April 8th: THE GREAT BEAUTY (Paolo Sorrentino, 2013)
NOTE: This film will be shown in the high-definition Blu-ray format.
An aging writer and socialite reflects on his hedonistic existence in the city of Rome.
Italian director Paolo Sorrentino burst onto the international scene in the 2000s, when he took three consecutive works to the Cannes Film Festival, winning a Prix du Jury for his account of government corruption Il Divo. He took a step towards Hollywood with his first English language effort This Must Be The Place starring Sean Penn.
Returning to Italy, Sorrentino elected to tackle his greatest subject yet: Rome itself. Originally from Naples, he manages to portray both the outsider and tourist's view of the city, as well as that of its most knowledgeable insiders. Using the lifestyle of middle-aged decadents as a jumping-off point, the film on the surface comes off like an update of Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita, but perhaps even more closely resembles his Roma.
The film is at once a portrait of its complex main character (played by Sorrentino favorite Toni Servillo) as well as a guided tour of the city's deepest cultural secrets. This duality continues throughout its length: intimate conversations between friends alternating with stately, wordless passages; its depiction of the storied past struggling with the defiant present; and satirizing modern art, vanity, literature, religion, and social decorum while also paying tribute to all.
Intercut with the present-day material are flashbacks to a summer idyll and the emotional branding of a first love, another seed from which Sorrentino grew the film, and drawing in impressions of additional Italian cinema icons like Leone and Antonioni.
In addition to Servillo, the cast is made up of veterans of local cinema, featuring both dramatic and comedic actors. Returning to work with Sorrentino are co-writer Umberto Cantarello and cinematographer Luca Bigazzi.
The Great Beauty premiered at Cannes, where it went home empty-handed. But its luck turned with European Film Awards for Best Film, Director, and Actor, and Best Foreign Language honors at the Academy Awards, Golden Globes, and BAFTA Awards.
Running time is approx. 2 hrs, 15 min.
An aging writer and socialite reflects on his hedonistic existence in the city of Rome.
Returning to Italy, Sorrentino elected to tackle his greatest subject yet: Rome itself. Originally from Naples, he manages to portray both the outsider and tourist's view of the city, as well as that of its most knowledgeable insiders. Using the lifestyle of middle-aged decadents as a jumping-off point, the film on the surface comes off like an update of Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita, but perhaps even more closely resembles his Roma.
Intercut with the present-day material are flashbacks to a summer idyll and the emotional branding of a first love, another seed from which Sorrentino grew the film, and drawing in impressions of additional Italian cinema icons like Leone and Antonioni.
In addition to Servillo, the cast is made up of veterans of local cinema, featuring both dramatic and comedic actors. Returning to work with Sorrentino are co-writer Umberto Cantarello and cinematographer Luca Bigazzi.
The Great Beauty premiered at Cannes, where it went home empty-handed. But its luck turned with European Film Awards for Best Film, Director, and Actor, and Best Foreign Language honors at the Academy Awards, Golden Globes, and BAFTA Awards.
Running time is approx. 2 hrs, 15 min.
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