Sergio Castellitto

Twenty acclaimed filmmakers from around the world look at love in the City of Lights in this omnibus feature. Paris, Je T'Aime features 18 short stories, each set in a different part of Paris and each featuring a different cast and director (two segments were produced by two filmmakers in collaboration). In "Faubourg Saint-Denis," Tom Tykwer directs Natalie Portman as an American actress who is the object of affection for a blind student (Melchior Belson). Christopher Doyle's "Porte de Choisy" follows a salesman (Barbet Schroeder) as he tries to pitch beauty aids in Chinatown. Nick Nolte and Ludivine Sagnier are father and daughter in "Parc Monceau" from Alfonso Cuarón. Animator Sylvain Chomet turns his eye to a pair of living, breathing mimes in "Tour Eiffel." An interracial romance in France is offered by Gurinder Chadha in "Quais de Seine." In "Le Marais" from Gus Van Sant, a man (Gaspard Ulliel) finds himself falling for a handsome gent (Elias McConnell) who works in a print shop. Isabel Coixet tells the tale of a man (Sergio Castellitto) who is making his final choice between his wife (Miranda Richardson) and his lover (Leonor Watling) in "Bastille." Juliette Binoche plays a grieving mother in Nobuhiro Suwa's "Place des Victoires," in which she's greeted by a spectral cowboy (Willem Dafoe). Richard LaGravanese's "Pigalle" finds a long-married man (Bob Hoskins) turning to a prostitute for advice on pleasing his wife (Fanny Ardant). Gérard Depardieu and Frédéric Auburtin direct Gena Rowlands and Ben Gazzara as longtime marrieds meeting for one final pre-divorce encounter in "Quartier Latin." Steve Buscemi learns a lesson about local etiquette in the Paris Metro in "Tuileries" from Joel and Ethan Coen. In "Loin du 16ème" by Walter Salles, a housekeeper (Catalina Sandino Moreno) longs for her own child as she tends to the infant of her wealthy employer. Elijah Wood stars in "Quartier de la Madeleine," a vampire tale from Vincenzo Natali. Wes Craven presents another fantasy in "Père-Lachaise," in which an engaged young man (Rufus Sewell) receives romantic advice from the spirit of Oscar Wilde (Alex Payne). A postal worker from Colorado (Margo Martindale) shares her thoughts on her visit to Paris in mangled French in Alexander Payne's witty "14th Arrondissement." Other segments include "Place des Fêtes" from Oliver Schmitz, Bruno Podalydès' "Montmartre," and "Quartier des Enfants Rouges" by Olivier Assayas, which stars Maggie Gyllenhaal. Paris, Je T'Aime received its world premiere at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

One man's work ethic and sense of personal responsibility sends him on a great journey in this drama from filmmaker Gianni Amelio. Vincenzo (Sergio Castellitto) has devoted most of his adult life to working in a steel mill, where he looks after the machines and sees that they're in good repair. One day, Vincenzo gets the news that the mill is going out of business and the equipment has been sold to a concern in China. While Vincenzo is upset about the loss of his job, before long something greater is weighing on his mind -- one of the machines sold to the Chinese has a defect that led to the death of Vincenzo's co-workers years before, and he's convinced if he doesn't do some preventative maintenance on the equipment, another worker could be killed. Determined to prevent a needless fatality, Vincenzo flies to China and sets out to find the faulty machine, with the help of Liu Hua (Tai Ling), a young woman serving as his interpreter. La Stella Che Non C'e (aka The Missing Star) was screened in competition as part of the 2006 Venice Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This short film is filmmaker Isabel Coixet's contribution to the anthology film Paris, Je T'Aime. In it, Sergio Castellitto stars as a philandering husband scheming to break up a long marriage with his wife (Miranda Richardson) and run off with his lover (Leonor Watling) -- only to be greeted by some shocking news when his wife arrives to meet him for dinner. Paris, Je T'Aime premiered at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Don't Move is the second feature from actor/director Sergio Castellito (Mostly Martha), who wrote the script with his wife, actress/author Margaret Mazzantini from her best-selling novel. Castellito stars as Timoteo, a successful surgeon and permissive father whose teenage daughter, Angela (Elena Perino), has just had a life-threatening motorbike accident. Sitting in the hospital, wondering if his daughter will survive, Timoteo thinks back to a fateful day 15 years earlier when his car broke down on a remote country road in the rain and a bedraggled young woman, Italia (Penélope Cruz), invited him into her ramshackle home only to have him force himself upon her. Timoteo then returned home to his lovely wife, Elsa (Claudia Gerini). But unable to get Italia out of his mind, Timoteo returned again and again to her sordid shack. They began to develop genuine feelings for each other. Elsa is reluctant to have children, despite Timoteo's wishes, so when he learns that Italia is pregnant, he has a critical decision to make about how he wants to live his life. Don't Move was shown at New York City's Walter Reade Theater in 2004 as part of a Sergio Castellito retrospective presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Ernesto (Sergio Castellitto of Va Savoir) is a successful artist and devout atheist who finds out that his mother, whom he despised, is being considered for sainthood. Ernesto's young son, Leonardo (Alberto Mondini), influenced by his religion teacher, has developed a fear of God, whom he tries to shoo away like a pest. "If He's everywhere," Leonardo reasons, "then I'm not free -- even for a second." Ernesto's estranged wife, Irene (Jacqueline Lustig), encourages Leonardo's faith, and seems to be on the side of Ernesto's family, who are greedily clamoring to get Ernesto to participate in the canonization process. His mentally unstable brother, Egidio (Donato Placido), who will speak only to Ernesto, murdered their mother years earlier, and holds the key to her beatification. At a party, Ernesto insults a deranged monarchist, Conte Bulla (Toni Bertorelli), who then challenges him to a duel. Ernesto goes to complain to Leonardo's religion teacher, expecting to find an ugly old woman, and instead finds Diana (Chiara Conti), an impossibly beautiful young woman who admires his work. Ernesto meets the Cardinal (Maurizio Donadoni), and tells the man that his mother was "stupid" and "had no passion." "Loving someone is the best way to declare my atheism," he declares. But as he gets caught up in all the intrigue, Ernesto recognizes a connection to his hated mother that he cannot escape; he has the same mocking smile. Marco Bellocchio's My Mother's Smile was shown at the 2002 New York Film Festival and at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, where it won a Special Mention for the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Sandra Nettelbeck spins this gentle drama about how a child's presence can change the lives of the most shy and career-minded of adults. Martha (Martina Gedeck) is the chef of a popular Hamburg eatery who fusses and obsesses over each dish before it leaves the kitchen. The demands of her job and her natural shyness keep her from breaking out of her routine to meet new people. When her sister suddenly dies in a car accident, Martha adopts Lina, her eight-year-old niece. Martha's life soon completely changes -- not only must she adjust herself to new parental role, but she must help Lina deal with her grief over the loss of her mother. Martha gets unexpected help from Mario, Martha's hunky new sous chef, who is not only a whiz on the chopping block but knows sundry magic tricks and jokes to keep Lina's spirits afloat. Just as Martha starts to grow attached to the girl, however, the possibility of Lina returning to the custody of her father arises. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

A romantic comedy from acclaimed French director Jacques Rivette (La Belle Noiseuse), this film centers on three men and three women whose lives converge during the run of a play in Paris. The star of the play, Camille (Jeanne Balibar), is returning to Paris after leaving her stuffy boyfriend Pierre (Jacques Bonaffe) and residing in Italy. Her Italian theater company has brought her to France, where the show is run by her lover, director, and co-star Ugo (Sergio Castellitto). Ugo is concerned with the show's poor attendance, but also busy searching for a long-lost play by an Italian playwright. While on his quest, he discovers the beautiful young Do (Helene De Fougerolles), a student who offers to help him. Do's mother has a library that may contain the lost play, and Ugo runs into her possessive half-sibling Arthur (Bruno Todeschini), a shady man pursuing an affair with Pierre's wife Sonia (Mariane Basler), who also has a questionable past. After a brooding dinner at Pierre and Sonia's home, tensions mount in everybody's relationships and their romantic journeys are similarly tested. A lighter work from the usually dramatic filmmaker Rivette, the film was made by the director at the amazing age of 73.
