Michele Melega Movies

Paolo Taviani and his brother Vittorio Taviani wrote and directed this made-for-TV adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's final novel. Wealthy and privileged Prince Dmitri Nekhludov (Timothy Peach) is called to serve on the jury of a woman accused of prostitution and murder. When the accused is brought forward, Nekhludov discovers to his surprise that the streetwalker is Katusha Maslova (Stefania Rocca), a peasant woman he led into a brief affair many years ago. Maslova has been charged with the poisoning of a local merchant, but she firmly declares her innocence. Nekhludov and his fellow members of the jury find in Maslova's favor, but the judge overturns their verdict on a technicality, and she is sentenced to life at hard labor. Agonized that his seduction of a once-innocent girl led her down a path of such grim consequences, Nekhludov sets out to change his life in a bid to somehow right the wrong he's done to Maslova. Risurrezione was originally screened in a three-hour version designed for television broadcast in Europe, though it was reported that a shorter cut was being prepared for theatrical exhibition. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this off-beat wartime drama, a young Italian soldier stationed in Ethiopia gets into deep trouble after a toothache compels him to set off in search of a dentist. He pauses at a desert oasis and sees a beautiful young woman bathing there. He loses control and rapes her. Afterward he feels bad and spends the entire evening with her. Unfortunately, during that time he hears a wild animal and fires a shot which ricochets off of a rock and mortally wounds the hapless girl. Unable to help her, the soldier shoots her in the head and then buries her body. As the soldier resumes his journey, a little time passes and he and his buddies see two natives wearing strange white garments, just like the poor girl he ravaged and killed. They are obviously pariahs and suddenly he realizes why--they are lepers and so was the girl! Soon the soldier discovers an open sore on his hand that will not heal. Believing that he too has the dread degenerative disease he suddenly remembers his family and fiancee in Italy and wants to see them desperately. Unfortunately, he cannot get home and so ends up seeking solace and forgiveness in the dead girl's native village. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The always innovative Taviani Brothers pay homage to another unique filmmaker, D. W. Griffith, in Good Morning, Babylon. Vincent Spano and Joaquim de Almeida star as Nicola and Andrea Bonnano, the latest in a long line of Tuscany-born cathedral builders. Emigrating to America, the brothers settle in Los Angeles in 1915, even as director Griffith (Charles Dance) is preparing his epic production Intolerance. The boys are hired to help construct the massive sets for the film's Babylonian sequence (hence the title), for no other reason than the fact that Griffith is impressed by Italian craftsmanship. As the film progresses, Nicola and Andrea assimilate to their new surroundings, even launching a romance with a pair of pretty movie extras. On the verge of continuing the family tradition, the boys' ambitions are cut short by events well beyond their control. Still, their past artistic accomplishments, like those of their forebears, survive the ages -- but only on the ethereal silver screen. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi