Angela Finocchiaro Movies

Growing up in small-town Italy during the '60s and '70s, brothers Accio (Elio Germano) and Manrico (Riccardo Scamarcio) embody and celebrate opposing political stances, but share an impassioned love of the same woman that threatens to drive them to blows. Director Daniele Luchetti's political comedy Mio Fratello È Figlio Unico (aka My Brother Is an Only Child, 2007) observes the brothers over the course of 15 years, against the ever-shifting backdrop of tumultuous Italian sociopolitical history. During that time span, the siblings' loyalties will fluctuate; they will endure arguments and quarrels, and find themselves separated by the ravages of time and circumstance and reunited magnetically by the wisdom of age. In time, they will come to a firmer and clearer understanding of not only the differences but the similarities that they harbor. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Don't Move is the second feature from actor/director Sergio Castellito (Mostly Martha), who wrote the script with his wife, actress/author Margaret Mazzantini from her best-selling novel. Castellito stars as Timoteo, a successful surgeon and permissive father whose teenage daughter, Angela (Elena Perino), has just had a life-threatening motorbike accident. Sitting in the hospital, wondering if his daughter will survive, Timoteo thinks back to a fateful day 15 years earlier when his car broke down on a remote country road in the rain and a bedraggled young woman, Italia (Penélope Cruz), invited him into her ramshackle home only to have him force himself upon her. Timoteo then returned home to his lovely wife, Elsa (Claudia Gerini). But unable to get Italia out of his mind, Timoteo returned again and again to her sordid shack. They began to develop genuine feelings for each other. Elsa is reluctant to have children, despite Timoteo's wishes, so when he learns that Italia is pregnant, he has a critical decision to make about how he wants to live his life. Don't Move was shown at New York City's Walter Reade Theater in 2004 as part of a Sergio Castellito retrospective presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

This Italian comedy takes a sharp poke at the corruption inherent in Italy's political circles and big businesses. Ecological crime correspondent Giuseppe has just been divorced and now, since a major corporation has taken over the independent television station where he works, may be out of a job. To save money, he moves into the apartment of Riccardo, a carabiniere officer. Both of them end up entangled with the lovely Sandra, who works as the personal secretary to the politician who controls the country's biggest toxic waste operation, Nautilus. The politico Giulivi is a sly fox and Giuseppe's investigation into Nautilus reveals that it is Sandra, not Giulivi who has been named the president. But Sandra is a ditz, and swears that she knows nothing of her boss's illicit activities. She convinces the two roommates to help clear her name and to bring her an important computer disk that can prove everything. The two fellows indeed help her, but as soon as she gets that disk, she uses it to drain Giulivi's secret Swiss bank account. Now all three of them are pursued by the angry crook's henchmen. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The system established early in the days of the Roman Empire (whereby those who have a powerful patron prosper and no one without a patron can get anywhere) still exists in present-day Italy. Today, this system is given many pejorative labels and is classified as a form of corruption when it intrudes into the political process. In this satire, a schoolteacher (Silvio Orlandi) takes on an extra job as a way of paying for expensive repairs on his ancient home. His sideline job is as a ghostwriter for a political column supposedly written by a representative of a bizarre political party. As a result of this slight involvement, he becomes the favored darling of a series of political bigwigs and is increasingly embroiled in the schemes and rivalries of national politics. While his ethical life is being compromised, the politicians have arranged to have his home declared a national landmark, eligible for government funds for rebuilding, and his material circumstances have improved enormously. When he finally tries to set things right, he soon discovers that the system is rigged against honesty. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In this combined live-action and cartoon feature, Maurizio works with his brother at a movie-dubbing studio they own. His specialty is cartoon sound effects, and he travels all over Milan to capture special sounds on his tape recorder. While out and about, he encounters a delightfully kinky "social assistant" who is a kind of platonic love object for men with specialized sexual fixations. Maurizio is attracted to her, but after spending some time with her, he is shocked to see his hands turn into gloved cartoon hands that are outside his control. As the film continues, he is gradually transformed until he is all cartoon and can consummate his odd relationship. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Fabio (Roberto Citran) has never wanted to be a grownup, and the fact that his wife Giulia (Violaine Ledoux) is nearing childbirth provokes him into a frenzy of childish acts. Rather than assist her in her doctor's visits, Fabio plays soccer with neighborhood kids, when he is not hanging out in the soothing quiet of the zoo's reptile house. As the time for the birth of his child grows nearer, he quits his reliable job to open a travel agency with a flighty friend. Giulia bears all this with some patience, but when he suggests that they celebrate the opening of the new agency by taking a vacation to the Maldive Islands (completely ignoring the fact that she is near to term with the baby) she completely blows her top. As usual, this sends him scuttering off to seek comfort somewhere else. However, the lovely woman he turns to for comfort insists that he return and take care of his wife. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Lupo (Paolo Hendrel) and Edo (Giovanni Guidelli) take to the swamps after robbing a wealthy Italian in this neo-western comedy. They are pursued by the victim's son and three Austrian mercenaries. The duo goes through several memorable adventures as they encounter many offbeat characters in their travels as fugitives. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

In this light comedy and mystery film, Mary is a waitress living in New York. She is also a newlywed, blonde, and none too bright into the bargain. One day, she gets a call from her husband, who instructs her to take the next plane to Florence because he's struck it rich. However, when she lands in Italy, her husband is nowhere to be found. She throws herself on the mercy of a crusty lawyer whom she meets, and he grudgingly allows himself to become her ally and protector while the two of them search for her missing spouse. Using a coded map, they track down the promised treasure, which seems to have come from a bank robbery Mary's husband participated in. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In this Italian comedy, a chronic daydreamer finds he is too busy using his imagination to find work or love. To rectify the situation, he builds a robot double that he dresses up in disco garb. The robot is a great success until a beautiful woman tries to seduce it. In the end, the dreamer and the woman discover they are more alike than the ever would have dreamed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide