So at the 2014’s Academy Awards we finally saw a great new Italian film winning the Oscar for best foreign film again. About time, since the last Italian director who did so was Roberto Benigni with his sentimental but highly enjoyable La Vita é Bella in 1998. La Grande Belezza was truly a masterpiece, but I will elaborate more on that later. Hopefully Paolo Sorrentino put Italy back on the map as one of Europe’s (or the World’s) heavyweights in cinema, since we haven’t seen that many Fellini’s, Antonioni’s and Scola’s recently. Italy more or less dominated the best foreign film discourse from the 50’s up to the 80’s: between ’56 (the year the award was given for the first time) and ’81 an Italian film wasn’t nominated only four times. Besides, they still hold the record for receiving the biggest amount of foreign film Oscars: fourteen. Just to give you an idea. Those golden days may be over, but of course the Oscars can hardly be considered a great quality indicator of a nation’s film industry. It is way more interesting to take a look yourself at what Italy produced in recent years.
| Italian movies | 2017 |
|---|---|
| Popular actors | Toni Servillo, Michael Caine & Salma Hayek |
| Trending movies | Youth, Miadre & Il Racconto dei Racconti |
Anticipated 2017 Italian movies to watch
Call Me by Your Name (Sunday January 22, 2017)
Director Luca Guadagnino Cast Elena BucciVanda Capriolo
Amira Casar
A romance between a seventeen year-old boy and a summer guest at his parents' cliffside mansion on the Italian Riviera....Read more
Amazon Fai bei sogni (Sweet Dreams) (Friday February 24, 2017)
Director Marco Bellocchio Cast Bérénice BejoValerio Mastandrea
Fabrizio Gifuni
Massimo's idyllic childhood is shattered by the death of his mother. Years later, he is forced to relive his traumatic past and compassionate doctor Elisa could help him open up and confront his childhood wounds....Read more
Best Italian movies on Netflix or DVD in 2017 & 2016
2010's best rated Italian movies out on DVD, Bluray or streaming on VOD (Netflix, Amazon).La Migliore Offerta (Wednesday January 1, 2014)
Director Giuseppe Tornatore Cast Geoffrey RushJim Sturges
Sylvia Hoeks
Director Giuseppe Tornatore is back with his first film in English, after the disappointing Baarìa, a sentimental vehicle which can best be viewed as a two and a half hour olive oil commercial. La Migliore Offerta (The Best Offer in English) is a thrilling romantic drama about an eccentric art collector and auctioneer, Virgil Goodman, who falls in love with a girl who hires him to auction her deceased parents’ art collection. She doesn’t dare to show herself however, as she is suffering from a severe form of agoraphobia, and communicates exclusively behind a wall in her luxurious villa which is stuffed with art. Within time however, Virgil gains her trust and a passionate romance seems to commence…...Read more
Perfetti Sconosciuti (Perfect Strangers) (Thursday February 11, 2016)
Director Paolo Genovese Cast Giuseppe BattistonAnna Foglietta
Marco Giallini
A group of friends get together for what's supposed to be a nice dinner. As they set out, they invent a game: everyone has to share every text, whatsapp message or phone call they receive. They're all friends, so what do they have to hide for each other? A sly comedy about our times where everyone is connected all the time. Brilliant! ...Read more
Le Grande Bellezza (Friday March 14, 2014)
Director Paolo Sorrentino Cast Toni ServilloCarlo Verdone
Sabrina Ferilli
don´t really have something to add to the ever expanding euphoric discourse around this film. La Grande Bellezza is the ´Great Beauty´ indeed. A deeply melancholy picture about a once great writer, contemplating about his past life and ´beauty´ in the broadest sense of the word. A Felliniesque visual trip through modern day Rome with its artsy fartsy extravaganza, stuffed with beautifully composed scenes, tracking shots and impressive long takes, Sorrentino has proven himself as one the most gifted directors on earth. As you could have guessed, also our best Italian film of 2013....Read more
Il Capitale Umano (Friday April 18, 2014)
Director Paolo Virzì Cast Fabrizio BentivoglioMatilde Gioli
Valeria Bruni Tedeschi
A wealthy family about to fall apart has been the recipe for quite some decent drama films. With Human Capital, an adaptation of the eponymous American novel, director Paolo Virzi manages to add a fresh touch to the subgenre by telling the story of the destinies two families tied together by an unfortunate accident through the eyes of three family members. It’s impressive how Virzi puts the pieces of the puzzle together in the emotional climax which is both wry and satisfying....Read more
Fuocoammare (Fire at sea) (Saturday February 13, 2016)
Director Gianfranco Rosi Cast Samuele Pucillo,Giuseppe Fragapane,
Pietro Bartolo
One of the most poignant and heartbreaking documentaries you will see this year. Fuoccoammare is a poetic account of the troubles the small Italian island Lampedusa (and Europe in general) is facing, as thousands after thousands desperate North African immigrants wash ashore.
...Read more
Miele (Tuesday October 15, 2013)
Director Valeria Golino Cast Jasmine TrincaCarlo Cecchi
Libero De Rienzo
Miele. It’s a thought provoking film and a promising debut, even though it has its flaws. Miele is a young woman who devotes her life to helping terminally ill people out who see no other way than committing suicide. When a new, physically healthy but deeply depressed ‘client’ asks for Miele’s help, she sees herself confronted with some moral difficulties. A touching film, backed by a great soundtrack (Caribou, Talking Heads, Shearwater and Duran Duran among others), which ultimately tends a little bit too much to sentimentalism....Read more
Il Futuro (Monday September 16, 2013)
Director Alicia Scherson Cast Manuela MartelliLuigi Ciardo
Rutger Hauer
Il Futuro, which is based on Roberto Bolaño’s novel Una novelita lumpen, is a film that is hard to pigeonhole without using impossible and ultimately empty labels like ‘magical-realist coming-of-age crime romance’. Anyway, the story evolves around Bianca and Tomas, who’ve just become orphans after their parents died in a car crash. The girl, who’s slightly older and thus has a stronger sense of responsibility, tries to cope with the situation the best she can, while she sees her brothers’ situation worsening as he befriends the wrong people. These ‘friends’, persuasive as they are, ask Bianca to help them rob an old, blind former actor (Rutger Hauer!) who lives alone in an isolated villa. Reluctant at first, Bianca is getting more and more attached to the old man and eventually unwilling to follow through with the initial plan...Read more
- Best Italian TV Series out in 2017 on Netflix & on TV
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