Italian Movie Night  - Free

Friday, November 7th

6:30 Food - - 7pm movie

Nuovomondo (The Golden Door)

Emanuele Crialese  2007

Set in 1913, GOLDEN DOOR begins in a treacherous, barren, and rocky area of the Sicilian countryside. On advice from a stranger, a widowed father named Salvatore Mancuso decides to make the difficult voyage to America with his two sons (one of whom is deaf and mute) and his stubborn, highly superstitious mother, Fortunata. Just before boarding the boat, they meet Lucy, a mysterious and refined British woman who pretends to be with the Mancuso family while their pictures are being taken. During their journey, Lucy tells Salvatore she needs to find a man to marry before arriving in New York. The reasons are never fully explained, but Salvatore is attracted to her, and so he agrees. After arriving at Ellis Island, the family must endure the long battery of tests that are part of the standard entrance procedure. The plot of GOLDEN DOOR is simple, but the film is not, thanks to interesting stylistic choices. What differentiates GOLDEN DOOR from other films of its genre are the surrealist, imaginative avenues it takes most unexpectedly. Amid a sea of authentic costumes and realistic sets, director Emanuele Crialese places playful scenes of stunning beauty. This gives the film an open feel and an optimism one would never expect from the opening sequence, which is bleak, to say the least. As the characters travel to America, their minds open up to a new way of seeing. The experience of the journey is presented as difficult, but never horrific, and the strength of the characters is in their ability to remain dignified, even under potentially humiliating scenarios.

Run time: 1hr 58minutes

Light refreshments and wine available for purchase.
R.S.V.P. via email: viva@studyabroaditaly.com or
phone: 707-824-9913

Italian Movie Night  - Free

Friday, December 5th

6:30 Food - - 7pm movie

Mio fratello è figlio unico (My Brother is an Only Child)

Daniele Luchetti  2007

Already a smash in its native Italy, MY BROTHER IS AN ONLY CHILD, which was presented at this year’s Cannes and Toronto film festivals, reunites director Luchetti with longtime collaborators Sandro Petraglia and Stefano Rulli, best known as screenwriters of the highly acclaimed “The Best of Youth.” Set in a small Italian town in the 60’s and 70’s, the film tells the story of two brothers who want to change the world – but in completely different ways. The elder, Manrico (Riccardo Scarmaccio), is a handsome, charismatic firebrand who becomes the prime mover in the local Communist party. Accio, (Elio Germano) the younger, more rebellious brother, finds his own contrarian voice by joining the reactionary Fascists. What starts as a typical tale of sibling rivalry becomes the story of the polarizing and paralyzing politics of those turbulent times and, the rift between the brothers is further intensified when Accio realizes that he loves his brother’s girlfriend, Francesca (Diane Fleri) who, like everyone else, is blind to Manrico’s increasingly dangerous ideas. An intensely cinematic and incredibly incisive film about the dreams and disillusionments of the 60’s and 70’s, MY BROTHER IS AN ONLY CHILD is set in the exact era of the groundbreaking early classics of Bernardo Bertolucci and Marco Bellochio. Not only does Luchetti pay explicit homage to those films – “Before the Revolution,” “Fist in the Pocket,” and “China is Near” – he comes very close to matching their beauty, intelligence, and youthful exuberance.

Run time: 1hr 8minutes

Light refreshments and wine available for purchase.
R.S.V.P. via email: viva@studyabroaditaly.com or
phone: 707-824-9913