The Film Society at Lincoln Center’s got an adorable comedy and a super hero for lucky New Yorkers tonight.
God Willing (Se Dio Vuole)
Andrea has something he needs to break to his parents, and they are braced for practically anything, but nobody could have predicted how his big news could change the course of their entire family.
Alessandro Gassman, Marco Giallini and Laura Morante star in this sweet, original and smart comedy. All of the planets line up in this one and the directing, writing, acting, and everything else is all done well. While too many comedies rely on that confrontational, in your face humor and if it’s not edgy, it’s not considered funny. This film is kind, gentle, and still very funny. I liked everybody in the movie, and that’s pretty rare.
Car crashes. Shoot outs. Dismembered bodies. A hero and a bastard of a villain. No, it’s not a Hollywood summer blockbuster; this is 21st century Italian cinema. If this action film doesn’t convince the disbelievers that Italian cinema is changing, nothing will.
This year’s ‘Best New Director’ (David di Donatello Awards), Gabriele Mainetti has given Italians what they say they’ve been wanting for years: an action packed, super hero movie with great special effects, and Call Me Jeeg is a good one for so many reasons.
A Roman thug (played by Claudio Santamaria) ends up with super powers when he gets exposed to radioactive waste after a dunk in the Tiber (and those of who have seen the less than pristine Tevere lately will get their first laugh here).
When Alessia, the mentally challenged but beautiful daughter of a colleague (Ilenia Pastorelli) becomes convinced that Enzo is Jeeg Robot from the ’70s anime and manga series, she urges him to use his powers for good and against evil, particularly the evil Fabio (Luca Marinelli). Enzo’s been existing without a whole lot of human contact for a while, retreating to his hovel at night to eat yogurt and watch porn, so the admiration that she shows him is confusing. “I don’t know how to do this”, he tells her. “You have to help me.”
I Love Italian Everything 