) is a teenaged chess expert who displays an ease and assurance in the game that she lacks in her life. Maria works closely with Sterlizia (Tony Bertorelli), a chess coach who has been tutoring her in the game for some time, though Emilio (Ettore Bassi), a journalist working on a story about Maria, is convinced that their relationship is more abusive than mutually beneficial. As Emilio follows Maria while she plays a series of important matches against Italy's reigning chess champion, the girl receives some startling news -- she was adopted. She soon sets out to find out the identity of her birth parents. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A young man who was an outcast in his own family finds himself embraced by another, with troubling results, in this drama based on a novel by Italo Svevo. Zeno (Fabrizo Rongione) is the son of a wealthy family whose father (Toni Bertorelli) did not place much faith in the young man's abilities; during their final moments together, the father's parting gesture was a literal slap in the face, and as a condition of his father's last will and testament, Zeno will not receive his share of the family fortune until he's shown the ability to hold down a job for an entire year. Zeno finds employment at an art gallery owned by Giovanni Malfenti (Mimmo Calopresti), a longtime friend of the family, and Giovanni grows fond enough of Zeno that he brings him home to meet his four daughters. Shy Zeno soon becomes infatuated with Giovanni's oldest daughter Ada (Chiara Mastroianni), but when he fails to make the first move, Ada does it for him, and before long she's talked Zeno into her bed. But Ada quickly loses interest in Zeno, and the process begins to repeat itself as Alberta (Claudia Coli), the next-oldest of the Malfenti sisters, sets her sights on the young man, who is drawn into a strange web of jealousy and competition among the various members of the family. Le Parole Di Mio Padre was screened at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival as part of the Un Certain Regard series. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A pair of would-be criminals get more than they bargained for during a robbery of a Catholic church in this satiric comedy from Italy. Willy (Fabrizio Bentivoglio) is a salesman who has been fired from his job, while his friend Antonio (Antonio Albanese) is a football player whose career has hit the skids. Short on money and with no immediate prospects, Willy and Antonio decide to steal the donation box at a church in a prosperous neighborhood. The burglary turns disastrous, but as they flee, Antonio grabs a jeweled curio, which turns out to be a holy relic containing the tongue of Saint Antonio, the patron saint of the humble and needy. Thinking he may have found a gold mine, Antonio demands a ransom from the Vatican in exchange for the safe return of the tongue. When the church refuses to pay, the novice thieves pry some of the rubies from the relic and try to sell them to a pack of gypsies. But the gypsies turn out to be big fans of Saint Antonio, and are horrified when they discover the source of the jewels. Krondano (Toni Bertorelli), the gypsy leader, takes the story of the stolen relic to the media, who have a field day with it, and Maritan (Giulio Brogi), a successful businessman who believes he owes his good fortune to Saint Antonio, steps forward to offer a bounty for the safe recovery of the saint's tongue. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Carlo Mazzacurati directed this Italian coming-of-age drama about 19-year-old Davide (Stefano Campi). After passing his pre-university exams, Davide leaves Turin for a summer with his aunt and uncle in the Po Valley, where neighbor Patrizia (Patrizia Piccinini) takes an interest, driving him to the hospital after he hurts his shoulder. In the hospital he's befriended by Bosnian bartender Alem (Semsudin Mujic). When his hospital stays ends, Davide and Patrizia become a twosome. However, Davide begins to grasp that his new friends don't quite match his first impressions of them. Shown at the 1998 Locarno Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

During the Thirty Years War between Germany and Sweden in the 1600s, a young prince must choose whether to continue to pursue his private fantasies of becoming a romantic hero or to face the public responsibilities and obligations of his position. The resulting tale is one part costume drama, one part adaptation of a classic verse play, two-parts psychological character study with a dash of love story thrown in for spice. It begins as the Prince of Homburg, who is in charge of Germany's calvary during the war, is caught sleepwalking in the midst of a disturbing dream. It is during the somnabulistic state that he first encounters the beautiful Natalia, the daughter of the powerful Grand Elector. He sees the girl again the next day before riding into battle against Swedish invaders. During the heat of the struggle, the impassioned prince disregards the Grand Elector's orders and leads a daring counterattack that results in victory. Though he saved the day, the Prince was wrong for disobeying his superior and the Grand Elector has no choice but to order his execution. Terrified of death, the Prince begs for his life. Touched, the Elector grants him clemency, but only on one condition: to stay alive, the Prince must publicly admit his wrongdoing. If he refuses, the death sentence will be carried out. Von Kleist's verse play was written in 1811 as a means of inspiring his countrymen to stand up against Napoleon and strongly advocates the notion that the most patriotic soldiers are those who blindly follow orders. Considering that Von Kleist's play was addressing German troops, that is a chilling notion indeed from a late 20th-century perspective. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide