Happy New Year!
Buon Anno! I missed wishing you Buon Natale, and didn’t see you last week because of a dreaded invasion of the Norovirus! Have you heard about this thing? Let me tell you, it is not pretty. Please avoid it if possible.
I won’t dwell on it, but let’s use it as a learning experience, va bene? How do you tell people that you don’t feel well in Italian?
There are many examples of a verb being reflexive in Italian and not in English; Sentirsi – to feel is one of them.
We say, “I don’t feel well”, but you can’t say, “Non sento bene.” That would be something like “I don’t feel” or “I don’t hear” in a more general sense. When you are talking about your own physical or emotional state, you have to use the reflexive. “Mi sento.”
Hold on, let’s let our friend Margherita from @italianmatters explain it.
Whatever, NON MI SENTIVO BENE! 😂 I wasn’t feeling well!
Allora…
We MUST talk about the movies!
Italy’s submission for the 2024 Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, Vermiglio, opened in New York City, and the New York Times listed it in the article “7 New Movies Our Critics Are Talking About This Week”.
“A small village is the big star.”
‘Vermiglio’
In the Northern Italian mountain village of the title, a close-knit family navigates a shifting dynamic during World War II in this quiet drama.
From their review:
The director and writer, Maura Delpero, relays much of this narrative offhandedly; she appears more interested in giving the audience a feel for the air, the qualities of light and the tactility of the rural setting, where her father grew up and her grandfather was the schoolteacher. But to the extent that “Vermiglio,” which won the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival this year, keeps its exposition indirect, that choice is an organic one.
Beyond being considered for an Oscar and a NYT Critics Pick, the film won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival, Best Film at the Chicago Film Festival, is a Variety Critic’s Pick, and has been nominated for a US Golden Globe. So, yeah, obviously, try to see it when it comes to your town. Right now, it’s in NYC at the IFC Film Center at 323 6th Ave and in Los Angeles at the Laemmle Royal, 11523 Santa Monica Blvd. I’ll be watching for more cities!
And don’t forget…
COMING TO NETFLIX FEBRUARY 7, 2025! Paolo Sorrentino’s ‘Parthenope!’
Variety Magazine calls it: “An Exquisite Treatise on Cinematic Beauty.”
So, thanks to the most wonderful Italian American mother-in-law in the world, Joyce Passell, I learned how to make a pretty good wedding soup. You know wedding soup, right?
FUN FACT ABOUT WEDDING SOUP – Wedding soup doesn’t have anything to do with weddings at all. The name comes from the Italian phrase “minestra maritata,” which means “married soup” or rather the marriage of flavors in the soup. And a happy marriage it is!
Anyway, my daughter Lauren and her husband, Justin, decided to try to make it themselves when it was my turn with the Norovirus, and they succeeded with very little help from me (they got some vague texts like: I don’t know, keep adding breadcrumbs until it looks right). Just look how yummy!
I couldn’t even really tell you how to make it. I don’t measure, and I have nothing written down, but our family doesn’t just add meatballs; we also add bread balls. Anyone here make it? Anyone here have an actual recipe?
More FUN FACTS about Wedding Soup!
It’s a great example of “Cucina Povera,” a locally grown dish with inexpensive ingredients like leftover meat and greens.
It was brought to the USA by immigrants from Campania, Italy – where my Mother-In-Law’s family came from.
Le Vite Che Hanno Vissuto, The Lives They Lived
Addio to notable Italians in 2024
Paolo Taviani (1931-2024)
Born in San Miniato, Tuscany, Paolo Taviani began his career as a journalist, but decided to explore cinema after seeing Roberto Rossellini’s “Paisà.”
With his brother, Vittorio (1929-2018), he began directing films in 1960. Over his illustrious career, he won several Berlin Film Festival Golden Bears, a Palme d’Or, David di Donatello Awards, Nastri d’Argento, and too many other awards to mention.
If you haven’t already, you should check out his Cesare Deve Morire (Caesar Must Die), directed by the Taviani and his brother Vittorio. It was awarded the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 2012. It’s a semi-documentary in which actual inmates at a high-security prison in Rome prepare for a public performance of Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar.”
Roberto Herlitzka (1937-2024)
Herlitzka was born in Turin, the son of Bruno Herlitzka, a Czech Jew from Brno who emigrated with his family, and Micaela Berruti, a Catholic Italian. He temporarily went by his mother’s surname, Berruti, to escape the Italian racial laws put in place by Mussolini to enforce discrimination and segregation of Jews and Africans.
He began his acting career in the theater but flourished in films later in life, starring in major ones like La Grande Bellezza and Buongiorno, Notte, and working extensively with directors like Paolo Sorrentino and Marco Bellocchio.
Sandra Milo (1933-2024)
Actress Sandra Milo was born Salvatrice Elena Greco in Tunis.
Milo made her film debut in 1955, but after starring in Roberto Rossellini’s Vanina Vanini, harsh criticism of the film at the Venice Festival may have contributed to her decision to marry and retire.
Thanks to Federico Fellini, Milo made a big comeback in 1963 in his film 8½ with Marcello Mastroianni.
She won a Nastro d’Argento for Best Supporting Actress for each of her roles in Federico Fellini’s 8½ and Juliet of the Spirits.
Roberto Cavalli (1940-2024)
FUN FACT about Cavalli – he created the sandblasted jeans look! (Never really thought about it, but it’s still interesting!) He was known for his wild prints, colors, and unbridled creativity.
Born in Florence, at 4 years old, his father was killed by the Nazis in the Cavriglia massacre, a retaliation for partisan activity.
Before I go, a question for you actual authentic Italians: Is it true that people wear red underwear on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day to ward off evil spirits? 😄
Arrivederci all’anno prossimo! See you next year! 🥳
Un bacione,
Cheri
America’s favorite Italian Wannabe
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