Andrea Occhipinti Movies

This horror-thriller from director Lamberto Bava stars Andrea Occhipinti as Bruno, a composer who becomes involved in a frightening series of murders while staying at an isolated villa. The story turns on a scene in the horror film Bruno is scoring: a young child, taunted by cruel bullies, descends into a dark cellar after a bouncing tennis ball. The kids hear a scream and the ball bounces up to them, leaving bloody tracks on the wall. Pretty Sandra, Bruno's director, explains that her inspiration was the childhood of Linda, the villa's previous tenant, but there is something far more sinister going on. Anyone who has seen Psycho probably has a good idea what that "something" is, but the plot is really incidental. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

This enormously controversial psychodrama-cum-horror film from Danish enfant terrible Lars von Trier charts the degeneration of a marriage into apocalyptic violence, chaos, and insanity following an unthinkable domestic tragedy. The film opens with a prologue. While they make love in their apartment on a snowy winter afternoon, a husband and wife known only as "He" and "She" (Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg) fail to keep an eye on their young toddler. In a horrific turn of events, the child wanders over to an open window, entranced by the snow cascading down, and falls two stories to his death. Von Trier then divides the remainder of the film into four chapters, beginning with "Grief." In that segment, the woman finishes a month's hospitalization, and accuses her husband of apathy over the child's death, but proceeds to take responsibility for it herself; he calmly and rationally guides her through this process. In the second segment, "Pain," she confesses to him that she's most terrified of their property in the forest, because she spent time with her son there over the preceding summer; as a form of therapy, he takes her to that locale on a wilderness retreat. She appears to grow more calm and rational over their first days in that milieu. Yet the recovery, it seems, was only illusory, and the subsequent two chapters, "Despair (Gynocide)" and "The Three Beggars," depict the woman's shocking and abrupt regression into unbridled insanity, culminating with grotesque sexual violence against herself, gruesome acts of destruction against her husband, and an apocalyptic climax. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

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, All Movie Guide

In a semi-erotic film almost universally lamented, Bo Derek, last wife of the late John Derek (who wrote, directed, and photographed Bolero), plays Ayre, a virginal young woman who, on graduating from an exclusive British boarding school, is determined to find the right man for her first sexual encounter wherever he might be in the world. Rich enough not to venture forth alone, she brings along her friend Catalina (Ana Obregon) and the family chauffeur (George Kennedy). Ayre first travels to an Arab country where she meets an ideal lover, a sheik (Greg Bensen) who offers to deflower her but falls asleep almost immediately (he was, after all, reciting lines from this script). Giving up on the sheik, Ayre goes on to Spain, where she meets the toreador Angel (Andrea Occhipinti) who is even better than the sheik because he manages to stay awake. Unfortunately, after she has succeeded in her quest, the perils of Angel's profession are brought home when he is gored in a sensitive location -- the arena, of course. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Fifteen strangers who have volunteered for an experiment in isolation are forced to deal with an even larger problem in this film from Italian director Giuliano Montaldo. A research group in Germany wants to study the effects of isolation in a nuclear shelter on human subjects and assembles a diverse group of people for the test. The strangers agree to stay in the shelter for 20 days, but are allowed to exit at any time. During their time in the shelter, the group experiences a wide range of social dynamics, but near the end of their stay in the shelter, it is learned that a real nuclear incident is underway and the test group will be forced to stay in their shelter indefinitely. Featured in the cast are Burt Lancaster, Ben Gazzara, and Kate Nelligan. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide

Director Jacob Thuesen takes a satirical look at the life of an aspiring filmmaker in this story of an emerging director who remains doggedly determined to realize his vision on the big screen despite the lofty pretension and swelling egos of his useless instructors and eccentric fellow students. Erik Nietzsche can't seem to grasp the unwritten rules of the film industry, and as a result he just doesn't seem to fit in. A calm observer to the chaos that swirls around him, Nietzsche falls in love, experiences the stress of union disputes, and struggles to deal with the absurdities of the entertainment industry before finally getting his one big shot at fame. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

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, All Movie Guide

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, All Movie Guide

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, All Movie Guide

An Albanian woman living in Belgium finds her dreams of opening a snack bar with her boyfriend leading to tragedy after she agrees to marry a Russian Mafioso in order to gain citizenship. All Lorna wanted was to start a small business with her loving boyfriend, but in order to make that happen she would first have to gain citizenship. Local mobster Fabio claims that he can make that happen if Lorna agrees to a sham marriage with a man named Claudy. After gaining Belgian citizenship, Lorna discovers that a high-profile Russian Mafioso is also seeking legal entry into Belgium, and soon. He's willing to pay a hearty sum in order to marry Lorna, but in order for that second marriage to be possible Fabio will have to have Claudy killed. Will Lorna be able to remain silent as Fabio's deadly plot unfolds, and what will become of her if Fabio finds out that she has warned Claudy of the impending danger he faces? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

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, All Movie Guide