Alessandro Haber Movies

Italian director Michele Placido explores the legendary -- yet brief -- affair that occurred between writers Dino Campana and Sibilla Aleramo in the early part of the 20th century in his 2002 romantic drama, A Journey of Love. Early Italian feminist Sibilla Aleramo (played by Laura Morante) endured a forced marriage to an abusive husband due to an unexpected pregnancy at the age of 16. Eventually, she left her husband -- only to also lose all contact with her son due to her husband's spitefulness. These formative years enabled Sibilla to develop a literary voice, as she moved from city to city and began building a reputation not only as a fine writer, but also as a prodigious lover. At the age of 40, Sibilla met the somewhat younger and certainly more unconventional Dino Campana (Stefano Accorsi) and the duo embarked on a notoriously self-destructive and intense two year affair. A Journey of Love was an official competing selection in the 2002 Venice Film Festival and won Accorsi the Volpi Cup from the Festival Jury for Best Male Actor. ~ Ryan Shriver, Rovi

Italian director Marco Risi directs this ensemble farce about a series of separate mishaps around a luxurious apartment complex. On New Year's Eve, at the edge of Rome, there is a traffic accident, followed by a soccer team crashing a high-brow ball. Three Mafioso rob a trussed up masochist, and a pair of druggies whacked out on low-grade paint throw dynamite in the heating system. All of these events culminate in one gigantic finale. Kaputt Mundi was screened at the 1999 Mill Valley Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Horst Fantazzini was a thief who became famous in Italy for a long series of bank robberies where he made a point of never hurting his victims and behaving with as much courtesy as the situation allowed. When he was handed a 20-year prison sentence after finally being caught by the police, Fantazzini discovered life behind bars didn't agree with him, and, in 1973, he attempted to break out. This real-life escape plot provides the basis for the comedy/drama Ormai E Fatta!/Outlaw. Stefano Accosi plays the anarchist Fantazzini, who manages to sneak a gun into Piemonte, a progressive prison where he's being housed. However, Fantazzini turns out to be better at robbing banks than breaking out of jail. He ends up wounding three guards without ever getting outside, and finally takes two other guards hostage and barricades himself in an office at the jail, hoping to ransom his way out. Fantazzini's hostages, two men from Southern Italy who are new to the North and don't much care for it, are no happier in their surroundings than Horst is, and in his negotiations Fantazzini finds himself dealing with two polar opposites, a prison director who emphasizes lenience and trust, and a senior corrections officer who believes in swift, dramatic action. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Christian De Sica co-scripted, directed and stars in this Italian satire about lower-class revenge at a snooty Roman rowing club. Ladies man Robert (De Sica) keeps his affairs secret from his wife Livia (Cinzia Mascoli), since her wealthy father is the source of his income. Unfortunately, Dolores (Beatriz Rico) can't keep mum, creating a cash-flow problem. Bank accounts determine the pecking order at the club, and members with wimpy wallets have go through such humiliations as auctioning away their furniture. With the club prez arrested for embezzlement, a waiter scoring with a top model, and the massage therapist winning the lottery, it becomes evident that the lower-class has the last laugh, perhaps explaining the popularity of this comedy in Italy. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Former cabaret performer Leonardo Pieraccioni (The Cyclone) directed, co-scripted (with Giovanni Veronesi), and stars in this popular Italian film, given the widest opening release in Italian film history. Ottone (Pieraccioni) and beautiful Lorenza (Claudia Gerini) are pet-store partners. He loses his lover to a butcher and moves in with his friend Barbara (Barbara Enrichi). At the same time, he courts secretly married Argentine heiress Luna (Vanessa Lorenzo), who is simply toying with the unsuspecting Ottone. Ottone's pal Germano (Massimo Ceccherini), once struck by lightning, survived because of his rubber Spiderman boots. Germano and Ottone both yearn for true love, but problems always arise. In the Maldives, Ottone seeks out a psychoanalyst (Luigi Petrucci) in hopes of gaining some understanding of his confused relationships with the opposite sex. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Four roommates in their 30s hesitate to take the big plunge and take the final exams that would grant them their degrees. This episodic, Italian ensemble comedy explain each of their reasons. The recently divorced Leonardo is still in love with the beautiful sister of Rocco, who nurses a broken heart after his fiancee jilts him. Bruno is just hanging around waiting to inherit his wife's business. Pino dreams of becoming a comedian. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The English title of this complex Italian film is apt. Featuring 65 main characters and 130 speaking parts (famous faces abound and many of the actors appeared gratis), and ranging in tone from tartly humorous to darkly tragic, it presents 30 interwoven slices from the lives of modern day Romans during a single day. The lone, silent figure of a lone jogger provides a sort of continuity between the vignettes. Beginning at sunset of the previous day, the jogger is seen warming up on his apartment terrace, looking for all the world as if he would like to jump. The rest of the stories seem to be randomly presented. Stories include the robbery of a Chinese restaurant that causes a birthday celebrant to die of fright, two different newlyweds who find themselves attracted to each other, an opportunistic mechanic's plan to capitalize on the death of a rival, a sneaky, sadistic meter maid and others. One uniting feature of the stories is their underlying bitter assessment of modern humanity. People are seen as selfish and basically cruel, still the stories move quickly and the balance between humor and drama, affection and cynicism, and shallowness and complexity is carefully maintained. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this gentle Italian comedy, a troupe of flamenco dancers has been stranded in a town in rural Tuscany. When a stolid wine-growing family agrees to give them accommodations, the family members' lives of dull endurance are transformed as they are affected the romance, excitement and sensuality of their guests. The presence of the dancers causes quite a stir among the villagers as well. Levante (Leonardo Pieraccioni) lives with his father and sister in the family vineyard, and is enamored by the exotic charms of flamenco-dancer Caterina (Lorena Forteza). She is interested in him as well. Levante's family, and Caterina's dance troupe join forces in opposing their union, but all turns out well in the end. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

This surreal Italian comedy centers around the circular game of love. After Rosario, a depressed high-school teacher who recently lost his liberal political idealism and his hot-blooded wife Elena, a private detective, he begins to see the Virgin Mary. Apparently his visionary Mary is in love with him. Amelia, a co-worker, and Salvatore, his neighbor the gangster, are also in love with him. In despair, Rosario attempts suicide and fails.He decides that to experience the real world he must become a criminal. He steals a car, gets and gun and goes off the deep-end. He finds great rewards in his new shady life and is doubly rewarded when Elena finally returns. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Reverse sexual harassment is the focus of this Italian film. Copy editor Aldo finds himself the object of Clara, an important publisher with a taste for seducing and devouring handsome young executives. Though Aldo is not terribly handsome, Clara is attracted by his sweetness and she seeks to "own" him. She employs a variety of manipulative and demeaning technique to make poor Aldo more amenable to her "charms." ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi