Giancarlo Giannini Movies

An American slacker makes enemies out of the two toughest mafia bosses in Bologna after getting cut off by his wealthy parents, and fleeing to Italy. Charlie Edwards (Bobby Kennedy III) has just graduated from college when his parents hand him a $5000 check, and tell him to finally start acting like an adult. Naturally, the first thing Charlie does is book a flight to Italy, and prepares to party like a true European. But the moment Charlie steps off the plane, he's robbed blind by some tough characters. Fortunately for the wayward American, the self-dubbed King of Bologna is there to lend a helping hand. If any Italian can match Charlie's appetite for mayhem, it's Lele (Lele Gabellone). Upon moving in with Lele and his peculiar roommates -- crusty gutter punk Badoo (Gianlucca Bazzoli) and hooker-happy horn-dog Il Pisa (Giuseppe Sanfelice) -- Charlie picks right up where he left off back in the states, living each day like it was his last. Shortly after charming lovely local Valentina (Alessandra Mastronardi) and pretty American Jessica (Eva Amurri), however, the swaggering American finds that Italy isn't all fun in games after incurring the wrath of Don Farina (Ernesto Mahieux) and Don Fercanne (Giancarlo Giannini), two short-tempered crime-bosses with precious little patience for Charlie's particular brand of tomfoolery. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A young man struggles to hold on to his life with his family against the judgment of those who want to help him in this drama from Italy. Salvatore (Allesandro Mallia) is a thirteen-year-old who has become the primary breadwinner in his family after the unexpected death of his parents. Salvatore has a younger sister and a grandmother to look after, and while at first he tried to juggle school with the fishing and tomato farming that kept the family fed and the bills paid, the youngster has abandoned his studies, at least for the meantime, in the interest of keeping the household together. Salvatore's truancy draws the attention of Laura Valvo (Galatea Ranzi), a social worker who becomes aware of his situation. Laura wants to place Salvatore with a foster family and apply to a Catholic charity to help look after his sister and grandmother, but Salvatore will have no part of this. As Salvatore struggles to keep his family together, he's helped by a most unlikely ally -- Marco Brioni (Enrico Lo Verso), the teacher whose classroom he abandoned to help his relations. Salvatore -- Questa E'La Vita was the first feature film from director Gian Paolo Cugno. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Directed by Giuseppe Ferrara, the political thriller I Banchieri Di Dio (God's Bankers) is based on the true-crime saga of the corrupted Banco Ambrosiano and the unsolved murder of bank president Roberto Calvi in 1982. Co-written by Ferrara and Armenia Balducci, the complex story involves the discovery of a trillion lire deficiet in the bank accounts. Calvi (Omero Antonutti) is blamed and thrown in prison. With the help of his wife (Pamela Villoresi), Calvi goes between the corrupt system of political and religious leaders who can get him out of jail. Rutger Hauer appears as Cardianle Marcinkus, the head of the Vatican bank. In March of 2002, an Italian businessman tried to ban Gods Bankers, claiming ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Several star-crossed couples experience both the thrills and the disappointment of romance over the course of one evening in this romantic comedy. Reporter Marcello (Giancarlo Giannini) has a brief encounter with Irene (Marie Trintignant) while waiting for a train. A young woman who has lost her sight (Silvia De Santis) finds herself falling for the voice of a ship's captain (Yari Gugilucci) she hears over a radio broadcast. Egle (Ornella Muti), a massage therapist who is soon to be married, finds herself pursuing one last fling with Gabriele (James Thierree) -- though the odds are not in her favor, since he happens to be gay. Elena (Isabelle Pasco) is a young woman with a child who wants to abandon her husband. And Carla (Marina Confalone) wonders if she has any future at all with her lover -- who is married to someone else. Una Lunga Lunga Lunga Notte D'Amore was directed by veteran filmmaker Luciano Emmer, who was 83 when the film opened in Europe in the spring of 2001. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A mother who thinks of marriage in terms of business butts heads with a daughter who has her own unusual ideas about love in Lina Wertmuller's screen adaptation of Maria Orsini Natale's historical novel. Francesca (Sophia Loren) was a woman of common birth whose beauty and charm so entranced Prince Giordano Montorsi (Giancarlo Giannini) that he took her hand in marriage in the 1890s. Francesca and the Prince had a baby, Federico, and when the boy became seriously ill, Francesca pledged to the Lord that if her son was spared, she would adopt a needy orphan. Federico recovered, and true to her word, Francesca and the Prince adopted a nine-year-old girl, Nunziata. Years later, Nunziata has grown to become an attractive young woman, and Francesca watches over the Prince's financial affairs, having learned a thing or two about business from helping her father manage his thriving pasta company. Francesca does a fine job of handling the royal accounts, but when one business deal goes spectacularly sour, the Prince decides he should mind the books from now on; he proves to have no skills for the task, and the royal family is soon in dire financial straits. Eager to put the family back on its feet, Francesca begins to broker a marriage between Federico (Raoul Bova) and the daughter of a wealthy shipping tycoon. However, Federico is less than enthusiastic about the idea, largely because he's fallen in love with his adopted sister Nunziata. Francesca is appalled at this and overrules his objections, but after Federico goes to the altar, Nunziata begins arranging a lucrative wedding of her own; Nunziata's plan is to collect a large dowry, and use the money to fund a competing pasta company that will put her mother's firm out of business. Francesca e Nunziata was produced for Italian television, but received theatrical release abroad. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A teenager hits the road for a crash course in the ways of the world in this amiable comedy-drama. Daniel (Tomas Fonzi) is a 17-year-old orphan growing up in a sleepy village in rural Argentina. Daniel feels trapped in his town, has grown tired of living with his grandparents, and hates his job; one of his few pleasures in life is sneaking into a local movie house to watch the latest picture from blue movie star Sabrina Love (Cecilia Roth). Daniel enters a contest in which some lucky man will win a date with the sultry actress, and his heartfelt letter earns him the grand prize; now Daniel has to get to Buenos Aires for his moment of glory. As Daniel hitchhikes from one side of the country to the other, he has a number of remarkable experiences and encounters a handful of unusual people, including his brother (Fabian Vena), who hasn't yet accepted his parents' death; a free-thinking writer (Mario Paolucci); and a reporter (Julieta Cardinali) with amour on her mind. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Nae Caranfil directs this playful movie about the two years that young French author Stendhal gallivanted about the Italian countryside. Stendhal (Francois Cluzet), then still known simply as Henri Beyle, is living the life of a gentleman-wanderer, looking for a direction in his life. He spends a few nights at the estate of Count Nencini (Giancarlo Giannini) as he waits for the army to dispatch with a brigand lair. He learns that the melancholy Count is secretly supporting the bandit, which soon embroils the young writer in a web of intrigue. Meanwhile, he finds himself profoundly attracted to young widow Giuseppina (Isabella Ferrari). ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Francesco Cesena Giancarlo Giannini is a smart cop who does not like his job. While conducting a routine investigation, he gets involved in a shoot-out during which he is wounded, one of his colleagues is gunned down, and he kills an ex-con and his wife. A few months later, two kids, Fabrizio and Simonetta, are arrested for stealing a car. Cesena and his assistant Cane, who is about the same age as the suspects, have to question them. Partly out of boredom and also because he finds Simonetta appealing, Cesena leads on the couple to believe that he has something much more serious on them than the car theft. Fabrizio believes him, while Simonetta smells a rat but decides to play along. During the night, the youths tell the cops the story of their wasted lives; they are two people who have completely lost control and turned their worst fantasies into reality. Cesena is so fascinated by the fragile personality that lies beneath Simonetta's hard exterior that he does not want to hear any more. But she is determined not to leave out any details. A cross between Bonnie and Clyde and Hana-Bi via Pulp Fiction, the saving grace of this Italian thriller is Giancarlo Giannini, best known for his remarkable performances in Lina Wertmuller's films. Vuoti a Perdere was screened as part of the Panorama of 49th International Berlin Film Festival. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi

Maurizio Sciarra made his feature directorial debut with this Sicilian love story amid the tensions of Italy's fascist period. The romantic drama is adapted from Domnico Campanas' novel about an aristocratic anti-fascist, the Marquis of Acquafurata (Giancarlo Giannini). The nobleman secretly leaves Paris and returns to his ancestral home in southern Sicily. Posing as his own butler, he plans to sell his palazzo and its antiques, while also offering aid to local anti-fascists in a rescue of the artist Modigliani from his prison on the island of Lampedusa. When he gives his townhouse to a country family as a move to keep it from the fascists, he comes in contact with young peasant girl Rosalia (Tiziana Lodato), and a romance develops. Shown at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

In this Italian crime drama, unemployed Angelo (Marco Leonardi) is elated to receive an offer from Luciano (Alessandro Zamattio) to assist in a Bangkok video shoot. Unknown to Angelo, Luciano stashes inside the camera $10,000 worth of heroin, discovered at airport customs. Placed in a cell with rats, Angelo gets a shady lawyer, Ortega (Giancarlo Giannini), and a 32-year sentence at a prison run by sadistic supervisors. A visit from an Italian Embassy representative (Mirca Viola, a former Miss Italy) brings zero results, so he becomes part of an escape planned by prisoner Belisario (F. Murray Abraham), who wants revenge on Ortega. Adapted from a book by Fabrizio Paladini, the film substitutes Italian settings for Southeast Asia, intercutting 16mm footage of genuine Bangkok exteriors. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi