Margherita Buy Movies
Writer/director Paolo Virzì and co-writer Francesco Bruni follow up their sly fish-out-of-water comedy My Name Is Tanino with another comedy in a similar vein, Caterina in the Big City. Giancarlo (Sergio Castellitto) is delighted when he has an opportunity to leave his provincial teaching job and drag his wife Agata (Margherita Buy) and 12-year old daughter Caterina (newcomer Alice Teghil) back to his old neighborhood in Rome. Caterina is a sweet, naïve, and pretty girl, and on her first day of school, she finds herself mocked as a hick. Her classmates are the sons and daughters of Rome's elite. Margherita's (Carolina Iaquaniello) parents are prominent intellectuals, and she leads a faction of bohemian socialist kids, while Daniella's father is a political heavyweight, and her preppy clique dresses in designer duds and espouses right-wing politics. Poor Caterina finds the two opposing factions battling over her allegiance, but every time she makes a new friend, her father fouls things up. Giancarlo, who is also an aspiring novelist, spends his evenings at home ranting about the elites and their devious, cliquish ways, but every time he's in the presence of an important person, he desperately tries to ingratiate himself and get his talents noticed. Meanwhile, he's drifting into depression and isolating himself from his wife and daughter. Caterina in the Big City was shown at New York City's Walter Reade Theater in 2004 as part of a Sergio Castellitto retrospective presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alice Teghil
- 1991
Marco is a stuffy young man, but he loves his ne'er-do-well brother. When he doesn't hear from him for some time, he begins to search for him and finds that he has disappeared from sight. He looks up his brother's equally unconventional girlfriend and enlists her aid in the search. Along the way, they meet plenty of unusual people, and the strait-laced brother slowly loosens up. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margherita Buy, Giulio Scarpati, (more)
- 1993
Stefania (Margherita Buy) is having her own troubles with her marriage, and the troubled romance between Marilu (Barbara Jane Ricassa), her Filipina nanny, and a local plumber (Raoul Bova) only highlights her own concerns. Her husband (Massimo Ghini) used to be full of the fire of political convictions, but has lost his belief in much of anything. Perhaps this is an occupational hazard for political journalists, but it doesn't help Stefania much. She has a job dubbing an Argentine soap opera into Italian for television, so if she had to she could set out on her own. Somehow, she and her husband struggle through their difficulties, and are able to smooth the way for Marilu as well. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margherita Buy, Massimo Ghini, (more)
- 1993
In this fantasy comedy/drama, Roberto (Sergio Rubini) is a divorce lawyer who is very conflicted about what he does for a living. In fact, he has a great deal of difficulty sleeping at night. Most people simply toss and turn; Roberto literally splits in two. One Roberto is a fanatic advocate of marriage and an opponent of divorce. He goes on a campaign advocating that couples seek counseling and get back together. Ironically, he becomes so jealous of his wife (Margherita Buy) that she leaves him. The other Roberto is an inveterate ladies' man, one hundred percent against romance and commitment. The women he has relationships with eventually want a little of each, and he, too is left alone. Their mutual desolation eventually pushes the two Robertos back together into one slightly wiser man. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sergio Rubini, Margherita Buy, (more)
- 2000
Strained family ties add to the tension of a romantic triangle in this downbeat drama from Italy. Nina (Valeria Golino) is an emotionally unstable actress who can't figure out how to get her life in order and who frightens away almost any man who comes near her, including her former husband and her son. Clara (Margherita Buy) is a psychiatrist working in a mental hospital who has little going on in her life but her work. Nina and Clara have practically nothing in common except two things -- they're sisters, and both are in love with Leo (Ennio Fantastichini), an orderly at a hospital. Leo is fond of Nina, but when she leaves town without warning, he's upset at being unable to find her. Leo instead tracks down Clara, and she soon finds herself attracted to the warm, good-natured stranger. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margherita Buy, Ennio Fantastichini, (more)
- 1996
Three losers in the game of love find solace in each other's company in this touching Italian comedy. Stefano is an unemployed intellectual who just lost another lover. For him it is the third strike and wanting out, he crawls into an empty van, gobbles down sleeping pills and awaits his death. Giulio, the plumber who owns the vehicle finds Stefano. Giulio already has a full-plate of misery with a money-grubbing ex-wife, a daughter who barely talks to him and a faltering affair with a young woman pining for intellectual stimulation, but still, he reluctantly takes Stefano in and helps him recover. Lucia has just been royally burned by her latest lover, a fellow who cruelly stole her heart and life savings before leaving with another woman. In desperation, she has become an expensive call girl. Meanwhile, Stefano and Giulio talk and learn about each other's disparate lives. Giulio talks Stefano into working with him. They meet Lucia when she calls them over to fix her leaky faucet. Stefano falls for her and skittishly begins to woo her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
In Bread and Tulips, director Silvio Soldini detailed the journey of a discontented housewife who threw caution to the wind to find true happiness in Venice; in Days and Clouds, the same filmmaker explores the opposite side of the coin by telling the tale of a middle-class homemaker from Genoa who suddenly finds her life turned upside down. Elsa (Margherita Buy) is the picture of middle-class contentment: she's happily married, well adjusted, and spends most of her spare time developing her skills as an amateur historian specializing in restoration. Recently, Elsa even decided to return to school in order to earn her degree. One day, after gently scraping the ceiling of a local chapel to reveal hidden angels that hadn't seen the light of day in decades, Elsa is informed by her husband, Michele (Antonio Albanese), that the couple will have to give up their posh apartment. Michele was formerly a partner in a successful shipping firm, but now that his partner has forced him out of the business, the happy husband and wife won't be able to maintain their current lifestyle. In the aftermath of that disheartening revelation, Elsa and Michele both try to find work while dealing with the predicament in directly opposing ways. Later, after moving into a much smaller apartment, the cracks in Elsa and Michele's now fragile marriage gradually begin to widen. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margherita Buy, Antonio Albanese, (more)
- 2000
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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margherita Buy, François Cluzet, (more)
- 1989
Lupo (Paolo Hendrel) and Edo (Giovanni Guidelli) take to the swamps after robbing a wealthy Italian in this neo-western comedy. They are pursued by the victim's son and three Austrian mercenaries. The duo goes through several memorable adventures as they encounter many offbeat characters in their travels as fugitives. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paolo Hendel, Giovanni Guidelli, (more)
- 2009
In Italy circa 1966, four female friends meet regularly over a game of canasta, to discuss their hopes, fears and concerns. Frustrations also emerge - many tied to the women's histories of extinguishing personal dreams in exchange for the false promises advertised as nuptial bliss. Thus begins helmer Enzo Monteleone's intimate ensembler Due Partite. The setting then shifts to Italy in 1996, when the women's daughters begin meeting for canasta, reflect on their own lives, and ponder a tragedy that befell one of the mothers. The cast features Margherita Buy, Claudia Pandolfi, Isabella Ferrari and several other mainstays of the Italian screen. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margherita Buy, Isabella Ferrari, (more)
- 1995
Based on a short story from Giuseppe Pontiggia's popular Italian book Vite di uomini non illustri (Lives of Non-Illustrious Men), this comedy chronicles the many lively phases in the life of Claudia Bertelli, who lived between 1949 and 2011. Born to former radicals turned conservative middle-class Milanese, Claudia realizes that her parents can never consciously decide whether they find her behavior shocking or tolerable. During the 1960s, Claudia gets involved with protesting and falls in love for the first time with an idealistic, angry reactionary who subsequently disappears "underground" for many years. By the time he finally emerges he has become a corrupt devotee of the Socialist Party leader Bettino Craxi. By the 1970s, Claudia's protests have taken a feminist bent. She shocks her parents when she gives birth to a black baby from an unknown father and then later marries a Jewish philosopher. It doesn't last, but Claudia continues to be socially conscious for the rest of her life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
A woman dealing with the loss of her mate learns he had a surprising secret life in this drama from Italy. Antonia (Margherita Buy) is a doctor who finds both challenges and rewards in her work with people with AIDS, who has also enjoyed a long and seemingly happy relationship with her husband Massimo (Andrea Renzi). When Massimo is killed in an auto wreck, Antonia is crushed and turns away from her work and her friends; while she tries to reach out to her mother Veronica (Erica Blanc), Veronica is too emotionally distant to be of much help. As Antonia struggles to come to terms with her grief, she discovers to her shock that her husband had been having an affair through much of their marriage, and her confusion is intensified when she learns that Massimo's lover was a man, Michele (Stefano Accorsi). Antonia confronts Michele, who would prefer not to say anything about Massimo, but Antonia is persistent, and in time the two open up to each other about the man they both deeply loved. As a friendship grows between Antonia and Michele, she has another surprise in store -- she finds she's pregnant with Massimo's child. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margherita Buy, Stefano Accorsi, (more)
- 2006
- PG
Controversial Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berluscoi is just one of the targets of writer and director Nanni Moretti's satiric focus in this sharp comedy-drama. In the 1970's, Bruno (Silvio Orlando) was one of Italy's most daring and best-respected filmmakers, while his wife Paola (Margherita Buy) was a leading box-office star. However, come the new millennium, things are a whole lot different for Bruno -- Paola is divorcing him, his production company is on the verge of bankruptcy, and he can't get a new project off the ground. When Teresa (Jasmine Trinca), a young woman down on her luck, approaches Bruno with a script, he agrees to take on the project, even though he hasn't read it and doesn't know how he'll raise the money. Bruno discovers he's put himself in hot water when he reads the screenplay and discovers it's a frontal assault on Silvio Berluscoi that doesn't shy away from allegations of his connection to organized crime, tax evasion, bribery and influence peddling. While Italian firms won't dare touch the project, Bruno discovers a Polish financier (Jerzy Stuhr) who will put up the money, but under one condition -- Bruno has to persuade box-office idol Marco Pulici (Michele Placidio) to play Berluscoi. Il Caimano (aka The Caiman) received its North American premier at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Silvio Orlando, Margherita Buy, (more)
- 1996
The English title of this complex Italian film is apt. Featuring 65 main characters and 130 speaking parts (famous faces abound and many of the actors appeared gratis), and ranging in tone from tartly humorous to darkly tragic, it presents 30 interwoven slices from the lives of modern day Romans during a single day. The lone, silent figure of a lone jogger provides a sort of continuity between the vignettes. Beginning at sunset of the previous day, the jogger is seen warming up on his apartment terrace, looking for all the world as if he would like to jump. The rest of the stories seem to be randomly presented. Stories include the robbery of a Chinese restaurant that causes a birthday celebrant to die of fright, two different newlyweds who find themselves attracted to each other, an opportunistic mechanic's plan to capitalize on the death of a rival, a sneaky, sadistic meter maid and others. One uniting feature of the stories is their underlying bitter assessment of modern humanity. People are seen as selfish and basically cruel, still the stories move quickly and the balance between humor and drama, affection and cynicism, and shallowness and complexity is carefully maintained. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 2000
Roberto Petrocchi directs this period drama set in the late 1800s. Capt. Eugenio (Arnaud Arbessier) arrives in a remote castle to take charge of a unit guarding a nameless prisoner. No one knows much about the inmate as he is held in a forlorn tower. When the captain's wife Adele (Margherita Buy) tries to shake her melancholia by playing the piano, she finds -- much to her surprise -- that she's being accompanied by violin music coming from the prison cell. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margherita Buy
- 1986
The story line in this drama is secondary to the focus on gentlemanly old age. Fabris (Maurice Garrel) is the elderly man in question who takes a very long train ride to a spa for his annual holiday. Lea (Margherita Buy) and her mother are guests at the spa's hotel, and for some reason Fabris is fascinated by Lea. He begins to send her anonymous notes that spark her interest in this secret admirer, but he apparently has no intention of going beyond the writing stage of their non-relationship. Other characters wander in and out of the story as Lea tries to divine who her unknown friend might be. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maurice Garrel, Margherita Buy, (more)
- 1990
Gloria (Margherita Buy) is so taken by the repairman she spends a night with that she quits her job and attempts to get him to marry her, to no avail. She is something of a puzzle freak, and the mysteries of the Sphinx and the pyramids in Egypt intrigue her. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margherita Buy, Paolo Hendel, (more)
- 1990
Station is about a peaceful, down-to-earth railroad clerk whose life is thrown into turmoil when a rich woman on the run from the fiancee she has just left arrives at his station. The two take off together, avoiding her fiancee, and eventually falling in love. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sergio Rubini, Margherita Buy, (more)
- 1994
In this French drama, an irresponsible man is forced by circumstances beyond his control to communicate with the family he's kept at a distance. Jean-Paul (Gerard Lanvin) is the manager of a hotel in Nice whose shady business practices have put him seriously into debt; he needs to raise 300,000 francs in three days, or the loan sharks who've been keeping him afloat will come after him. Desperate for help, he approaches his younger brother Philippe (Jean-Marc Barr), whom he hasn't spoken with in ten years; Philippe stole Jean-Paul's girl from him, and subsequently married her. Jean-Paul also contacts his older brother Francis (Bernard Giraudeau), a schoolteacher who was disowned by their father when he admitted to the family that he was homosexual. Neither Philippe nor Francis can help him, so Jean-Paul tries to visit his father Raphael (Roberto Herlitzka) in Italy, hoping to put a large insurance policy on his father's life, naming himself as beneficiary. When it turns out that Raphael has gone missing, the three brothers must come together to find their father and keep him out of danger. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gérard Lanvin, Bernard Giraudeau, (more)
- 2002
Italian actor/director Carlo Verdone teams up with screenwriter Piero De Bernardi for the ensemble comedy Ma Che Colpa Abbiamo Noi? (What Fault is it of Ours?). The story follows eight people in a therapy group headed by an elderly psychotherapist who dies of a heart attack during one of their sessions. The group includes main character Gegé (Verdone) surrounded by a gay intellectual (Max Amato), an aspiring mother (Margherita Buy), an unfaithful husband (Antonio Catania), an anorexic student (Anita Caprioli), a sensitive young man (Stefano Pesce), a fiftysomething blonde (Lucia Sardo), and a conservative musician (Luciano Gubinelli). The group meets again at the therapist's funeral and ends up staying at an inn together for the weekend. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carlo Verdone, Margherita Buy, (more)
- 1992
Bernardo (Carlo Verdone) is a historian and a writer. However, as a rock-music historian and as a man who is writing a biography of Jimi Hendrix, he is not the gray, mousy man one might expect. No matter what kind of man he appears to be, though, he is completely devastated when his live-in girlfriend leaves him. He quickly becomes a non-functional basket case. To overcome this, he goes into psychoanalysis with a very magnetic therapist. At the same time, he becomes friends with one of his fellow neurotics, whom he meets in his analyst's waiting room. She is Camilla (Margherita Buy), an actress who currently has difficulty filming even one very short scene without needing endless retakes. The two of them become buddies but have a falling out which indicates that there are some undiscovered romantic tensions between them. Later, Bernardo is in London, trying to put the finishing touches on his Hendrix biography, when he runs into Camilla again, and the two finally become a romantic item. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margherita Buy
