Francesco Pannofino Movies
- 2009
Left-wing and right-wing agendas go head-to-head in Diverso da Chi?, Umberto Carteni's satirical skewering of contemporary Italian politics. Luca Argentero stars as Piero, an openly homosexual gay rights activist, running as the more progressive candidate in the mayoral election of Udine, Italy. At the other end of the spectrum stands the bigoted right-wing candidate, who builds physical walls á la Padua around his community to keep foreigners and drug dealers confined to their various neighborhoods, and his candidate for vice-mayor, pro-family values champion Adele (Claudia Gerini). In an odd twist, Piero temporarily sets his political loyalties and gayness aside and sleeps with the gorgeous Adele, betraying his male partner, Remo (Filippo Negro) in the process. This has a positive effect on Adele, who starts to reexamine her political convictions as a result, but Piero grows horrified by his own actions and runs away; meanwhile, Remo proposes that they form a family with two fathers, and the upcoming mayoral race continues to beckon. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luca Argentero, Claudia Gerini, (more)
- 2007
Not to be confused with Kiumars Poorahmad's 2007 Iranian feature of the same title, Davide Marengo's Italian-language crime comedy Night Bus (2007) concerns a microchip with potentially damning evidence against a Polish magnate. An ex-secret service agent, Carlo Matera (Ennio Fantastichini), receives an enormous sum of cash from the fellow to bring the chip home, but it falls into the mitts of a cutthroat nightclub owner, Andrea (Ivan Franek). He is hustled, in turn, by the femme fatale at the story's center, Leila (Giovanna Mezzogiorno). She walks off with the dough, and must subsequently evade a host of seedy goons and thugs all clamoring for the funds, meanwhile attempting to use a gullible, gambling-addicted bus driver, Franz (Valerio Mastandrea), for a convenient, cross-country getaway. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Valerio Mastandrea, (more)
