Are the David di Donatello Awards based on an outdated ideal, or am I just too American to get it?
I’ve spent the afternoon looking at the list of nominees for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, David di Donatello Awards 2016. The Davids are the Oscars of Italy, and often criticized for being “out of touch”. This particular list seems, to me, particularly out of touch, but am I being fair?
Maybe I’m too American to get all the references and nuances. Maybe my American tastes are just too different and therefore irrelevant. Maybe I am imposing a foreign standard that is not welcome.
Maybe it’s just a matter of taste for everyone, and my opinion is just as arbitrary as the opinions of those that made the nominations.
Maybe it’s just a simple matter of “you can’t please everyone all the time”.
Maybe. But I don’t think so.
The nominees for best actress and best supporting actresses are an impressive group of women and all should all be congratulated for jobs well done and I don’t mean to question their talents and abilities.
I’m not going to go as far as to say that they shouldn’t have been nominated, but I will say this:
These women SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED.
Greta Scarano, for Suburra
It’s fair to say that I consider Greta one of the best actresses working today, and I’ll go even farther and call this what we’d call it in the United States at Oscar time: a snub. Why the “David Snub” for Greta? My guess is that she’s just not part of the Italian film industry conformity , and overlooked more than snubbed.
If you don’t believe me, check out her work in Suburra, particularly her last scenes, ones with too many spoilers to go into detail about. Trust me, they are absolutely the “OH, WOW!” moments that define an actress, and Greta should have been on that best actress list, and above a couple of those more established actresses that are on it.
Monica Guerritore, for La Bella Gente
Although Ivano De Matteo’s La Bella Gente was first released in 2009, because of distribution problems that I’ll never understand, it didn’t hit Italian theaters until this past year and therefore eligible for awards, ones it should have been nominated for.
Monica Guerritore’s performance as the women’s advocate who finds herself questioning her own values is particularly memorable, one that I find myself thinking of often. She’s understated and authentic, and never resorts to the over-acting that many of the more well-known actresses are prone to. Hers was one of my favorites of any I’ve seen in a long time.
Anna Ferruzzo and Bianca Nappi
I’ll put these two together because they truly cracked me up together in Alberto Caviglia’s outrageous comedy, Pecore In Erba. Caviglia was nominated for best new director, and his actors should have been recognized as well. As mother and sister of a boy that is famous and celebrated for his anti-semitism (remember, it’s a comedy), these two women are superb, each a fine a comic actress as any I have ever seen.
Their depth as actors is deep, and although Americans will have to wait until later in the year to see Pecore In Erba, you can see examples of their right now,
Anna Ferruzzo in Anime Nere
and Bianca Nappi in Short Skin.
Alba Rohrwacher, Il Racconto Dei Racconti and Sangue Del Mio Sangue
The list of films that Alba Rohrwacher should not be nominated for is shorter than the list she should be, so that is why it’s such a surprise that she was overlooked for her roles in two of my favorite films of the past few years, Matteo Garrone’s Il Racconto Dei Racconti and Marco Bellocchio’s Sangue Del Mio Sangue.
Maybe they just needed a break from her? Maybe she didn’t polish the right apples this year? Who knows.
If you haven’t already, check out her fine work in the film that earned her Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival, Hungry Hearts.
Jane Fonda and Rachel Weisz
A French actress, Juliette Binoche, has been nominated for Best Actress, and an Americans, Jane Fonda and British one, Rachel Weisz should have been nominated for Best Supporting Actresses for their roles in Paolo Sorrentino’s Youth.
But am I? Am I imposing foreign standards, talking out of school, “showing my ass” (as we like to say here in America when someone is talking about something they don’t know anything about)?
Or do you agree that I am looking to the future, and recognizing the talent that will soon define the best of Italian cinema?
You tell me.
I Love Italian Everything 