Nanni Moretti Movies

A man about to be elevated into a position of great responsibility and power has a serious case of cold feet in this comedy-drama from director and actor Nanni Moretti. The College of Cardinals has assembled at the Vatican with the important task of electing a new Pope to lead the Catholic Church. After much debate and a number of ballots that reach no consensus, an obscure but respected man, Cardinal Melville (Michel Piccoli), is chosen by the College to become the new pontiff. However, Melville is a humble man, and when he's told he's been elected to the highest office in the church, he flies into a panic and says he doesn't want to be Pope. Unfortunately, the cardinals have already announced that they've chosen a new Pontiff, so they bring in a psychiatrist (Nanni Moretti) to talk to Melville in hopes of determining if he's just suffering from a case of the jitters or if he has a more serious problem. After some initial interviews, the analyst wants a second opinion and asks his ex-wife (Margherita Buy), also a psychiatrist, to talk to Melville, but after spending some time at her home, the cardinal runs away and begins exploring Rome incognito, talking to ordinary people and pondering his unusual circumstances. Habemus Papam (aka We Have a Pope) received its North American premiere at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

At the time of its production, To Each His Own Cinema represented the latest arrival in a tidal wave of internationally oriented omnibus films, with no official relation between them but all produced within a few years of one another. Few could claim a roster of talent comparable to this one, which boasts contributions by 33 of the most acclaimed directors in world cinema,
each responsible for three minutes of celluloid. Gilles Jacob, president of the Cannes Festival, devised the project as a "gift" to commemorate the festival's 60th birthday, and recruited many Golden Palm winners in the directorial selection process. Simply put, Jacob asked each director to express, cinematically, his or her "state of mind of the moment as inspired by the motion picture theater." Featured filmmakers include Joel and Ethan Coen; Olivier Assayas; Atom Egoyan; Walter Salles; Lars von Trier; Nanni Moretti; Roman Polanski; Theo Angelopoulos; Chen Kaige; Andrei Konchalovsky; and many, many others. Many of the initial entries (by Angelopoulos and others) involve the neglect or disrepute into which contemporary cinema, as a collective viewing experience, has fallen; a few segments, such as the Coen Brothers' short, about a cowboy (Josh Brolin) who attempts to determine which movie he should go see in sunny Los Angeles, employ a light and whimsical approach. At the other end of the spectrum sits David Cronenberg's piece -- a brutal short in which he prepares to commit a very public and graphic suicide on television before millions of viewers. Other highlights include Moretti -- offering a typically witty divertissement on what cinema means -- and Zhang Yimou, who lyrically depicts the gathering of numerous rural children for a screening at a movie theater. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

 

A family struggles to go on after a devastating loss in this deeply emotional drama from Italy. Giovanni (Nanni Moretti) is a psychiatrist with a successful practice in a small community near the ocean. Giovanni has a warm relationship with his wife Paola (Laura Morante), and they have a pair of well-adjusted teenage kids, Andrea (Giuseppe Sanfelice) and Irene (Jasmine Trinca). But the family's calm is shattered when Andrea is unexpectedly killed in an accident. Giovanni finds it impossible to continue with his work, and blames himself for the death, since he was planning to go jogging with Andrea that morning before he opted instead to take an emergency call from a client. Paola and Irene try to keep their emotions in check, but both find this all but impossible as they sink further into anger and grief. The appearance of an unexpected visitor, however, forces the family to confront their feelings about Andrea. Arianna (Sofia Vigliar) is a girl who had a summer romance with Andrea the year before, and has come to town to pay him a surprise visit, unaware of his recent death. In addition to starring, Moretti directed and co-authored the script. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Marcello Mastroianni plays several different roles in this off-beat, witty exploration of a man with multiple personalities from world-class filmmaker Raúl Ruiz. Mastroianni first appears as Parisian traveling salesman Mateo Strano who suddenly shows up at the home of Maria, the wife he abandoned twenty years before. She eventually remarried Andre. Mateo begins telling the skeptical Andre that he never really left Marie. Instead he was bewitched by fairies and has been living in the apartment across the street the entire time. He seems so serious, that he is able to lure Andre to the alleged apartment. There Mateo murders him with a hammer and then calmly returns to Maria who seems nonplused by the sudden turn. With pride she shows Mateo their adopted daughter. Mastroianni next appears as Sorbonne professor of negative anthropology Georges Vickers, a grown man who still lives with his cranky mother until he inexplicably leaves to become a vagrant. Living on the streets, he encounters Tania, a streetwalker with a passion for the philosophies of author Carlos Castaneda's Don Juan. The hooker and the tramp stay together until the day that Vickers returns and he leaves. It is soon afterward that he discovers that Tania is really the president of a major corporation. When he learns that she has been jailed for attempting to murder her creepy ex-husband, Vickers uses his clout to save her. The story then jumps to a newlywed couple happily struggling in a humble garret. Their lives change dramatically when a benefactor suddenly appears and provides them with a marvelous country house. They are also given a mute butler (Mastroianni) who answers their every beck and call. It doesn't take the couple long to figure out that the sinister valet (who actually owns the chateau) is quietly poisoning them. In terror they leave, but later he finds them and demands that they give him their baby daughter. He gives the child to Maria, Mateo's wife. Mastroianni's fourth persona, that of industrial magnate Luc Alamand then appears. He is in trouble when he learns that the wife, daughter, and sister he manufactured to impress potential clients are actually coming. The stress causes the sudden emergence of his other disparate personalities. Interestingly, though each live wildly different lives, they are clearly the same mild-mannered, self-effacing character. The comedy in the story works on wildly different levels with sight gags and puns running simultaneously with literary and cultural satire. Beneath it all runs a serious message about the destructiveness and confusion caused by trying to create a single European culture. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Writer/director/actor Nanni Moretti offers a three-part film diary which takes a sharply satiric look at Italian life. ~ Nicole Gagne, Rovi

The system established early in the days of the Roman Empire (whereby those who have a powerful patron prosper and no one without a patron can get anywhere) still exists in present-day Italy. Today, this system is given many pejorative labels and is classified as a form of corruption when it intrudes into the political process. In this satire, a schoolteacher (Silvio Orlandi) takes on an extra job as a way of paying for expensive repairs on his ancient home. His sideline job is as a ghostwriter for a political column supposedly written by a representative of a bizarre political party. As a result of this slight involvement, he becomes the favored darling of a series of political bigwigs and is increasingly embroiled in the schemes and rivalries of national politics. While his ethical life is being compromised, the politicians have arranged to have his home declared a national landmark, eligible for government funds for rebuilding, and his material circumstances have improved enormously. When he finally tries to set things right, he soon discovers that the system is rigged against honesty. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

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, Rovi

Otello (Marco Messeri) is the honest lawyer who accepts the position of planning a natural park in Italy's Po valley region. He turns down corrupt officials who offer bribes in exchange for favors. He continues his work but soon uncovers a scandal that led to the murder of an unfortunate inspector. Daria (Giulia Boschi) is a former political activist who provides love interest for the lonely lawyer, and Otello's friend Cecco (Meme Perlini) provides comedy relief in this mystery with touches of film noir. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

The comedic touches in Bianca and its setting at the "Marilyn Monroe High School" whose faculty need the services of the school's clinical psychologist, are at odds with the somber theme of a schizophrenic math teacher and a series of murders. That cinematic split personality leaves the film in limbo. The math teacher Michele (Nanni Moretti, also the director) is clearly neurotic, tries to "straighten out" the lives of his friends whether they like it or not, and is torn between his powerful attraction to the French teacher Bianca (Laura Morante) and his terror of intimacy -- between his need for a normal family life and his neuroses. When people start disappearing at the school, Michele becomes the number one suspect in the police investigation -- not a long stretch given his behavior. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This non-narrative, sketch-based film is a non-stop feast of antic and black humor. The sketches are framed within the context of a Roman student's school year, which is disrupted by political and amorous misadventures. The title Ecce Bombo means "Behold the Bumblebee" and spoofs both the ancient biblical phrase (in English, "behold the man") and the then-current wave of terrorism and bombings. This was director Nanni Moretti's first full-length feature, shot with a small but significant budget of $350,000 and featuring a large number of young previously unknown talents. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi