Even people with a limited knowledge of Italian movies know the very good-looking Raoul Bova, probably from Under The Tuscan Sun, when he played Diane Lane’s hot Italian boyfriend. (So that’s the deal; right? Hollywood movies about Italy have pretty much promised us that if we move to Italy we’ll get a handsome Italian boyfriend.)
In an interview that I read with Raoul a few years ago he complained that he felt that his good looks held him back, that good-looking actors in Italy never get the good roles. True or not, a lot of his roles have been a little frivolous, like in Paolo Genovese’s Immaturi movies.
If you want to see what he can really do, check out a couple of my favorites, Ferzan Ozpetek’s La Finestra di Fronte (Facing Windows), the adorable Nessuno Mi Può Giudicare (Escort in Love), with Paola Cortellesi, and Daniele Luchetti’s La Nostra Vita (Our Life).
La Finestra di Fronte is my favorite of Ozpetek’s work and of Giovanna Mezzogiorno’s, who plays Giovanna, the horny, dissatisfied housewife. She’s like a lot of women – for any number of reasons she may have married the wrong guy. She’s smarter, more driven, and more responsible than her husband and is starting to resent having to carry the weight of the entire family. Watching the extremely hot, single neighbor, Lorenzo, played by Bova, has become her escape from reality.
RENT LA FINESTRA DI FRONTE FROM NETFLIX
The other two are harder to find in the US, but have been showing up at film festivals and I’ve found Nessuno Mi Può Giudicare online without subtitles HERE. It’s a fun movie about a rich woman (Cortellesi) who has to become an escort to make ends meet when her husband dies.
When I look at searches that people do to find my site, a common one is “Raoul Bova no shirt”, so for all of you, here ya go:
I Love Italian Everything 