Enzo Porcelli Movies

A man makes friends with his teenaged son for the first time in this emotional drama from Italy. Gianni (Kim Rossi Stuart) fathered a child with his wife, but she died in childbirth, and the baby was born with severe physical and mental handicaps. The boy, Paolo (Andrea Rossi), was raised by the late woman's family until he reached the age of 15, when Gianni decided he wanted to meet and spend time with his son. With Paolo scheduled for treatment with medical specialists in Germany, Gianni offers to pick up his son and travel with him to Berlin. At first, Gianni is taken aback by the extent of his son's disabilities, but he also sees the great warmth and charm that his son possesses, and over the course of their first few days together, Gianni begins to feel a real bond with Paolo for the first time. While in Berlin, Gianni makes friends with Nicole (Charlotte Rampling), a woman whose daughter faces many of the same challenges as Paolo, and through her he begins to appreciate the responsibilities and the rewards of caring for a handicapped child. La Chiavi di Casa (aka The Keys to the House) was screened in competition at the 2004 Venice Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A woman must choose between secure affection and fiery passion in this romantic costume drama. In 1899, Emilie van Thuile (Johanna Ter Steege), a delicate woman prone to fainting, is still getting over the death of her husband, an archeologist, when his assistant Hugo (Anthony Calf) asks for her hand in marriage. Emilie doesn't find Hugo terribly exciting, but she misses the security of a husband and agrees to wed him anyway. She accompanies Hugo to Italy, where he's completing the project that Mr. Van Thuile was working on at the time of his death, the uncovering and reconstruction of an ancient temple. While staying in a nearby spa and hotel, Emilie meets Capt. Aldo (Massimo Ghini), a doctor who has recently returned from military service in Africa. Emilie is captivated by the ruggedly handsome physician, who seems quite interested in her as well. Emilie impulsively runs off with Aldo, despite the warnings of innkeeper DeSantis (Alessandro Haber), who tells Emilie that Aldo is a notorious ladies' man who will abandon her once he's had his way with her. A Woman of the North received its most positive notices for Gianni Giovagnoni's production design and Goert Giltay's cinematography. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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, All Movie Guide

Much like Alcatraz, Santo Stefano is a fortress-like Mediterranean penitentiary closed by the Italian government in the mid-'60s. The prison, named for the small island where it's located in the Tyrrhenian Sea, provides the setting for the directorial debut of screenwriter Angelo Pasquini. Antonio (Andrea De Rosa), the pre-teen son of prison director Bruno D'Assisi (Claudio Bigagli), attends the prison school although his mother (Laura Morante) is back on the mainland. Antonio becomes friends with Nicola (Claudio Amendola), an inmate who has the trust of director D'Assisi. Campaigning in the Church and press for prison reform, D'Assisi attempts to upgrade the atmosphere in the prison by creating a sense of community and trust. However, escalating right-wing reactions build into a backlash against his methods. After a mainland visit, D'Assisi finds the evil Ardito (Antonio Petrocelli) and a brutal bunch of guards have replaced his more trusted guards. The character of D'Assisi is loosely based on the humane activities of the chief who headed the prison between 1952 and 1960. Shown at the 1997 Venice Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

This Italian film explores the terrible effects of dishonesty and graft on Italy. The work does not follow a traditional plot, but instead follows the characters as they give their opinions about the state of Italy. A large part of the film focuses upon Costanza, a landlady who cannot through out her dead-beat tenant Cecilia because she has not legally declared the rent she receives as income. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The baroness may have plenty of money on her hands, but political changes in Italy have significantly altered her place in society. Rather than be snubbed in Rome, pleading illness, she has retreated to a villa in the countryside that has fallen almost into ruin, accompanied by only one other companion, her poor cousin. The cousin is soon involved in an amorous relationship with a handsome priest. However, a con-man soon arrives on the scene, scheming for the fortune the baroness is alleged to possess. Using his sexual allure to entangle the baroness, her cousin, and the priest, he then employs his intimacies to drop a word here and another there, inspiring the two women to get together in a plan to murder the priest. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Gilberta (Piera Degli Esposti) is a widow and piano teacher who, all unbeknownst to her, is mostly supported by her 16-year old son, Enzo (Federico Provvedi). He manages this by selling old, forgotten family bric-a-brac and by cleaning the community swimming pool. To improve their circumstances, Gilberta rents one of the rooms in their lodgings to Toni (Nicola Farron) a handsome young man. Toni takes Gilberta to his bed, and she takes him into her heart. Her son warily accepts the arrangement, but is concerned for his mother. These concerns prove justified when the lodger takes up with a (much younger) music student of Gilberta's. Driven literally mad with her grief at this unendurable abandonment, Gilberta is eventually compelled to ask Enzo to help her end her misery. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This Italian version of Henry IV is based on the Luigi Pirandello play rather than Shakespeare's historical work. Moreover, the Henry depicted herein is not the English king, but the 11th-century Holy Roman emperor. In addition, central character Marcello Mastroianni doesn't play emperor Henry, but instead a contemporary man of wealth who thinks he's Henry. Also, Mastroianni's delusion is not a delusion, but a subterfuge. Well, we told you it was based on a Pirandello play, so enter ye and leave all sanity behind. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this rich, complex drama, the threat of terrorism serves as a backdrop to an examination of dysfunctional family relationships. Fausto Rossi portrays neglected teenager Emilio, whose father Dario (Jean-Louis Trintignant), a university professor, introduces him to his student, Giulia (Laura Morante) and her lover, Sandro (Vanni Corbellini). Emilio loves photography, and sets about taking pictures of the pair, soon coming to believe that Giulia and his father are lovers. Because Dario and his son are respectful of each other's privacy to a fault, Emilio can't ask, so he starts to spy. When he finds Sandro dead in the street one day, the apparent victim of a Red Brigade terrorist shooting, Emilio decides to keep an even closer eye on his father. It is never completely confirmed whether Dario and Giulia were really having an affair or whether Dario was involved in terrorism, because these issues are not necessarily director Gianni Amelio's concern. Amelio is concerned with perception, and in this fascinating film he examines his young protagonist's multi-faceted interpretations of an elusive truth, revealing that such a thing may not even exist. This is a powerful, absorbing film for thoughtful viewers in search of a challenge. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

In this imaginary tale set in 18th-century Europe, Cazotte (Jean-Pierre Cassel), a regaled court painter and womanizer is out to seduce the indomitable Ehrengard (Audrey Matson) -- not an easy task, as he is about to find out. Ehrengard has been sent to be a companion and lady-in-waiting to the young Princess, exiled for the time being to a distant country estate so her out-of-wedlock pregnancy will not become public knowledge. Ehrengard may be schooled in all the amenities, but she rides and thinks like a veritable Amazon and no matter what Cazotte does to capture her fancy, she is far from smitten. After the Princess gives birth, the baby is kidnapped and Ehrengard, completely undaunted by the task ahead of her, sets out for the kidnapper's lair, fully confident that the ruse she has planned will be more than enough to save the day and to get back at Cazotte for his unrelenting sexual overtures. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This is an uneven presentation of the tragedies plaguing the lives of two women from the lower economic strata in Naples. Immacolata (Ida Di Benedetto) is married, is bisexual, and runs a butcher shop that is not bringing in much money. Concetta (Marcella Michelangeli) is a lesbian, doing manual labor and now serving time for taking a potshot at her lover's husband. Immacolata has also been put in jail for guiding a young woman into prostitution. Immacolata and Concetta develop an intensely passionate relationship in prison and after being released, they defy Immacolata's husband and society's scorn by moving in together. But external threats are not as destructive, in the end, as internal contradictions. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide