Tiziana Soudani Movies

In Bread and Tulips, director Silvio Soldini detailed the journey of a discontented housewife who threw caution to the wind to find true happiness in Venice; in Days and Clouds, the same filmmaker explores the opposite side of the coin by telling the tale of a middle-class homemaker from Genoa who suddenly finds her life turned upside down. Elsa (Margherita Buy) is the picture of middle-class contentment: she's happily married, well adjusted, and spends most of her spare time developing her skills as an amateur historian specializing in restoration. Recently, Elsa even decided to return to school in order to earn her degree. One day, after gently scraping the ceiling of a local chapel to reveal hidden angels that hadn't seen the light of day in decades, Elsa is informed by her husband, Michele (Antonio Albanese), that the couple will have to give up their posh apartment. Michele was formerly a partner in a successful shipping firm, but now that his partner has forced him out of the business, the happy husband and wife won't be able to maintain their current lifestyle. In the aftermath of that disheartening revelation, Elsa and Michele both try to find work while dealing with the predicament in directly opposing ways. Later, after moving into a much smaller apartment, the cracks in Elsa and Michele's now fragile marriage gradually begin to widen. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Many have reflected on the tragedy that befalls global culture when a brilliant film artist, such as the directors Larisa Shepitko or Jean Vigo, or the actor John Cazale, dies young. This certainly applies to the Cuban filmmaker Sara Gómez; born in 1943, dead from an acute asthma attack in 1974 at the tender age of 31, Gómez turned out merely one feature and a handful of documentaries, but the brilliance of her collected works speaks volumes about unfulfilled promises. She spent much of her career working in the ICAIC (Cuba's film board) as an assistant to giants including Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, then began working on dazzling nonfiction films that reflected with great poignance and wisdom on the socioeconomic reality of Cuba. Her sole feature, the 1974 De cierta manera, combined documentary and fiction in a way that few efforts have done before or since. Sadly, this helmer remains largely unknown outside of Cuba; with Sara Gómez: An Afro-Cuban Filmmaker, director and Gómez scholar Alessandra Muller attempts to change this. The effort charts her career and incredible accomplishments, explores the sociocultural and gender-centric themes of her films, and interpolates fond recollections from family, friends and colleagues about her stunning abilities and ingratiating spirit. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

A poverty-stricken widower finds new love in a cemetery in this engaging dark comedy from Kurdish filmmaker Hiner Saleem. Hamo (Romen Avinian) is an elderly man living in a small Armenian community which has fallen on hard times since the collapse of the Soviet Union -- where the Soviets at least provided the villagers with free water and electricity, in their current "free" state the locals have to pay for such things, which is no easy task since work is very difficult to find. Hamo, who is attempting to support himself, his eldest son, and his granddaughter on a meager military pension, has put nearly all his faith in one of his sons, who has supposedly found work in Paris. While Hamo waits for word (and a check) from France, he makes frequent visits to the local cemetery, where he visits his late wife. One day, while paying his respects, he meets Nina (Lala Sarkissian), a widow who similarly comes by to chat with her late husband and works as a barmaid at one of the few taverns left in town. Hamo becomes quite fond of Nina, and she responds in kind, but between his loyalty to his deceased bride and her shyness, neither is naturally inclined to make the first move. Vodka Lemon was the winner of the San Marco Prize at the 2003 Venice Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The nature of love and memory and how the two sensations interrelate are explored in Jean-Pierre Limosin's 2002 film Novo. Office worker Graham (Eduardo Noriega) suffered a head injury that destroyed his ability to maintain long-term memories. Falling in love with the forgetful Graham, temporary office secretary Irene (Anna Mouglalis) takes the opportunity to engage Graham in a sexual relationship that feels like the beginning of a hot romance -- with plenty of adventurous sexual encounters along the way. While Irene insists that she'll maintain the memories for both of them until Graham recovers, she begins to wonder if their romance will endure without his being able to remember any of the hot details from their short history. Novo was a chosen for inclusion into the 2002 Locarno International Film Festival. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide

Two Senegalese brothers who have illegally immigrated to Italy struggle to survive in a new and often hostile environment. Done in the style of a documentary, this drama recounts their experiences there. Dreaming of all the opportunities and riches to be found in Europe, Yaro moves to Italy and soon after his arrival suggests that his younger brother Demba go there to meet him so that they can earn more money for the family back home. Demba is there only two months when someone murders Yaro. Anxious to know who did it and why, Demba and his friends begin an all-out search that will take them the entire length of Italy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this scathing satirical drama, an untutored West African pig-keeper (Pierre Gondo) who has been thrown out of his home, falls into a river and has a vision which sends him back to his people to save them for Jesus. His theology is highly original, his miracles are based on superior showmanship, and his mission is a complete success - provided its sole purpose was to put him in a position of incredible power over his peers. He is so lionized by the worshippers he has converted that, not only does he openly sleep with married women, but they put on nun's robes and feed him publicly from their hands. In addition to the skillfully told story, this film also features some fine images of West African life and its landscapes. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide