Paolo Hendel Movies

From the comedic trio Gialappa's Band comes this high concept wacky caper flick. The Band's popular Italian television show Never Say Goal consists of a Mystery Science Theater 3000-like narration over sports footage and trashy TV shows; in this film, they do basically the same thing, narrating over a plot about an insane yuppie entrepeneur who performs a sadistic test on members of the public at large. Leone Stella (Arnoldo Foa) (aka Leo Star) runs the wildly successful computer company Totem Arts. Structured around a video game based on Stella's adventures in California during the 1960s, the test places contestants, all of whom are named Stella or Star, in a harrowing race against the clock where they must smuggle marijuana across the border, kiss strangers, and defuse a bomb. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

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, All Movie Guide

Gloria (Margherita Buy) is so taken by the repairman she spends a night with that she quits her job and attempts to get him to marry her, to no avail. She is something of a puzzle freak, and the mysteries of the Sphinx and the pyramids in Egypt intrigue her. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In this picaresque period adventure comedy, the roguish almost-gentleman Paolo (Paolo Hendel) of 1832 Naples accompanies his younger friend, Duke Ottavio (David Riondino) to the southern part of Italy. At the time, Italy was a hodge-podge of tiny nations, dukedoms, and principalities which were often run by some other nation, such as France or the Austro-Hungarian emperor. Also sweeping the yet-to-be-unified nation was a revolutionary fervor for democracy and unification. At the same time, the forces of tradition were working very hard to suppress these ideas. These movements give rise to some of the dangers the two men face with grace and nonchalance, as they travel through the undeveloped (some might even say uncivilized) regions of Southern Italy. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In one popular Spanish-English dictionary, "picaro" is defined as "roguish; scheming, tricky; low, vile; mischievous," and when used as a noun it refers to a rogue, a schemer. Yet the word also harkens to the kinds of novels (picaresque) that came out of Spain in the 17th century, including Don Quixote, stories that recounted the wanderings of vagabonds of one kind or another. This film by the esteemed director Mario Monicelli is set in the 17th century and concerns the picaresque adventures of two amusing "picaros." Lazarillo and Guzman (Enrico Montesano and Giancarlo Giannini) first met when they were slaves rowing on a prison-galley ship, and they strike up a friendship based on their having endured similarly horrific childhoods. While escaping from the slave ship during a mutiny (they chose the wrong side) they narrowly escape drowning and are separated. Guzman becomes an impoverished Baron's (Vittorio Gassman) personal servant and puts his thieving ways to good use in that capacity, while Lazarillo joins an acting troupe. When they meet again, they immediately decide to pull off a con-job they call "the cannoli trick." ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In Tuscan lore, the evening of August 10th is la notte di san lorenzo (the night of the shooting stars). Each of these stars is believed to grant one wish. In this celebrated film by Italy's Taviani brothers, a woman asks for the words to tell her son about that same night during the last days of World War II. The Nazis occupied Italy and the fascists had mined her small Tuscan village of San Martino. Skeptical of the fascists' promise that all peasants will be safe in San Martino's cathedral, a group of villagers opt to leave and search for the Italian partisans and advancing American forces. Among those to depart is the woman, then only six years old. La Notte di San Lorenzo is the story of the villagers' remarkable exodus, the fate of those left behind, and the partisan struggle against fascism -- lyrically intertwined with their thoughts, loves, fears, and memories, as well as the fantasies of a young girl experiencing the tragedy she perceives to be her greatest adventure. ~ Aubry Anne D'Arminio, All Movie Guide