A film like that of Miklos Jancso and Ettore Scola ! ! ! ! !

Allonsanfan (1973) directed by Paolo Taviani,Vittorio Taviani

Allonsanfan is one of those rare foreign language films about which dedicated viewers know a lot without having gotten a chance to see it. It is rather unfortunate that this classic film directed by Taviani brothers has neither been shown repeatedly on TV screens around the world nor its DVD is as easily available as that of "Braveheart".If we look closely at the productivity of Italian cinema,we will come to know that there is only an Italian film ("La nuit de Varennes" directed by Ettore Scola) which similar to it in terms of style and content.Allonsanfan is quite similar to a Hungarian auteur Miklos Jancso's film but with no nudity,no brutality and no humiliation.At the core of this film is a detailed description of the tough life of a determined revolutionary.Sometimes he is trusted by his followers, sometimes he is not.Family ties are of great importance for him as any other aristocrat.The only unusual aspect of his behavior is that he does not know how to maintain them.Betrayal is a repetitive element of this film as there are plenty of disloyal souls linked to our strongman.This is the reason why he fails to remain neither a true revolutionary nor a true aristocrat.The portrayal of incest is rather out of place for this film.It loses its credibility because of prevalence of dramatic situations.It is true that "Allonsanfan" is visually exquisite but it is somewhat difficult to follow the film's flow as not much of historical context is provided to the viewer.One can say that events happen of their own accord.It is only after reaching the halfway mark that viewers comprehend that Allonsanfan is one of the this film's important protagonists.A positive thing about it is its star cast with remarkable performances by Marcello Mastroianni.A must see for all the admirers of auteur cinema especially of Vittorio and Paulo Taviani.

Without a doubt : Events shown in this film must have taken place.

Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma (1975) directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini

Everybody knows that Pasolini was a great artist whose choices of topics stirred the entire Italian society.The world knows him better as a film maker.Like some of the most successful filmmakers working in cinema today like Gus Van Sant,Todd Haynes,Francois Ozon etc,he too was a homosexual.It is believed that at the end of his career he felt angry about his homosexuality and that is the reason why he showed it as something of a bad,evil thing. One close look at the film will show that it is about the misuse of power.Pasolini wanted to depict that when crooks and rogues acquire power,they invariably end up misusing it thereby endangering the entire human society.There are traces of autobiographical elements too as he must have seen many of such atrocities heaped on common people.It is true that this film is a controversial one but that should not be an excuse to disregard it.This is a film that must be seen by all and sundry in order to know how a wicked human mind functions.

Strengths and weaknesses of human behavior/Laughter is the best medicine.

I Mostri (1963) directed by Dino Risi

Most of the patrons of the good cinema know that Italian film industry has always been at the forefront of serious as well as good cinema movement.So by that yardstick,it is important to make a note of Italian comedy.This was one of the most interesting chapters of Italian cultural life after the dreadful harsh realities of the treacherous World War 2.As Italy made a meticulously planned recovery after the harsh destruction of an alien invasion,its society witnessed numerous sociological as well as economical upheavals.This was the primary reason which gave birth to Italian cinema movement.Dino Rosi's film "I Mostri" is the perfect example of Italian ribaldry. It was made as a result of many people's collective efforts. Apart from Ugo Tognazzi and Vittorio Gassman, famous filmmaker Ettore Scola also lent a helping hand. Although there are short humorous episodes in this film, due to its 2 hour length,this film gives subtle impression of a feature film.A must for all those who are interested in good cinema, Italian culture and the strengths and weaknesses of human behavior.

Year 1953 : First international success by Italian auteur of dreams.

I Vitelloni (1953) directed by Federico Fellini

I Vitelloni, directed by Fellini in 1953 was his first international success.Although it is largely autobiographical in nature there is no obvious mention of Rimini,an Italian coastal town where Fellini was born.There are things to be learned from this film such as erratic behavior of a generation which grew up after second world war.This was the one of the rare post war films which spoke of conflicts within family.It is true that Italian master has drawn an honest portrait of aimless youngsters who were not fit for anything but what might be intriguing to an average viewer is to ascertain as to why Fellini decided not to throw some light about why his protagonists were like that ? This is the reason why Fellini has left all important reasoning task for viewers to decide about strengths and weaknesses of his protagonists.I Vitelloni is a film in which there is no escape for anyone neither for its young heroes nor for their family members who like them are also trapped in their own dreary existence.

Famous for all the wrong reasons. A good look at Creteil from the eyes of an odd

La dernière femme (1976) de Marco Ferreri

After having attended a film festival in Creteil (a posh suburb of Paris), I accidentally got a chance to watch "La derniere femme" on big screen. This invigorating experience took me in a not so distant past to a nice place called Creteil circa 1976. I was much too thrilled to have known Creteil through the vision of a maverick filmmaker Marco Ferreri for which he teamed with his regular partner Rafael Azcona. La dernière femme is a film which will easily please people of varied tastes. It can be liked by feminists,admirers of actors Depardieu and Ornella Muti and supporters of a highly unconventional filmmaker Marco Ferreri. The essential charm of this film lies in Creteil and its high rise buildings.Some of them are occupied by the likes of Depardieu and Muti.There is Michel Piccoli too who lends credible support to the narrative pattern. During my viewing of this film I did not mind at all watching a small
kid act alongside Depardieu and Muti.I doubt as to how this can be true of other viewers who might find such a move harmful for young minds. Watch it to explore other films by Marco Ferreri.

One of the most outstanding films about life,friendship,love and the unending magic of an exquisite thing called cinema.

C'eravamo tanto amati (1974) directed by Ettore Scola.

Sorry for being much too lenient but in these perverse times where everybody is talking of global warming, please excuse me when I say that I just have wonderful praises for this great film. It is great on every front. What is the yardstick by which a great film can be measured ? A great film can be recognized by its inherent ability to make viewers shed some emotional tears and weep inconsolably. This is what this great masterpiece by Ettore Scola did to me. We all loved each other is such a pleasant film that it can be compared to a sweet lullaby. The ease with which the various dramatic events happen is a joy to behold. I am not really sure about this fact but I think that may be French master Claude Sautet must have been influenced by this film when he decided to make a similar masterpiece called "Vincent, François, Paul et les autres".Which one is the better film ? Watch both of them and find out for yourself.

Power of Italian laughter challenge :This film is one of the fine examples of Italian comedies.

Signore & Signori (1965) directed by Pietro Germi.

According to the veteran Italian film director Ettore Scola,Italian people have the intrinsic knack of ridiculing themselves long before someone else can dare to point a figure at them.For them there is hardly any human sentiment which cannot be mocked.By doing so they have remained the champions of auto derision in this world.This is one fundamental quality which distinguishes them from the other nationalities of Europe.As far as a discussion on this film goes,its English title "The birds,The bees and The Italians" does perfect justice to the spirit of the film. The entire film is a laugh riot and the best thing about the screenplay is that although the depicted situations might appear common place but they never leave any room for any kind of guess work or speculation.So the end result is an intelligent film which entertains until the maximum possible extent of human enjoyment. Even the black and white photography is advantageous as it alludes to a time when there was too little advancement of technology.Recommended for those people who would like to have a nice laugh but would not dare to copy under any circumstances the actions portrayed in the film.

For every Gelsomina there is a Zampano. But it should not be like that !!!

La Strada (1954) directed by Federico Fellini.

La Strada is a highly philosophical tale of religious symbolism,human conduct,remorse and repentance made by one of the greatest masters of world cinema Federico Fellini.For millions of followers of serious cinema genre,he is regarded as one of the greatest dreamers of the world cinema.By making this film, Fellini has made a masterpiece which has accommodated all of his favorite themes like circus,church, male-female relationships etc.La Strada is also outstanding as a visual social comment on the state of affairs of post war Italian society.It was a time of economic misery and people were forced to abandon their children in order to make them earn for the family.The theme of circus is of value to the film as it was the only thing which provided laughs to the people dejected by the trauma of Italy's defeat in World War II.The best tribute that canstrong people can pay to Fellini is by not harassing the weak ones.Richard Basehart looks divine as the fool. Anthony Quinn is devilish as Zampano.Guiletta Masina is sublime as Gelsomina. It was this role which won her worldwide acclaim. If one is looking for a film able to make people better "La Strada" is that very film.

Life is beautiful as to make it smart as everything depends on your attitude.

La Vita è bella (1997) directed by Roberto Benigni.

"Life is beautiful", is a film about that brief period of Nazi rule in Italy due to which many ordinary Jewish people had to endure enormous hardships. Although it is a film about Nazism, it is quite different from other films of the Nazi film genre like Schindler's list. It is more of a film about comic romance, laughter, optimism and how to keep one's sanity intact when one finds oneself in a difficult close to death kind of situation. This film ran into trouble as many leading filmmakers protested against what they called "making mockery of a serious issue like holocaust". According to Godard it is hard to believe that life could have been beautiful for anyone in a concentration camp. Life is beautiful is divided into 3 parts: carefree life, period of hardships and a harmless game with a kid. Roberto Benigni and his wife Nicoletta Braschi excel in all these parts. It is the star kid Giorgio Cantarini who shines in the last part. In a way,it can be said that the film succeeds because of his innocent behavior with which he carries himself through his entire stay with his father.