Andrea Occhipinti Movies

Fifty-year-old retired goth rocker Cheyenne (Sean Penn) travels from London to New York to visit his dying father, and then journeys across the United States on a mission to seek revenge against the elusive ex-Nazi war criminal who persecuted his dad in Auschwitz. Despondent after two of his young fans commit suicide, Cheyenne retreats to his Dublin mansion and begins living off of his royalties alongside his down-to-earth wife Jane (Frances McDormand). Later, he receives word that his father is dying in New York City. Although they haven't spoken in 30 years, he boards the first available flight to bid his dad farewell. Unfortunately, Cheyenne arrives too late. Upon reconnecting with his cousin Richard (Liron Levo), however, the morose musician learns that his father, a Holocaust survivor, had been tracking Auschwitz guard Aloise Lange (Heinz Lieven) around America for decades. Filled with ennui yet determined not to let Lange escape unpunished, Cheyenne vows to pick up the mission his father left uncompleted. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Love and politics force a man into a dangerous situation in this drama from director Renata De Maria. Prima Linea was a radical political group active in Italy in the 1970s that believed that the nation's leadership was taking a dangerous turn to the right, and they were willing to respond to a possible military coup with violence if necessary. Sergio (Riccardo Scamarcio) is a left wing activist who believes extreme times demand an extreme response, and he becomes a member of the armed faction of Prima Linea. Sergio falls in love with a fellow member of Prima Linea, Susanna (Giovanna Mezzogiorno), and while his belief in the cause he's fighting for fades with time, his love for her does not. Sergio's has all but given up on Prima Linea when Susanna is arrested for her part in several terrorist actions and is sentenced to prison, leading him to one final act with his comrades -- a raid to break Susanna and other political prisoners out of jail. Inspired by real life events, La Prima Linea (aka The Front Line) was an official selection at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In a village in Protestant northern Germany, on the eve of World War I, the children of a church and school run by the village schoolteacher and their families experience a series of bizarre incidents that inexplicably assume the characteristics of a punishment ritual. Who could be responsible for such bizarre transgressions? Leonie Benesch, Josef Bierbichler, and Rainer Bock star in director Michael Haneke's Palm d'Or-winning period drama. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Award-winning filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino (The Family Friend) writes and directs this cinematic portrait of seven-time Italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti, whose controversial legacy peaked when he was tried for Mafia ties and subsequently acquitted. A leader with close ties to the Vatican, Andreotti was also tried and acquitted for the murder of an Italian journalist, and remains a senator for life. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Italian director Salvatore Mereu (Three-Step Dance) steps behind the camera for a sophomore occasion - and unveils distinct influence by such predecessors as Ermanno Olmi and Francesco Rosi - with Sonetàula, a cinematic eclogue that unfolds on the landscape of Sardinia. Neophyte Francesco Falchetto stars as Zuanne, a Sardinian shepherd boy from the (apocryphal) village of Orgidas. As the picture opens in 1938, Zuanne is 13, growing up under the tutelage of father Egidio (Lazar Ristovski) and grandfather Cicerone (Serafino Spiggia), both of whom he adores. The father-son closeness is short-lived, however, for in time Egidio suffers incarceration for a murder he didn't commit and then gets shuttled off to the Abyssinian war, where he is promptly killed - leaving the orphaned Zuanne to come of age under the warm and kindly Cicerone. Eventually, a tragic and complex series of events involving a stolen sheep forces Zuanne to go on the lam as a refugee - and the boy's desire for a young woman in his village, Maddalena (Manuela Martelli) becomes both his only tie to the hamlet of his youth and the one element that pulls him back to Orgidas. As all of this occurs, the long-cherished agrarian lifestyle in Italy - with the peasants' strong ties to the landscape - firmly and abruptly ends for the first time in centuries. The narrative of Mereu's picture spans 15 years, wrapping in 1953. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Notoriously nihilistic filmmaker Michael Haneke revisits one of his most controversial works in this remake of 1997's Funny Games starring Naomi Watts and Tim Roth. When a family of three arrives at their remote summer cabin for a quiet getaway, the sudden arrival of two psychotic men sets the stage for a harrowing life-or-death struggle that offers savage commentary on the use of violence in entertainment. