Japanese Cinema

I had the great experience of seeing the film "Mifune: The Last Samurai (2015)." It was a history of Japanese film since it was introduced in Japan by the Lumiere brothers. The film covered the golden era of film at Toho Co., Ltd in Tokyo in the 1950's and 1960's. During this time they created the best samurai and Godzilla films. It was also the time of the legendary 16 relationship of Akira Kurasawa and Toshiro Mifune. One interview included an actor who was both a Kurasawa samurai and the Godzilla actor. Other interviews included Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg. It was entertaining and informative. Very well edited and great selection of actors who worked with the Kurasawa/Mifune team.

Mifune:The Last Samurai Trailer .Click here for Trailer

Mifune:The Last Samurai Review .Click here for Link

Noi e la Giulia / The Legendary Giulia And Other Miracles

Noi e la Giulia / The Legendary Giulia And Other Miracles (2015) - This was my favorite film of the festival. I went with my friend Kim and we laughed all afternoon. The characters had memorable faces and personalities.

Giulia is the name of a car that is buried but the radio sporadically plays.

Film program description:

Diego, a car salesman (Luca Argentero); Claudio, a failed store owner (Stefano Fresi); and Fausto, a watch pitchman (Edoardo Leo), are three unlikely partners thrown together by circumstance when they make a last minute decision to buy an old property and turn it into an agro-tourism inn. Joining them in their efforts are left-wing jack-of-all-trades Sergio (Claudio Amendola) and Claudio's wacky (and pregnant) former employee Elisa (Anna Foglietta). The men soon discover the plumbing needs work, and worse: Local gangsters want to be their business partners. When Vito, a classical music loving Camorrista (Carlo Buccirosso) shows up in an old Alfa Romeo Giulia 1300, the partners respond creatively. Anyone who has ever dreamed of leaving that 9-to-5 day job in pursuit of the bucolic life of the countryside will admire the comic antics of the four innkeepers—and the young woman who can cook and decorate circles around them. Based on Fabio Bartolomei's book Giulia 1300 E Altri Miracoli, The Legendary Giulia is a heart-warming comedy about two serious subjects: the drive to do at least one thing that is beautiful and meaningful in one’s life and the courage it takes to resist the violence and pressure of criminals, by any means necessary. Winner of the 2015 Nastro D’Argento for Best Comedy, 2015 Globo D’Oro Award for Best Comedy, and 2015 David di Donatello for Best Supporting Actor (Carlo Buccirosso).Director and screenwriter: Edoardo Leo.

The official trailer : .Click here for Video

The whole movie : .Click here for Film

Artistic Review of Noi e La Giulia: .Click here for Video

The Beginners (Alaska)

The Beginners (Alaska) (2015)- In Italian and French. I enjoyed this film.

Program description:

Nadine (Astrid Bergès Frisbey) is an aspiring model, a beautiful young French woman, determined to break into the Paris fashion scene. Fausto (Elio Germano), a bold Italian, is trying to make it in Paris as a hotel waiter. They meet, serendipitously, when they sneak out onto the roof of the hotel for a cigarette. From their first encounter, Fausto and Nadine recognize each other: fragile, alone, and obsessed with proving their worth, hopeful that one day, life will offer them something better than the marginal existence they have inherited. Director Claudio Cupellini creates memorable characters in these two people who possess nothing, except for their bodies and the chemistry that ignites between them. Over five years—during which they both experience the blackest depths of desperation and the highest peaks of social success—Fausto and Nadine continue to cross paths, lose sight of each other, and then return to the siren song of amour fou. The choice between a great love and the seductions of the world are explored with nuance in this passionate story of lovers who discover that they are each other’s home.Director and screenwriter: Claudio Cupellini

Interview with Claudio Cupellini on the film The Beginners or Alaska .Click here for video.

Them Who? (Loro Chi?)

Them Who? (Loro Chi?) was the first film I saw. It was horrible. At one point I couldn't bear it and walked into the lobby and played around on my cell phone. It was a cruel and mean spirited film about a long con or was it a short con on a person listening to the long con?

Here is the program description:

David (Edoardo Leo) is 36 and dreams of publishing a novel, but in the meantime he works at a household products company as communication manager. His latest ambition is to convince his evil boss that he is a valuable asset, deserving of a much higher salary. Finally, his chance arrives: He will be the spokesperson who unveils the firm’s new industrial patent, a revolutionary invention that will bring the company incredible success. Marcello (Marco Giallini) is a clever trickster, a conman and, in his own peculiar way, an artist. With the help of two charming young women, Marcello deceives David and steals everything he has, ostensibly ruining his life. After just one night of debauchery, David loses his money, his car, his girlfriend, and his job. Outraged at being duped, David seeks out Marcello, vowing revenge. But when he finally catches him, he is so fascinated by Marcello’s lifestyle that instead of getting even, David partners with him on increasingly fantastic scams. Between quarrels and complicity, this odd pair of hucksters embarks on hilarious and unpredictable adventures. Marcello is a consummate and chameleon-like swindler: a member of a band, a TV director who convinces a whole town that their little burg will be the location for a new series, and a thief of high-tech patents. David aspires to reach the same acuity in sleight of hand, but in this action-packed comedy, he discovers that sometimes the best and funniest lessons about the art of the scam hurt the most.

Director and screenwriter Fabio Bonifacci year 2015.

Loro Chi Trailer .Click here for trailer

Mini Italian Film Festival

I found out about this cute mini Italian film festival by looking in a store front window and seeing a poster. I camped out at the Vogue Theatre all weekend enjoying contemporary Italian films.
The festival turned out to be an international affair not a local one.
The event is the New Italian Cinema is presented by the Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco (IIC) and New Italian Cinema Events of Florence, Italy (N.I.C.E). I read on that for 20 years N.I.C.E. has been the co-presenter of New Italian Cinema in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute.
I'm not sure if it has been playing here for 20 years but I was so happy to run across it.