Get yourself in a spooky mood with Italian horror!
Salve ragazzi,
Before we start talking about Halloween Horror 🧟♀️, let’s talk about an October birthday that is very special to me. On October 20, my favorite actor, Luigi Lo Cascio, turns 57. If we were going to sing him the Happy Birthday Song in Italia, we’d sing it like this:
WORDS FOR THE DAY: TANTI AUGURI!
Tanti Auguri means “ many well wishes,” and you can shorten it to just “Auguri” if you want. “Auguri” is not just for birthdays. When someone gets married, graduates, has a baby, or on lots of other happy occasions, people shout out, “Auguri!”.
You can also say “Buon Compleanno” (Literally good birthday), but in the song, it’s “Tanti Auguri.” Give it a try!
Choosing which of Lo Cascio’s movies is my favorite would be impossible, but Il Traditore is one of my top ten favorite movies in any language.
Il Traditore
Il Traditore, The Traitor, is probably the most underrated movie of the last decade. It stars Lo Cascio with Pierfrancesco Favino and was written and directed by veteran filmmaker Marco Bellocchio. It is based on – and NOT AT ALL LOOSELY – the infamous Maxi-Trial in Palermo in 1986 when Sicilian prosecutors indicted 475 mafiosi for Mafia activities. Most were convicted; 338 people were sentenced to 2,665 years, not including life sentences handed to 19 bosses.
As Donald Trump would say, “It was YUGE!”
If you want to understand the Sicilian Mafia, I urge you to watch this movie.
Watch this 1986 NBC Special Report, then watch the movie, and you’ll be impressed by its authenticity.
Luigi does something in this movie I think about when I remember what director Sydney Pollack told us at a film festival years ago. He was asked who he’d consider the best actor he’d worked with, and his answer was Robert Redford. His reason was surprising. He told us, “It’s much harder than you think to play someone who isn’t as smart as you are.” And that’s exactly what Luigi does so well in Il Traditore. This bright and highly educated actor slips so easily into the low-life cigarette smuggler and heroin trafficker who barely speaks Italian, complaining in court that he is Sicilian and speaks that language. It’s magic.
But if you want to know the movie that convinced me that Luigi Lo Cascio is brilliant, it’s a movie you can’t find in the USA—maybe not even in Italy anymore, La Vita Che Vorrei (The Life That I Would Want). It’s frustrating because nobody understands why I love it so much, not even the director, Giuseppe Piccioni, or Luigi himself. Both looked genuinely confused when I told them I’ve watched the movie dozens of times.
I do not understand for the life of me why nobody gets the genius of this fucked up love story with this tragically flawed couple. This song is from the soundtrack and has some scenes from the movie. Maybe Italians just can’t stand a love story that is so messed up, but I LOVE IT. (I love the song, too.)
Amarti m’affatica, mi svuota dentro
Qualcosa che assomiglia a ridere nel pianto
Amarti m’affatica, mi dà malinconia
Che vuoi farci, è la vita
È la vita, la mia.
[Loving you wears me out, makes me empty inside
It’s like laughing when you’re crying
Loving you wears me out – it makes me sad
What can you do? That’s life
It’s life, my life]
Happy Birthday, Luigi. You are one of the biggest reasons I LOVE ITALIAN MOVIES. 🎂 🎁 🎉
Halloween is not Halloween as we know it in the USA. I am hesitant to make a definitive statement about this topic, but I don’t think Italians will ever appreciate Halloween like we do. It’s ironic because they love costumes! They do them up big for Carnivale, a celebration famous worldwide for its elaborate costumes and masks. Il Carnevale ends on Martedì Grasso (Mardi Gras), the day before Lent starts on Ash Wednesday.
You won’t find many Trick-or-Treaters in Italy. That being said, they make up for it the day after Halloween. According to ancient tradition, from November 1st to 2nd, people in Italy celebrate their ancestors who have passed on with a menu fit for their visit from the afterlife.
TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THE RECIPES FOR OGNISANTI
from La Cucina Italiana. I particularly like the Bagna Càuda. I make it with more garlic and no anchovy because I am a vegetarian. It’s so simple and so good with crudité.
OH THE HORROR.
If you are hungry for some Italian horror, take a look at the newest from director Federico Zampaglione:
I can’t lie; this is not my cup of horror. But you will probably love it if you like gory, old-school, blood-bath Giallo.
It’s in English and stars Zampaglione’s ex-wife, Claudia Gerini, and his fifteen-year-old daughter, Linda.
You can watch it on:
And now, a couple of freebies from Federico Zampaglione. Take a look at his “What I did during the pandemic with my daughter, Linda and wife.” 😂 These are just fun.
OK, so he’s not Italian. But just the same, this guy taught me how to make the best spaghetti al pomodoro! Eric Kim is a food columnist for The New York Times and a recipe developer. A native of Atlanta, he is also the author of the cookbook “Korean American.”
It’s simple, really. Nothing shatteringly groundbreaking – no “secret ingredient.” But I followed his directions exactly (something I rarely do), and mamma mia! Perfetto! Let me know if you try it and agree with me.
I Love Italian Everything 