~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide

Letitia Masson wrote and directed this tale told in flashbacks as a detective tracks a young woman. After France Robert (Sandrine Kiberlain) steals cash and then leaves Marseilles nightclub owner Pierre (Jean-Francois Stevenin) at the altar, he still yearns for her, so he puts private investigator Luigi Primo (Sergio Castellitto) on her trail. Luigi, who married a French lawyer (Mireille Perier) but is now divorced, sends regular progress bulletins on tape. He begins the quest by talking to France's small-town parents and former boyfriend, traveling about in Paris, Grenoble, and Marseilles as he assembles the jigsaw of her past life. Shown in the Certain Regard section at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Philippe de Morannes has an agreement with his girlfriend, the well-known actress Paulette Nanteuil. Either one of them can sleep with someone else if they give their partner a day's notice. In the six years they have been living together, this agreement has not been an issue. Philippe is researching a book about Carl Herickson, an international screen star. One day, while waiting in the star's suite for him to return, he encoutners Claudine, a friend of Paulette's who is a journalist doing an interview of the star. In the midst of a mild but very witty flirtation with her, the star arrives, and expresses a wish to see a local theatrical performance. Hardly thinking about it, he recommends his wife's current play. In a series of misadventures, the film star and the stage star wind up sleeping together. The next day, Philippe and Paulette have a heated and funny discussion about who was unfaithful to whom. This comedy is a remake of the 1938 film Quadrille, by Sacha Guitry. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Two people with a similar fetish for the exotic Asian fabric have an odd relationship in this off-beat French romance set in 1914. In the beginning, Marie enters a Paris department store and carefully heads for the fabric part. With cat-like caution she moves beside a bolt of silk, suddenly pouncing upon it, slashing the fabric with a straight razor and the pressing its cool satiny smoothness to her body until she faints with pleasure. Upon regaining consciousness, Marie finds herself booked for shoplifting and sent to a psycho ward where she meets Doctor Gabriel who asks her surprisingly intimate questions about her fetish for stealing silk in public. He seems to relish every erotic detail. Knowing that she is unable to control her passionate urges, she decides that she needs to be imprisoned. While serving her time and finally leaning to read and write, Dr. Gabriel fights the Germans in North Africa. A wound prompts his discharge and this gives him the chance to pen his case study of Marie, "The Scream of the Silk." The newly literate Marie reads the article, sees herself and sends him a heartfelt letter of thanks. Gabriel responds, confessing that he too is a 'silko-phile' with a similar obsession. Via their letters, the two slowly fall in love while Gabriel's doting housekeeper watches over him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A run of bad luck coupled with devastating pride marks the beginning of a once-successful businessman's inexorable downward slide that lands him in the subterranean bowels of the "Hotel Paura." This downbeat drama chronicles his descent. Carlo Ruggeri had a happy marriage and a good career as an executive until the day his company merged with another and he lost his job. His wife Liliana is at first supportive, but then the lease on their apartment expires and because Carlo is unemployed, the landlord refuses to renew it. With nowhere left to go, Carlo, Liliana and their son Paolo end up in welfare housing. Carlo is deeply embarrassed and refuses to ask his friends and family for help. Any that is offered, he promptly refuses, along with a couple of jobs that he deems unsuitable. Eventually Liliana looses her patience, takes Paolo and moves in with her family. No longer eligible for the government-sponsored housing, Carlo is forced into the street where he becomes a beggar. Some small salvation comes when he hooks up with the kindly Lucia, a street dweller who takes him to an abandoned subway station they call the Hotel Paura. Surrounded by the most intense poverty he has ever known, Carlo makes some profound self-discoveries. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This Italian film was released in 1995 and slowly made its way around the world; its English title is The Star Maker. Like the Oscar-winning Cinema Paradiso by the same writer-director, Guiseppe Tornatore, it's drenched in the filmmaker's love for cinema. In Sicily in the early 1950s, Joe Morelli (Sergio Castellitto) is a con man who travels by truck from village to village posing as a film company representative. For a fee, he offers the rubes screen tests, using passages from a script of Gone with the Wind and encouraging their hopes with lines such as "Success awaits you!" Morelli's camera brings out people's hidden sides, including a soldier's war trauma, a woman's protests at being accused of prostitution, and a policeman who recites poetry. Begging for a chance at the stardom Morelli purportedly offers, Beata (Tiziana Lodato) asks Morelli to take her with him. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide