Anna-Maria Gherardi Movies
This beautiful if ponderous soufflé of a film from director Bernardo Bertolucci serves more as an Italian travelogue than a drama. Liv Tyler stars as Lucy Harmon, an American teenager arriving in the lush Tuscan countryside to visit family friends residing there. Lucy visited four years earlier and exchanged a kiss with a handsome boy with whom she hopes to become reacquainted. Lucy's mother has committed suicide since then, and the teenager also hopes to discover the identity of her father, whom her mother hinted was a resident of the villa. Once she arrives, Lucy meets a variety of eccentric visitors, including a dying gay playwright (Jeremy Irons), a sculptor (Donal McCann), an entertainment lawyer (D.W. Moffet), and several others. Lucy has decided to lose her virginity and becomes an object of intense interest to the men of the household, but the suitor she finally selects is not the initial object of her affection. Stealing Beauty boasted an intriguing parallel between actress Tyler's role and her real life. The daughter of a famed rock and roll star, she was brought up believing that her father was someone else, a fact that Bertolucci may have had in mind when writing the story. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liv Tyler, Sinéad Cusack, (more)
- 1982
- R
Giovanni (Lou Castel) comes home after his brother's suicide to encounter the same family problems that have been around for years: his mother is a religious fanatic now obsessed with her son's errant spirit, his older brother has a cold and uncaring relationship with his children and his wife, and Giovanni's uncle who runs the wealthy family's house is always out to turn a profit for himself. When Giovanni goes to berate his dead brother's lover for not even coming to his funeral (his brother gave her an apartment and an income, and then she broke off with him because she did not love him), an unexpected attraction starts that builds in intensity as time goes on. Eventually, they start an emotionally-charged relationship that goes up and down like a roller coaster, their conflicts fueled in part by the ghost of the dead brother, by the fact that she is pregnant with his child, and by the difference in their economic status. As their relationship continues, it becomes a question of whether or not they will be able to overcome their differences -- a question that looms larger every day. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lou Castel, Ángela Molina, (more)
- 1980
This autobiographical drama is a captivating look at the ambiance of a strong family and a small provinicial town in times gone by. Based on a book by Mario Tobino, who also wrote the screenplay, the story centers on his mother (Anna Maria Gherardi) and her memories of childhood. The elderly woman goes back home to the town where she and her extended, wealthy family lived for many years. She revisits her early period in the town during the weeks preceding her death: eccentric villagers come and go, she and her sisters interact, and she revels in trips to the countryside with her children. Interspersed with her memories are her son's own remembrances of his childhood and how he viewed the same villagers, the same family, and his mother. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna-Maria Gherardi, Luigi Diberti, (more)
- 1978
In a wealthy Italian home, the daughter of the family is trying to cut her mother's apron strings. Not only is she having difficulty with this, for her mother is extremely protective, but she cannot even cut vegetables skillfully. Despite that, she wants to go out and party, mother or no mother. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carla Gravina, Anna-Maria Gherardi, (more)
Bernardo Bertolucci's 255-minute 1900 was a gargantuan undertaking, requiring the resources of three European countries and a trio of American movie studios. Set in the Italian town of Parma, the film's continuity backtracks from Liberation Day in 1945 to the occasion of composer/patriot Giuseppe Verdi's death in 1901. We follow the lives of two men born on that day in 1901, who grow up to be Alfredo Berlinghieti (Robert De Niro) and Olmo Dalco (Gérard Depardieu). Wealthy Alfredo sinks into dissipation, while poverty-stricken Olmo becomes a firebrand labor leader and communist. After WWI, Alfredo is allowed to peacefully retain his land holdings by playing nice with the burgeoning fascists; Olmo, on the other hand, engages in a long-standing battle against the minions of Mussolini. The two protagonists are reunited when Alfredo returns to Parma to preside over Olmo's trial for "political crimes." Co-star Burt Lancaster is cast as Alfredo's wealthy grandfather, who hates to see the old values buried beneath the social travails of the 20th century. Many American prints of 1900 were shortened to 243 minutes, rendering the story hard to follow at times. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert De Niro, Gérard Depardieu, (more)
