Norma Martelli Movies

In Fiorile (US title: Wild Flower), Italy's Taviani brothers once again dissect the manners and mores of the Tuscany region. The story is predicated on a 200-year-old family curse. During the Napoleonic era, Elizabetta "Fiorile" Benedetti (Galatea Ranzi) discovers that her own brother Corado (Claudio Bigagli) is responsible for the crime for which her lover Jean (Michael Vartan) was executed. The embittered Fiorile places a curse on the Benedetti family, declaring that none of her brother's direct descendants will ever achieve true happiness. Over the next two centuries, the Benedettis' ill-gotten wealth increases, but they lose the love and respect of their neighbors. In fact, most people prefer to call the Benedetti family the "Maledettis," or the Cursed Ones. The film's final episode occurs during World War II, as Grandpa Massimo Benedetti (Renato Carpentieri), the last family member directly affected by the curse, relates his tale of woe to a pair of youngsters. Will the curse die with Massimo, or will the innocent young ones be forced to carry it into the next generation? Fiorile is not the sort of movie one sits back and relaxes with, despite its leisurely pace; those willing to work with the film, however, will be amply rewarded. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this sentimental, tragicomic drama, Matteo Scuro (Marcello Mastroianni) is an old widower living in Sicily. His five grown children have scattered all over Italy, and he has heard nothing but glowing reports from them about their lives and careers. One day he takes it into his head to visit these paragons who have fulfilled every one of his ambitions for them. Eventually he discovers that all his children have been lying to him for a very long time because they were afraid to disappoint their papa; their lives are shabby and very much on the edge, and one of them has long-since committed suicide (unbeknownst to him). This daunting truth provokes a heart attack in the old man, who still has a few lies yet to tell and hear, because he insists (as do his children) that "everything is fine." ~ 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