Three serious contenders in competition at Cannes means Italian cinema is back: it’s a trend, not an anomaly.
I guess I’m smarter than Quentin Tarantino. Or at least more observant. It was Cannes 2007 when he said “I really loved the Italian movies of the 1960s and 1970s. But what happened? It’s a real tragedy. The Italian films I’ve seen over the past few years all seem the same.”
But the signs of rebirth in Italian cinema were clearly there, way before 2007. Lots of Italian filmmakers had things to say about Tarantino’s petulant statement, but director Ferzan Ozpetek’s was the best: “If Nanni Moretti had made that declaration, we could discuss it. But it came from Tarantino, who was a fan of Italian B movies. Evidently, now that we make A movies, we don’t please him anymore. Who knows, maybe he was drunk when he made that statement.”
And this year at Cannes, Italian cinema is back in full force with three extremely strong films in competition that are getting enthusiastic praise from critics around the world. Matteo Garrone (Tale of Tales’ – Il Racconto Dei Racconti), Nanni Moretti (Mia Madre), and Paolo Sorrentino (Youth -Il Giovinezza) all came to play, and have made Italy a dominating presence at the festival.
If you’ve been following the David di Donatello Awards (Italy’s Academy Awards) for the last 20 years you’ll have noticed something else; what used to seem like a daytime Emmy award show now seems like the Oscars. I’ve always enjoyed seeing who wins and have had my favorites, and when I started watching there was plenty of talent to be celebrated, there wasn’t anything earth-shattering.
This year, my head is spinning, thinking of the possibilities for David recipients. Films like Anime Nere (Black Souls), Il Giovane Favoloso (Leopardi), Mia Madre, Vergine Giurata (Sworn Virgin), and Hungry Hearts should and will all walk away with something.
And just look at all the women in the mix. Women filmmakers like Laura Bispuri, Francesca Archibugi, Valeria Golino, Sabina Guzzanti, Roberta Torre…I could go on forever. Italian cinema is not the boys’ club that it once was.
And if you are tired of me saying, “I told you so”, get over it, because I told you so. That was me, all those years ago, saying, “Hey, look over here! They are doing some really interesting things in Italy.”
But you know what’s going to happen? Italian Cinema will be back on top and someone like Quentin Tarantino will take credit for prophesying its second coming. Will I be bitter? You bet I will. This cheerleader for Italian cinema will kick his doubting ass.
I Love Italian Everything 