|
Note to teachers: Keep in mind that the purpose of these reviews is to acquaint foreign language teachers with films of interest. Although some of the films may be appropriate in the FL classroom, please do not consider showing them to your students without viewing them first yourself.
November 2009
French: Ascenseur pour l'échafaud
German: Kirschblüten - Hanami
Italian: La Finestra di Fronte
Spanish: El Abuelo
French
Ascenseur pour l'échafaud (Elevator to the Gallows), 1957
 Director: Louis Malle
Run Time: 92 minutes
Language: French
Available from amazon.com and netflix
This film is a very engaging French thriller. Florence (Jeanne Moreau) and her lover Julien (Maurice Ronet) plot to kill Florence’s husband (Jean Wall) but a glitch with an elevator foils their ingenious plan. The musical score is by Jazz great Miles Davis.
-Recommended by Christine Foster Meloni, Culture Club Editor
German
Kirschblüten - Hanami (Cherry Blossoms), 2008
 Director: Doris Dörrie
Run Time: 127 minutes
Language: German with English subtitles
Available from amazon.com and netflix
This very moving film recounts the story of a man and woman who realize that their three children are not very interested in them anymore and actually go out of their way to avoid spending time with them. The husband also becomes painfully aware that his wife’s lifelong dream of visiting Japan has not yet been fulfilled and that she is still hanging on to it. After a series of dramatic events in his life, he decides that he must do something about her dream. This film is sad and depressing but it has several important messages. The primary message is: Don’t postpone your dreams too long. And don’t depend too much on others for your personal happiness, especially your adult children or even your spouse.
- Recommended by Christine Foster Meloni, Culture Club Editor
Italian
La Finestra di Fronte (Facing Windows), 2004
 Director: Ferzan Ozpetek
Run Time: 106 minutes
Language: Italian
Country: Italy, Turkey, Portugal, UK
Available from amazon.com and netflix
Giovanna and her husband Filippo are leading a humdrum existence, not finding pleasure in each other or in their jobs. Then one evening they meet an elderly man on the street who is suffering from amnesia and decide to take him home with the intention of notifying the police the following day. He is a Holocaust survivor and, as the days go by, they become more and more intrigued with his occasional flashbacks to 1943. At the same time Giovanna falls in love with Lorenzo, her neighbor whose window faces hers. When he is transferred to another city, she has to decide whether to run off with him. This film presents a gripping drama on many levels.
- Recommended by Christine Foster Meloni, Culture Club Editor
Spanish
El Abuelo (The Grandfather), 1999
 Director: Jose Luis Garci
Run Time: 146 minutes
Language: Spanish
Academy Award nominee in 1999 for the Best Foreign Language Film
Available from amazon.com and netflix
An elderly Spanish man is living in California when he learns of the death of his son in Spain. He returns to his native land and meets his son’s two daughters. He discovers, however, that one of the daughters is not really his son’s and he needs to find out which one. It is a heart-warming story.
- Recommended by Christine Foster Meloni, Culture Club Editor
Back to top
October 2009
French: L’Enfant sauvage
Italian: Il Postino
Spanish: Nadie conoce a nadie
FRENCH
L’Enfant sauvage (The Wild Child), 1970
 Director: François Truffaut
Run Time: 83 minutes
Language: French
Availability: amazon.com, netflix
This film came out shortly after the social revolution of 1968, and demonstrates a profound revision of the image of an underdeveloped or disadvantaged child. This is a true story of the “savage of the Aveyron” from the end of the 18th century, right after the French Revolution, the first historically documented case of autism. This film shows Truffaut in a principal role, fatherly, patient, intelligent, humble, but also obsessed with his scientific project of civilizing Victor, the wild child. The society of the day, from the peasants who discovered him to the officials of the government and the institutes, just did not understand Victor. At first they were afraid of him in the forest, where he had been abandoned as a baby with a severe neck wound (real life imitating mythology, a forest Oedipus). Then the scientists locked him up in a school for deaf mutes, where he was bullied and beaten by his fellow inmates. Then transferred to an institute for subnormal children, Victor is immediately revealed as far too intelligent to remain in this chaotic environment. (There is a whole inverse thematic around the French term for autistic, “idiot savant,” because in this case it is the savants or scientists who are the idiots.) Finally Dr. Itard, played by Truffaut in an old-fashioned archaic stiff manner, takes Victor to his own home in Batignolles and hands him over to the governess Madame Guérin, who quickly “cures” Victor while the good doctor gives him 8 years of education. They take walks in the fields and visit kind neighbors. Victor gets milk and water in recompense for civilized learning behavior. He throws violent fits when the demands become excessive due to his obvious frustration, and longs for freedom. The situation is not only reminiscent of the world famous Helen Keller story, but stands as a working model of Rousseau’s work on education, L’Emile, developmental theory from the author who invented the term “the noble savage” for mankind. Victor runs away after being deliberately pushed to the limit by Itard, but then returns home of his own free will, to his shelter and to human companionship.
- Reviewed by Rebecca Pauly, French Language Film Review Co-Editor
ITALIAN
Il Postino (The Postman), 1994
 Director: Michael Radford
Leading Actor: Massimo Troisi
Language: Italian
Run time: 108 minutes
Awards: Oscar nomination for best actor, picture, director. Other 21 wins and 10 nominations worldwide
Availability: amazon.com, netflix
English version below
La scena iniziale mostra Mario Ruoppolo (Massimo Troisi) mentre legge una lettera di parenti dall’America al padre che sta cenando in assoluto silenzio. Il figlio cerca anche di coinvolgerlo nella conversazione, ma “Va in America, va in Giappone, ma fai qualche cosa” sono le sole parole che il padre pronuncia. Non abbiamo già’ sentito questo stesso tipo di conversazione tra genitori e figli di tutto il mondo? A Mario la richiesta del padre sembra ragionevole, ma su questa piccola isola il solo lavoro disponibile è quello di pescatore e lui non lo sopporta, si sente male solo all’idea di doverlo fare. Accetta quindi il lavoro di postino anche se sa che dovra’ portare la posta ad un solo cliente.
Il regista inglese, Michael Radford, ambienta il film a Salina, una delle isole Eolie non lontana dalle coste della Sicilia intorno al 1950, dove il famoso poeta cileno Paolo Neruda (Philippe Noiret) era stato esiliato per le sue idee comuniste. In realtà’ il poeta era stato esiliato a Capri. Oggigiorno Salina è una meta turistica, ma in quel tempo la vita della popolazione locale, in gran parte analfabeta, era dura ed essenziale, come lo era stata nei secoli precedenti.
Portando la posta in bicicletta in una casa su una collina a questo cliente importante, Mario non può fare a meno di notare che le lettere sono tutte di donne. Incuriosito, cerca di fare conoscenza con il poeta per provare a capirne il segreto. Inizialmente si è portati a pensare che un abisso culturale separi i due uomini. Invece con l’aiuto di Neruda, l’anima sensibile del postino si apre alla poesia, la comprende e la vive profondamente e questo lo fa legare al poeta in un rapporto affettivo e sincero. Piacevole il risvolto romantico perche’ i versi poetici lo aiutano a conquistare il cuore della bella Beatrice (Maria Grazia Cucinotta) che serve clienti alla taverna locale.
Particolarmente divertenti sono le scene quando la zia di Beatrice va a lamentarsi col poeta che ” Le parole sono pericolose....... tu stai facendo scaldare mia nipote e sarai sparato.”
Magistrale è il modo in cui il comico Troisi parla, creando sfumature nel linguaggio con la sua voce intermittente, che dice, ma più spesso suggerisce significati, assieme alle sue espressioni e ai suoi gesti. In modo naturale Mario mostra una forma di poesia tutta sua. Quest’attore italiano, scrittore, e regista aveva posticipato un’operazione al cuore per finire questo film, mori’ subito dopo aver filmato le scene principali.
Recommended by Carlo Mignani, Italian Language Film Editor
English
The initial scene shows Mario Ruoppolo (Massimo Troisi) reading a letter from American relatives to his father who is eating his dinner in absolute silence. The son is trying also to engage him in the conversation but “Go to America, go to Japan, but do something” are the only words the older man pronounces. Didn’t we hear the same thing before from parents all over the world? To Mario the father’s request seems reasonable, but on this small island the only jobs available are that of fisherman, which he can’t stand; he becomes physically sick only thinking about it. So he gets the job of mailman to deliver to only one customer.
English director Michael Radford set the movie on Salina, one of the Aeolian islands off the coast of Sicily around 1950, where the famous Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda (Philippe Noiret), has been exiled for his communist views. In real life the poet was exiled on Capri off the cost of Naples. Today Salina is a tourist destination, but at the time life was hard and essential, the way has been for centuries, among the mostly illiterate inhabitants.
Delivering mail on a bicycle to a home on top of the hill to this important customer, Mario can’t avoid noticing that all the letters are from women. Intrigued, he connects with the poet and tries to pick his brain. Initially one would think that a cultural abyss separates the two men. Instead with the help of Neruda the sensitive soul of the mailman develops an appreciation for poetry, he understands it and feels it deeply and has a genuine connection with him. Most importantly poetry helps him win the heart of the beautiful Beatrice (Maria Grazia Cucinotta) who serves clients at the local tavern.
Particularly hilarious are the scenes when Beatrice’s aunt goes complaining to Neruda that “words are dangerous ... you are making my niece warm up and you will be shot”
Masterful the way the comedian Troisi speaks, creating speech tones of the language with his intermittent voice that says, but often suggests, meanings, together with his body expressions and gestures. Mario naturally was displaying a form of poetry of his own. This Italian actor, writer and director, postponed his heart operation to finish this movie, died at 41 right after the main photography was shot.
Recommended by Carlo Mignani, Italian Language Film Editor
SPANISH
Nadie conoce a nadie (Nobody Knows Anybody), 1999
 Director: Mateo Gil
Run time: 110 mins
Rated R for sexuality, violence, language
Winner: 1999 Goya for Best Special Effects
English version below
Ubicado en Sevilla durante la Semana Santa, esta película de acción y misterio de quién hace qué nos lleva por una semana desesperada de buscar la persona responsable por una serie de asesinatos que pueden acabar con la muerte de mucha gente en las anchas calles atestadas de Sevilla. El entorno de la Semana Santa en Sevilla provee el fondo para juegos de láser electrónicos y vivos, que pasa por los monumentos y sitios famosos de la ciudad, el periodismo y la investigación académica, y la psicología del grupo. El personaje principal (Eduardo Noriega) es un escritor frustrado quien gana la vida creando crucigramas para el periódico local; también comparte su piso con un nuevo amigo (Jordi Mollà). Poco a poco se ve mezclado en un complot a través de mensajes en su contestador telefónico. Estos mensajes le dicen que debe incluir palabras específicas en la crucigrama para el Domingo de Resurrección. Por pasos progresivos y afinados, la tensión sube a una búsqueda desesperada por la procesión final hasta una conclusión dramática.
- Recommended by Sheila Cockey, Spanish Language Film Editor
English
Set in Seville during Easter Week, this action mystery of who’s who takes the viewer through a week of desperate searching for the perpetrator of unique murders that may culminate in the deaths of the many people crowding Seville’s narrow streets. The milieu of Holy Week in Seville is the backdrop for computerized and live laser tag games, touring many of the famous landmarks of Seville, journalism and research, and group psychology. The main character (played by Eduardo Noriega) is a frustrated writer making his living as the crossword expert for the local newspaper, and sharing his apartment with a newfound friend (played by Jordi Mollà). He is drawn into the plot through a message on his answering machine that tells him to include particular words in his Easter Sunday crossword puzzle. In cadenced, finely tuned steps, the tension rises to a desperate search through the final Holy Week procession and a dramatic conclusion.
- Recommended by Sheila Cockey, Spanish Language Film Editor
Back to top
September 2009
French: Jeux interdits
Italian: Giorni e nuvole
Russian: Коснуться неба
FRENCH
Jeux interdits (Forbidden Games), (1952)
Director: René Clément
Run time: 86 minutes
Language: French
Country: France
This film, adapted from the François Boyer 1947 eponymous novel (itself originally a filmscript), was made a number of years after World War II yet recreates perfectly the settings and feel of France in June of 1940 as the Nazi Panzer tanks were crushing the retreating French army and citizens. Shooting in black and white with a lot of carefully framed shots that seem to be stills in the middle of the film, Clément captured the frozen moments of the fantasy world of Paulette and Michel, the misfit young couple thrown together by fate when her family and pet dog are gunned down crossing a bridge and she is taken in by the Dollé family, a dazed orphan. The entire film in fact is about war and its effects—death, loss, separation. The Dollé family lose two sons in the film, the first, Georges, trampled by a runaway war horse, the younger, Michel, crushed when he falls epically and symbolically from the roof of the church while trying to remove its cross (this scene is from the novel). The crosses in the film are a constant leitmotif of suffering and sacrifice, but derisory, as the children create and fill their secret cemetery, in imitation of the sacrilege of adult devastation. Boyer’s novel is adapted to the screen by the often mocked screenwriters of “cinéma de qualité” Aurenche and Bost. The characters are improbable exaggerations of opposites. Paulette is a Parisian coquette (of only 5 in the film), innocent and stupid, naive and fragile, thrown into the peasant life of Saint-Faix, who develops a rapport of complicity and cruelty with Michel as they murder animals to fill their cemetery. The Dollé family spends the entire film at war with their neighbors the Gouard family. Francis Gouard goes off proudly to war (a little late in fact) in contrast to Georges Dollé who is fatally injured by a runaway war horse. At Georges’s bedside, Paulette and Michel say prayers they have learned from the local priest (Paulette is in a steep learning curve as she is Jewish). Interestingly, there is no mention in the film of her being at risk from the Nazis, unlike Jean Bonnet in Au Revoir les enfants who is taken forcefully by the Germans. Paulette and Michel’s cemetery, like so many clandestine enterprises of children in film, is hidden in the mill. They first bury Jock, her dead pet dog, then kill and bury a rat to keep him company, a rat they take from the resident owl, M. Mole (a perfect metaphoric giveaway of the stupidity of their enterprise, stealing food from a wise old owl). They proceed to steal chicks from the neighbors, then insects, frogs (a real witches’ brew), then 14 crosses for the graves. The brash theft of a cross from the widow Gouard’s tomb and the father’s destruction of it precipitates a border war between the families. Their blend of satanic clandestine cruelty and childlike lyric curiosity is very unsettling, putting into question as it does the fundamental innocence of children. And yet their parody of loss is their way of purging their anguish and fear regarding the war. Alternately parodic, ridiculous, and lyric and sensual, the film is thematically structured as well by the guitar music of Narciso Yepes, Spanish composer and musician who died in 1997. In another subplot, Francis returns as a deserter from the French army retreating in disarray and falls in love in Romeo and Juliet fashion with Berthe Dollé. Thus Paulette et Michel become the sosie couple, spying on Francis and Berthe at least twice, catching them in the act. Children on film as voyeur spectators of adults is a primary thematic of this subgenre. Michel’s confession to the police of his desecration of the Gouard grave calms the conflict between the families, but doesn’t save Paulette, who is taken away by the police to her ironic salvation at the Red Cross, her last and permanent cross in the film, where she is given a badge by the nun and runs off into the crowd, in good Italian neorealist fashion, crying “Michel, Michel” into thin air, restored to her authentic environment, which is now utterly alien, as her vanishing cry turns to “Maman, maman.”
- Reviewed by Rebecca Pauly, French Language Film Review Co-Editor
ITALIAN
Giorni e Nuvole (Days and Clouds, 2007)
 Director : Silvio Soldini
Language: Italian with English subtitles
Run time: 115 minutes
Available from Netflix
Awards: David di Donatello 2008; Best Actress Margherita Buy; Best Supporting Actress Alba Rohrwacher
English version below
Il film esplora la fragilità delle relazioni matrimoniali quando sottoposte agli stress ed alle incertezze dell’economia globale. Oggigiorno quasi ognuno di noi si può trovare da un momento all’altro senza lavoro. Come reagiresti?
La storia si sviluppa nella città di Genova, ma potrebbe essere ambientata in qualsiasi altra città di un paese avanzato durante questo difficile periodo.
Michele (Antonio Albanese) non è capace di adattarsi alle nuove condizioni di mercato nella sua industria e viene licenziato dal suo partner dopo una collaborazione di 20 anni. Esce ogni mattina per passare la giornata sulla sua barca, sperpera inutilmente soldi per la moglie, ma non riesce ad affrontare la situazione direttamente: dirglielo e insieme fare un piano e andare avanti. È un film sul cambiamento, come affrontarlo, abbracciarlo o esserne paralizzato.
A 50 anni se sei licenziato è difficile trovare un lavoro equivalente e questa condizione è resa ancora più difficile in Italia dove i ruoli possono essere più tradizionali e l’economia meno robusta di quella negli USA. Anche dopo aver ottenuto una specializzazione in arte, Elisa (Marguerite Buy) è costretta a rinunciare al suo lavoro (non pagato) di restauro di affreschi e ottiene due lavori, come telemarketer e come segretaria serale. Vendono tutto quello che hanno tuttavia non riescono a mantenere la vita sociale di prima.
Antonio prova diverse attività, ma il suo ego è cosi’assorbito dal suo vecchio e comodo lavoro che ne è profondamente scosso. Il suo orgoglio ferito sottopone la relazione a stress tremendi. Segue una relazione extraconiugale. Sarà il matrimonio in grado di sopravvivere?
English
The movie explores the fragility of marital relationships under the stresses and uncertainties of the global economy. Today virtually every one of us can be on short notice without a job. How would you react?
The plot develops in the seaport of Genoa but it could have been set in any city of an advanced country during these arduous economic times.
Michele (Antonio Albanese) is incapable of adapting to the new market environment and is ousted by his business partner of 20 years. He goes out every morning to his boat, still squanders lavishly on his wife but he is ashamed to confront the situation squarely: tell her, make a plan and together move forward. It is a movie about change, how to cope, embrace or get paralyzed by it.
At 50, it is difficult to get back in the game, and the predicament is magnified in Italy where the roles can be more traditional and the economy less robust than in the US. Having recently achieved her advanced art degree, nevertheless Elisa (Marguerite Buy) gives up her unpaid work restoring centuries’ old frescoes and takes two jobs, as a telemarketer and evening secretary. They sell all they have but still they can’t maintain their old social life.
Antonio tries different endeavors but his ego is so wrapped up with his old comfortable job, that he is deeply shaken. His wounded pride puts a tremendous strain on the marriage. An affair follows. Will their marriage survive?
- Recommended by Carlo Mignani, Italian Language Film Editor
RUSSIAN
Коснуться неба (Touch the Sky) (2008)
Русское счастье
Run time: 90 minutes
Director: Leonid Gorovets
Language: Russian
Country: Russia
Advice columnist Taya, about to divorce her alcoholic husband, is in need of some counseling herself. During a call to a counseling hotline, Taya opens up about her involvement as a teenager with an older man. Obviously, fifteen years of life experience haven’t changed her much as she starts to fall in love with yet another authority figure — the one on the phone. This made-for-TV movie features a predictable plot, redundant lines in the script, and major overacting — all the required ingredients for an easy to understand authentic video experience. Students with about 250 hours of previous face-to-face instruction should understand the movie fairly easily. Those with even only 125 previous hours should understand large swaths, especially with the help of targeted subtitles, posted at http://home.gwu.edu/~rrobin/subtitles. High school teachers take care. The flashback scenes between the 17-year heroine and her 40-year old lover, while far from explicit, would probably get the movie a rating of PG-13 or TV-14.
- Recommended by Richard Robin, Russian Language Film Review Co-Editor
Back to top
August 2009
French: L'Ange de Gourdon (Tar Angel)
German/French: Le Père de mes Enfants
German/Iranian: No One Knows about Persian Cats
Italian: Il Divo: La straordinaria vita di Giulio Andreotti
Spanish: La Misma Luna
FRENCH
L’Ange de Goudron (Tar Angel) (2001)
Director and Writer: Denis Chouinard
Run time: 110 minutes
Language: French
Country: Canada
Rating: NR
Awards: Best Canadian Film 2001 Montreal World Film Festival; Prize of the Ecumenical Jury 2002 Berlin International Film Festival
Ahmed escapes from Algeria when war breaks out there and takes his family to Canada. After working for three years at a hard and unsatisfying job as a roofer, he and the members of his family are about to receive Canadian citizenship. But Ahmed then learns that his son has been involved in illegal activities and is on the verge of committing a serious crime against the state. He fears that his cherished dream of a better life for his family is on the verge of destruction.
- Recommended by Christine Foster Meloni, Culture Club Editor
GERMAN/FRENCH
Le Père de mes Enfants (The Father of My Children)
GERMAN/IRANIAN
No One Knows about Persian Cats
Two German co-productions were awarded Special Jury Awards at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival in the Certain Regard category: Le Père de mes Enfants (The Father of My Children) by Mia Hansen-Løve, a French-German coproduction, and No One Knows about Persian Cats by Bahman Ghobad, a German-Iranian coproduction.
ITALIAN
 Il Divo: La straordinaria vita di Giulio Andreotti (The Star: The extraordinary life of Giulio Andreotti)
Director: Paolo Sorrentino
Run time: 110 minutes
Language: Italian (with subtitles in English)
Country: Italy
Awards: Cannes Film Festival 2008 Jury Award; European Film Award 2008; Italian Oscar for best actor Toni Servillo; Venice film festival Premio alla Creativita'
Availability: Not available in US DVD yet, but available in PAL format
Il Divo di Paolo Sorrentino descrive la storia politica di Giulio Andreotti dal 1991 al 1993, l’inizio del maxiprocesso contro la mafia a Palermo. Un film assolutamente da vedere per chi ama la cultura italiana e la politica, in quanto permette di valutare diversamente anche aspetti della politica USA. Questo freddo, ambiguo e calcolatore personaggio19 volte ministro e 7 volte primo ministro, stando al centro della politica italiana per quasi mezzo secolo, ha accumulato un archivio segreto di 3 stanze.
Chiamato secondo le occasioni, “il principe delle tenebre,” “il gobbo,” “la volpe,” e naturalmente “il divo” dal latino “il divus Jiulius” un soprannome usato per descrivere Giulio Cesare, ha 91 anni ed è senatore a vita. Il film comincia con una carrellata di omicidi, apparentemente sconnessi, scanditi dalla musica di Toop Toop dei Cassius.
Il regista non si è impantanato nella storia, ma si è fatto guidare dal suo senso artistico, la sua particolare visione e dalla tragicita’ degli eventi.
Fatti accertati:
- Accusato, portato in processo e condannato per “concreta e duratura collaborazione mafiosa” con sentenza del 2 maggio 2003, ma assolto dalla corte d’appello perché il reato è caduto in prescrizione.
- Processato per essere il mandante dell’omicidio di Pecorelli. un giornalista che aveva cominciato a pubblicare articoli denunciando le connessione politiche sullo scandalo del petrolio mirando direttamente ad Andreotti. Condannato a 24 anni il 17 novembre 2002. Assolto in appello.
- Diversi giornalisti e docenti universitari lo hanno pubblicamente accusato di essere il mandante dell’assassinio del banchiere Sindona, che riciclava i soldi della mafia con la banca vaticana IOR, morto avvelenato in carcere. Nel processo di appello non avendo più nulla da perdere avrebbe potuto rivelare i rapporti tra i politici italiani, la mafia e l’organizzazione segreta P2.
La prima parte del film da un’idea della faziosita’ della politica italiana mentre Andreotti fallisce nel tentativo di conquistare le meta più ambita, la presidenza, a causa dello scandalo in seguito all’uccisione dell’integerrimo giudice Giovanni Falcone e di Salvio Lima, suo rappresentante, in Sicilia. La seconda parte, tramite l’uso di magistrali flashbacks tratta direttamente dei suoi rapporti con la mafia.
Il film Il Divo da un volto al mandante di una lunga serie di misteriosi omicidi e suicidi. Il personaggio ha una faccia da poker, è estremamente controllato, e pare privo di reazioni emotive. E’ l’anti- italiano ovvero una personalita’ “anale” in termini psicologici. Soffre di insonnia ed emicrania al punto da sottoporsi ad agopuntura. Surreali sono le scene quando trascina polizia e servizi segreti per i vicoli di Roma, nel cuore della notte, durante le sue solitarie passeggiate notturne.
“Non credo al caso, ma alla volonta’ di Dio” pronuncia più volte con voce stranamente appassionante. Rappresenta l’ambivalenza del potere nella tensione tra bene e male. In uno dei suoi rari sfoghi ammette con la moglie: “Non hanno idea delle malefatte che il potere deve commettere per assicurare lo sviluppo del paese! Abbiamo un mandato, noi. Un mandato divino. Bisogna amare cosi’ tanto Dio per capire quanto sia necessario il male per avere il bene. Questo Dio lo sa e lo so anche io.”
12 dicembre 1969, Milano. A Piazza Fontana nella Banca Nazionale dell’Agricoltura scoppia una bomba, 17 morti, 88 feriti. Altri 4 attentati terroristici ci susseguono nello stesso giorno a Roma e Milano.
2 agosto 1980. Strage di Bologna, 85 morti, più di 200 feriti.
I colpevoli sono rimasti ignoti.
Per lunghi periodi in Italia scoppiavano 1 o 2 bombe a settimana. Questo stato nazionale di timore e insicurezza, battezzato “la strategia della tensione,” veniva elevato puntualmente prima delle elezioni. Cio’ ha prodotto ripetutamente uno spostamento a destra dell’elettorato, favorendo la DC, il partito di Andreotti, e mantenendolo al potere: la gente pretendeva “law and order.”
- Recommended by Carlo Mignani, Italian Film Review Editor
SPANISH
 La Misma Luna (Under the Same Moon) (2008)
Director: Patricia Riggen
Run time: 106 minutes
Language: Spanish (with subtitles in English)
Country: Mexico
Availabilty: amazon.com for purchase; netflix for rental
This is a very moving story about a boy who is waiting in Mexico to be called to the US by his single mother who has gone there to work and establish a legal residence. When his grandmother dies, however, he decides to go to LA to find his mother on his own. Needless to say, he has many adventures, some life-threatening.
- Recommended by Christine Foster Meloni, Culture Club Editor
Back to top
|
