Cristina Comencini Movies

A mother dealing with a difficult child without her husband finds companionship in this drama from Italy. Marina (Claudia Pandolfi) sets out on a vacation in a small town in Northwest Italy with her two-year-old son Marco in tow; while her husband will be meeting up with her in a few weeks, for the moment she's looking after Marco by herself, and this happens at a bad time for both mother and child. Marco has the colic and is in a constant bad mood, and after a few days Marina is at a loss about what to do with her fussy, frequently crying child. Marina is staying in a apartment building that's also home to Manfred (Filippo Timi), a moody wilderness guide, and when he hears some strange noises one evening, he discovers Marco has had an accident and Marina is too panicked to react. After taking Marina and Marco to the hospital, Manfred has them stay with his sister-in-law Bianca (Michela Cescon), who has more experience in dealing with difficult children. As Marina bonds with Bianca, she finds herself increasingly attracted to Manfred, though she learns he carries some emotional baggage of his own. Quando La Notte (aka When The Night) was directed and co-written by Cristina Comencini, who helped adapt the screenplay from her own novel. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

An adulterous affair between an Italian IT specialist and a black woman throws both of their lives into a frenzy in this romantic comedy from director Cristina Comencini. Carlo works with computers, and feels awkward whenever his wife Elena drags him to charity events promoting racial integration. Bertrand is a respected colleague of Elena's who is married to the beautiful Nadine. When Betrand is invited to speak at one of Elena's functions, Carlo crosses paths with Nadine, and the sparks start to fly. Later, after seeing Nadine a few more times socially, Carlo seduces her. But when word of Carlo and Nadine's affair gets out, their families seem more upset by the interracial aspect of their infidelity, than the unfaithfulness to their spouses. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Matrimony is a drama about the complexity of relationships. On Christmas Eve, perfect housewife Giulia Francesca Neri is worried about a family heirloom which has cracked and rushes to the junk shop to get it repaired -- little anticipating her perfect marriage is about to fall to pieces as well. While everyone in Bologna is making last minute preparations, Giulia runs into her childhood sweetheart, Fausto Paolo Sassanelli. The meeting rekindles old feelings and Giulia realizes that to create the perfect marriage which everyone adores, she has sacrificed her own personality. While waiting to meet her parents at the station, she climbs into a departing train and disappears. The family slowly disintegrates, as if she were the binding element. Cristina Comencini, the daughter of well-known Italian director Luigi Comencini, has written several scripts for her father before launching her own film career in 1988. Matrimoni is also scripted by her, and based on an idea by her and Roberta Mazzoni. It is definitely a woman's film, which tries examine complex feelings of women caught between familial responsibility and individuality. Matrimoni was screened as part of the Panorama section of the 49th International Berlin Film Festival, 1999. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi

The complicated travails of several generations of Italian women provide the basis for this drama that is based on a novel by Susanna Tamaro. It begins with the peaceful death of Olga, the elderly family matriarch. Marta, her granddaughter returns from the US to attend the funeral and once in Olga's villa in Trieste, begins reading her grandmother's diary. Olga's story unfolds via flashback. As a young woman, Oldga had to marry Antonio a man she didn't love. Later she became passionately involved with a handsome doctor at the local spa. He impregnates her and shortly thereafter dies in a terrible car wreck. The result of their love is Illaria, who grows up to be terribly neurotic. She bears Marta and then she too dies in an automobile accident, leaving Marta to be raised by Olga. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this romantic story, a couple (Michel Serrault and Virna Lisi) who have been married for over forty years are forced to separate, one to each of their two children's families, when they can no longer pay the rent on their longtime apartment. Absence, in this case, refreshes their memory of the love they have shared, and they take to meeting one another furtively in hotel rooms for sex and affection. One summer, as each of their daughters families takes them on separate vacations, they have had enough, and elope, finding contentment as lighthouse keepers off the coast of Sicily. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In this Italian drama, based upon the epic novel by Morante, a half-Jewish mother endeavors to conceal her identity during the Mussolini years, 1941-1947. The story is set in Rome where the mother has worked as a school teacher. It begins when the mother, who has a teenage son, is raped and impregnated by a German soldier. She later bears an epileptic son. She and her sons suffer greatly during the war. The mother too, must suffer through an internal war as her fear of persecution conflicts with the guilt of concealing her religion. More trouble ensues when her oldest son gets involved with the partisans. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi