And if the Cannes Film Festival wants to show his new film, Mia Madre, out of competition? “I’ll accept anything from Cannes”, he says.
As the new generation of Italian directors come up and take their places in Italian cinema, Nanni Moretti stands firm and doesn’t show signs of losing his. Rumor has it that Thursday will be a big day for him, and that when Cannes announces its lineup Thursday, his film, Mia Madre, starring Margherita Buy, John Turturro, and Moretti himself, will be on the list.
Moretti’s been at this a long time, making films since the ’70s and keeping his name in the forefront ever since. And people love him or they hate him. He doesn’t seem to be one of those lovable celebrities like Carlo Verdone, equally adored through his good and bad films. Mention Verdone in Italy, and you’ll get a smile. Mention Moretti, and you are more than likely to get a scowl and a bitter, “Non mi piace. I don’t like him.”
Personally, I like him. His 2001 film La Stanza Del Figlio (The Son’s Room) is one that still keeps me up at night thinking about Nanni’s gut-wrenching look at a family’s grief when a son dies. And his last film, Habemus Papam (We Have A Pope) was one of his best and truly under-rated. Some said it was “too mean”, some said it “wasn’t mean enough”, but I thought it was a “just right” look at the Catholic Church, the story of a reluctant pope-elect.
While we wait to hear about Mia Madre’s fate at Cannes, take a look at:
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