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Two lifelong friends set off on a remarkable adventure in this animated feature. Azur (Rayan Mahjoub) is an orphaned boy living in 18th century France, where he's being raised by Jenane (Hiam Abbass), a nurse of Arab heritage who cares for the boy alongside her own son, Asmar (Abdelsselem Ben Amar). Jenane regales the boys with tales of the mysterious Fairy Djinn, a magical creature with great powers but equally great protectors at her disposal. Azur is sent away to school, but when he returns home as a grown man (now voiced by Cyril Mourali), he finds Jenane and Asmar have gone. Convinced the Fairy Djinn is responsible, Azur hops a ride aboard a sailing ship and sets out to find the Djinn as well as his friends. However, in time Azur meets up with Asmar (now voiced by Karim M'Ribah) only to discover he and his mother are also searching for the powerful Djinn for their own purposes. Now that his best friend has become a competitor in the race to find the Djinn, Azur recruits a team of helpers to aid him as he tries to beat Asmar in their game. Azur and Asmar received its world premiere at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Two of the most talented figures in contemporary Spanish cinema -- actor Javier Bardem and director Alejandro Amenábar -- collaborate for this powerful drama, based on a true story. Ramón Sampedro (Javier Bardem) was a fisherman and part-time poet who, at the age of 26, suffered an accident while diving that left him a bedridden quadriplegic. Now 54, Ramón must depend on his family to survive -- his macho brother José (Celso Bugallo), José's wife, Manuela (Mabel Rivera), and their son, Javi (Tamar Novas). While grateful to his family and friends for their help, Ramón was always an active person, and as the years wore on, he has come to see his life as frustrating and pointless and wishes to die with what remains of his dignity. José, however, is bitterly opposed to the notion of assisted suicide, and Spanish laws would implicate anyone who helped Ramón end his own life, which is something Ramón does not want to do. Through Gené (Carla Segura), a friend who works with a "Right to Die" organization, Ramón is introduced to Julia (Belen Rueda), a lawyer he hopes will help him persuade the courts to let him end his own life. Julia is dealing with her own mortality issues since being diagnosed with a degenerative disease, and Ramón hopes her condition will make her arguments more persuasive. As Ramón and Julia work together on his case and help to prepare a book of his poems for publication, Ramón finds himself falling in love with his attorney, who happens to be married, but while his infatuation gives Julia second thoughts about the case, Ramón remains convinced that the greatest gift to him would be an end to his life. Javier Bardem's performance in The Sea Inside (aka Mar Adentro) earned him the Best Actor award at the 2004 Venice Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Set in the Spanish port city of Vigo, Fernando León de Aranoa's Mondays in the Sun is a touching drama about a group of working-class men who find themselves suddenly unemployed and unwanted in their middle age. Laid off from the local shipyard, the men spend their days at the town bar, where they reminisce, philosophize, and commiserate about their current state. Gruff Santa (a bearded Javier Bardem) puts up a tough front, refusing to sink into self-pity, and occasionally pricking his friends' hopes. Morose José (Luis Tosar) openly worries about his wife, whom he fears might leave him. That seems to have been the fate of Amador (Celso Bugallo), the oldest of the bunch, who keeps reassuring everyone that his wife will be back any day now from her trip. Meanwhile, Lino (José Ángel Egido) refuses to give up hope of employment, going to interview after interview for jobs being offered to applicants half his age. Presiding over the glum bunch is Rico (Joaquín Climent), the bar owner and the men's co-worker from the shipyard days. Despite its depressing subject and downbeat mood, Mondays in the Sun was a big winner at the 2003 Goya Awards, Spain's equivalent of the Oscars, winning Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Bardem. The film was also Spain's surprise representative for the 2003 Oscars' Foreign Language film category, nabbing the distinction over Pedro Almodóvar's critically lauded Talk to Her. ~ Elbert Ventura, Rovi

Produced for the Lifetime cable channel, Indiscretion of an American Wife is a remake of Vittorio De Sica's 1953 theatrical feature of the same name. While her diplomat husband (Michael Murphy) is stationed in Rome, neglected wife Julia Burton (Anne Archer) enters into a clandestine romance with dashing Italian vintner Matteo (Andrea Occhipinti). Eventually, her husband is called home -- and during what may or may not be her final rendezvous with Matteo at a Roman railway station, Julia is forced to make a crucial decision about her future, and the future of everyone whom she holds near and dear. Unlike the 1954 American release of the De Sica original, which was cut by 20 minutes for domestic consumption, the remake runs a full 90 minutes, allowing for fuller character development and a less abrupt denouement. However, Anne Archer and Andrea Occhipinti, talented though they may be, are but pale shadows of De Sica's stars, Jennifer Jones and Montgomery Clift. Filmed on location in Italy, this Indiscretion first aired March 9, 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This comedy, set in Madrid, follows single nursery school teacher Esperanza (Loles Leon) on her quest for a man. She shares her problems with her gay friend Ramon (Andrea Occhipinti), a divorce lawyer, who devises a few matchmaking notions -- while Esperanza, at the same time, tries to get physical-education instructor Roberto (Armando del Rio) to take an interest in Ramon. But Esperanza continues to find heterosexual men in short supply. Shown at the 1997 San Sebastian Film Festival, the English title is Manly Love. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi