I Love Italian Everything

So are awards important or not? I know they are for people who are making the movies because for them, award = $$$. But why do we, who merely watch the movies care?

I honestly don’t care much about which Hollywood star wins Oscars or Golden Globes – the whole thing’s so predictable and – ho hum – forgettable, if you really think about it. Who won the Golden Globe for best actor in 1994? What movie won an Oscar for best picture in 2001? I guess if you were a die hard movie fan you know the answers to these questions, but for me – I can barely remember who won the Golden Globe Awards last night.


I do care about the foreign film awards, and of course, in particular, Italian movies that win them. I care because, if they win, it means that  people are paying attention to them and noticing how great they are.


So I was really hoping that Io Sono L’Amore would win for best foreign language film last night, even though I didn’t see the Danish movie, “In a Better World“, the one that won.  I can’t honestly say that the best film didn’t win, but I was hoping for some Italy recognition none-the-less.


I still think that it had a pretty good chance and was a good choice for the nomination. Sicilian Director
Luca Guadagnino has been critical, as have I, about Italy’s submission to the Academy Awards, Paolo Virzì’s La Prima Cosa Bella. I don’t think it’s sour grapes on Guadagnino’s part – I think that he really believes that his film is the kind that Italy should be focusing on right now, and I agree with him. Guadagnino seems to want to make movies that are not all about Italy, as some Italian directors do. Young actor/director Silvio Muccino tried to break out a little with “Another World” ( Un’altro Mondo), a movie that came out last year with an African story line and it didn’t do so hot, but I think that this is the kind of thing that Guadagnino is looking for.


He said, “I have a fascination with Russian culture. I like the idea of contamination of places, identities. We had a crew that was French, Spanish, Brazilian, etc., otherwise we make inbred movies…[On his approach to Milan] I think that I was gentler, because I am fascinated. I wanted to be recognized by the bourgeoisie, even though I have upbringing to make me aware of the consequences of their actions. We are beyond decadence there. It’s great to see how people want everything to stay the same, and to see and understand why they want it to stay the same.”


I Am Love didn’t do as well in Italy as it did in the rest of the world, curiously enough, and I am not going to try to guess why Italian critics gave it a lukewarm reception, but I agree, yet again, with Guadagnino when he said, “I wish the Italian movie that they picked gets selected by the Academy because this would mean a good thing for the industry in Italy. Having said that, I have no embarrassment in saying that ‘I Am Love’ was probably a good bet for Italy. They didn’t pick the movie because I think they felt the choice for the Italian film was itself an award. So they decided to give this award to the movie they loved the most, and to the movie that was most recognized by the industry, the critics and the audience in Italy. But in reality, they maybe should have thought ‘what is the movie that would have the best chances at the Oscars.”


So is it an identity crisis for Italy or is just something that is nobody’s business but theirs? If Italians prefer “La Prima Cosa Bella” then there’s really nothing more to say – there’s no use making Italian movies that Italians don’t want to see.


But if it matters at all, I prefer “Io Sono L’Amore”. I’m not a fan of “La Prima Cosa Bella” or “Baarìa“, sentimental films that look more like 2 hour ads for Barilla Pasta.


There are so many good movies coming out of Italy today and I think Italy has to ask themselves this question: “Who are we making these movies for?” If only for themselves, then that’s great – go for it. But if they want the world recognition that they used to have, they have to encourage Luca Guardagnino and others like him to continue doing their thing.


Here’s an interview with Luca Guardagnino: