Category Archives: Italian

2015, Ambiguous Conclusion, Bloody scenes, Boxing, Brother-Sister relations, Cocaine, Complicated, Confusing Plot, Crime, Dysfunctional Lives, Extramarital Affair, False Imprisonment, Family Conflict, Forensics, Gay theme, Illegitimate Child, Imperfect, Italian, Italian detective, Love Triangle, Mathematician, Medical Theme, Mother-daughter relations, Mother-son relations, Murder, Murder Investigation, Muslim Culture, PBS Masterpiece Streaming, Police Culture, Rape, Reconciliation, Romance, Short-lived suspenseful episodes

Thou Shalt Not Kill (2015)

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From IMDB:

Detective Valeria Ferro investigates crimes motivated by jealousy, vendettas and repressed anger to seek the truth and justice.

From PBS Passport you can stream two seasons of this Italian detective series.  Each season offers 12 episodes. Each episode lasts between 45 and 50 minutes.  Spoken Italian with English subtitles.

At the very start of the series Valeria’s mother Lucia is released from prison after 17 years. Lucia supposedly killed Valeria’s father.  Throughout the entire two seasons the continuing theme is what really happened 17 years ago.  For the most part Valeria is estranged from, angry at, and suspicious of her mother.  Valeria’s brother Giacomo takes the mother into his home.

Valeria is unmarried and is undecided about where to live, whom to love, and what the future holds.  Valeria’s lover is her current police boss Giorgio  whose orders she repeatedly countermands because of her stubborn nature.  Meanwhile her co-worker Andrea is in love with Valeria.

Every two episodes tell one complete crime story while the above mentioned themes continue.

Both Kathy and I found the plots confusing with too many characters. Additionally we did not find  the conclusion in episode 24 to be in any way satisfying.  It would seem that the producers intend further seasons.

Notice how at the end of each pair of episodes the guilty party simply confesses (often with indifference) with no attempt to cover up.  That is just plain too easy a conclusion.

Still,  the 24 episodes were not bad at all.

2017, Could Be Sad, Drama, Explicit sex, Father-son relations, French, Gay theme, Italian, Italian culture, Masturbation, Mostly About Sex, Mother-son relations, Nudity, Sensitive treatement of emotions, Sex Scenes, Sexual Tension, Small Town, Teenagers, Various Romances, Wonderful photography

Call Me By Your Name (2017)

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From IMDB:

In 1980s Italy, a romance blossoms between a seventeen year-old student and the older man hired as his father’s research assistant.

British Airways offered this film with subtitles. In fact, there is a mixture of languages.

In the book by André Aciman as I recall, correct me if I am wrong, there is no sexual contact between Oliver (played by Armie Hammer) the older assistant and Elio (played by Timothée Chalamet) the teenage son. But this supposed screen adaptation shows almost explicit sexual activity. In one review I read, the critic complained that the film could be seen as condoning Oliver’s self-interested grooming of the young, inexperienced Elio. So you must do at least three things: forget the book, prepare yourself emotionally for the scenes, and decide for yourself what you really think about Oliver’s behavior. 

Evocative portrait of a small setting in northern Italy, but quite possibly not to everyone’s taste.

2012, Acceptable for teenagers, Adultery, Amusing banter, Bad Acting, Based on a Book, Bicycles, Bloody scenes, Comic Moments, Cooking, Corny at times, Crime, Detective, Eccentric Detective, Extramarital Affair, Flirting, Italian, Italian detective, Journalist, Made For TV, MHz Choice, Murder, Murder by poison, Murder Investigation, Revenge, TV Series

Nero Wolfe (2012)

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From IMDB:

Interesting modern actualization made by italian broadcasting service (RAI) of immortal, well-known characters created by the genial american novelist Rex Stout. It’s second time RAI produce a Nero Wolfe’s Mystery series: first one – with famous, talented stage actor Tino Buazzelli as Wolfe and Paolo Ferrari (known as Humphrey Bogart movie’s dubber) as Archie Goodwin – was aired between 1969 and 1971.

MHz Choice streams just one season of 8 episodes. Each episode lasts a bit more than 1.5 hours. Italian with English subtitles.

Although sometimes corny, sometimes amateurish acting, at least you can relax watching these friendly murder mysteries. Just about all the women are beautiful. Every home is more or less a palace.

Nero Wolfe is a somewhat overweight gourmand (i.e. he is fussy about food and eats ALOT).  In fact, there is just as much emphasis on food and Wolfe’s orchids as there is on the rest of the plot. He has a full time professional cook with whom he spars a lot. He is often condescending or even insulting to his dashing sidekick Archie Goodwin, who flirts (at the very least)  with many of the female characters.

Thus we do not take these stories seriously or expect too much. But at least they do not feature any grim gore.

2012, Bad Acting, Bloody scenes, Car Chase, Corny at times, Crime, Detective, Divorce, DNA, Father-son relations, Forensics, Gay theme, Homophobia, Imperfect, Italian, Italian culture, Italian detective, Made For TV, Mathematician, Mediocre, Melodrama, MHz Choice, Mother-son relations, Murder Investigation, Police Politics, TV Series, Various Romances

Inspector Vivaldi (2012)

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From MHz Choice:

MYSTERY | ITALY | ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES |
Inspector Federico Vivaldi is an old-school cop in a new world: his son is gay, his wife has left him and he’s got an ambitious colleague nipping at his heels to take over his position. He may be old-fashioned but he’s resilient enough to find his way in the new reality. His son, Stefano, is also a cop, and father and son make a good team solving crimes together in the northeastern Italian city of Trieste.

From MHz Choice you can stream Season 1 consisting of 8 episodes, each about 1.5 hours. All 8 episodes are dedicated to one continuing mystery with lots of side distractions.

If you want to hear understandable Italian, this detective soap opera is for you. Sometimes the acting is terrible. Sometimes the presentation is corny (can you hear those violins?) Finally I decided I could not stand Inspector Vivaldi as a person. But his son and his beautiful former wife are appealing.

Somewhat mediocre but it is ITALIAN!!! (Who is prejudiced?)

1999, Acceptable for teenagers, Based on a Book, Boating, Catholic culture, Comic Moments, Complicated, Computer geeks, Conspiracy, Corny at times, Crime, Detective, Dog Story, Extramarital Affair, International thriler, Italian, Italian culture, Italian detective, MHz Choice, Murder Investigation, Nudity, Police Culture, Revenge, Sex Scenes, Small Town, Sometimes seems silly, Spousal Abuse, TV Series

Detective Montalbano (1999)

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From MHz Choice:

Murder, betrayal, office politics, temptation… it’s all in a day’s work for Detective Salvo Montalbano. Filmed in the ancient, sun-washed Sicilian city of Ragusa Ibla, the series is based on the international best-selling mystery novels by Andrea Camilleri and stars Luca Zingaretti.

Until June 27, 2017 MHz Choice offers only Season 1 which includes “only!” 35 Episodes.

As far as drama goes, these episodes are fun but not masterpieces. For me the attractions are the Italian language, the somewhat goofy Italian personal interactions, the tantalizing scenery, and the stories. It would not surprise me that you might find the acting sometimes corny.  You may have to be a real Italophile.

In the past I have read several of these mystery novels by Andrea Camilleri whose Italian vocabulary often uses words from the Sicilan dialect, but the actors speak so quickly that I am not sure if they ever use any Sicilian words.

Plots tend to be complicated. Each episode is about one hour and 45 minutes. Running through the series is Montalbano’s romance with Livia. There is nothing grim or even violent in the stories.

Just plain fun if you enjoy friendly, wacky Italians.

 

 

2014, Abduction, Action Film, Bloody scenes, Brazilian, Creepy, Crime, Dark, French, German, Gritty, Italian, Mayhem, Motorcycles, Netflix Streaming, Personal Betrayal, Psychiatrists, Revenge, Spanish, Suspense, Traditional Chinese, Unusual, Violent

Stereo (2014)

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From Netflix:

Erik’s peaceful rural family life is shaken by the arrival of sinister figures who claim to know him and a mysterious “friend” who may not even exist.

From Netflix you can stream this 1 hour 30 minute film from Germany.

Many films streamable from Netflix now offer an amazing array of language choices. Take this film as a example. For audio you can choose from Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, Italian and Spanish. For subtitles you can choose None, English, French, German, Spanish and Traditional Chinese.

Why the film is called “Stereo” is something I do not understand. In any case this is a somewhat strange film. Erik wants a peaceful life with a single mother Julia and her daughter Linda. Julia’s father is a policeman and suspicious of Erik’s unexplained past. That past catches up with Erik in the form of a group of men looking to kill Erik out of revenge. Meanwhile Erik, and only Erik, constantly sees , hears, and can talk to a hooded man who eventually we learn is his dead brother Henry.  Erik tries several methods to get rid of Henry, all to no avail. In a violent climax, we learn about Erik’s  past.

Erik is played by Jurgen Vogel who was the teacher in the German film “The Wave“. Henry is played by Moritz Bleibtreu who played Gustav Klimt In “Woman in Gold”.

As far as classifying this film, call it a violent action film. For me the main attraction was solely the opportunity to hear and read simple, basic German. For you that is not a rave review by any means.

 

 

2013, Italian, Italian culture, Not Recommended, Nudity, Possible a put-on, Possibly artsy fartsy, Possibly depressing, Unusual

The Great Beauty (2013)

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From Netflix:

As charming 65-year-old journalist Jep Gambardella writes about Rome’s culture and social life, he reflects with bitterness on the passions of his lost youth, even as he paints a complex portrait of the lovely and ancient city.

IS THIS FILM A TOTAL PUT-ON ?

If you can believe Wikipedia, this film is much acclaimed and has made a profit from worldwide screening. But then critics a paid to say something.

Supposedly this film is a metaphor about the current decline of Italian civilization, especially in the sad era of Berlusconi.

Kathy and I went expecting to see beautiful Rome and follow the life of an aging Italian journalist. We kept waiting for the good part to start, and waiting and waiting … Instead as far as we can tell we got the following:

  • Conversations that were superficial at best.
  • Social gatherings of strange, ugly, oddly dressed people dancing in circular conga lines that went nowhere.
  • Rather a lot of female strippers.
  • Overly long shots of the aging actor’s face (Toni Servillo as Jep Gambardella).
  • Mother Teresa’s 105 year old twin crawling up a long set of stairs on her hands and knees.
  • Customers of all ages lined up to pay large sums for a BOTOX shot.
  • Impoverished nobles charging money to attend dinners while pretending to be someone important or royal.
  • Some aged cardinal that talked of nothing but cooking recipes.
  • And the list goes on.

Someone should tell the writer and directory Paolo Sorrentino that it is nearly impossible to out-Fellini Fellini.

If anyone out there sees and enjoys this film, please tell me why you enjoyed the film.

At least you have been warned.

2011, Acceptable for children, Catholic culture, Comedy, Could Be Sad, Italian, Satire, Slapstick

We Have A Pope (2011)

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From Netflix:

The pope has died, and the congress of cardinals has chosen his successor. But what happens if the newly elected pontiff doesn’t want the job? This comedy follows the Vatican’s travails as it strives to make one cardinal accept his destiny.

You need not be Catholic to enjoy this funny and sad romp through Rome, but it might help. Especially that is true because the film makes a bit of fun of various aspects of the Catholic church.

Basically, the newly elected pope does not want the job and he escapes in street clothes into the busy Roman life while his Secretary of State desperately searches for him hoping to convince him to remain as pope.

You might recognize the actor Nanni Moretti who directed this film. He plays the psychoanalyst which the Secretary of State hires to help the newly elected pope in his time of indecision. Needless to say, this is all tongue in cheek. At one point the psychoanalyst divides the cardinals into volleyball teams and stages a tournament. If you want to see Nanni Moretti in a wonderful film, try “The Son’s Room”. “We Have a Pope” is, on the other hand, a mere diversion which at times can be very funny.

In Italian with subtitles.

2009, Comedy, Feel Good Not For Children, Gay theme, Human spirit, Italian, Italian culture

Loose Cannons (2009)

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From Netflix:

This fiery comedy from director Ferzan Ozpetek finds young Tommaso about to reveal to his large, frenetic Italian family that he’s gay. But he’s beaten to the punch by his older brother, who is promptly disinherited by their furious father.

“Fiery” is not accurate. Instead this film is a sentimental feel-good that offers some truly funny laughs. Fundamentally the theme of the film is that if you want a happy life you have to be bold and assert your own individuality instead of, for example, doing what your parents expect. Granted, family obligations and duties may be stronger in Italy than here in the U.S.A. Here this independence applies not only to the gay sons but also to their grandmother who did not get to marry the man she really loved and consequently lived a life of regret.

For you Italophiles, the Italian spoken in this film is beautiful to hear. English subtitles appear and are not optional.

2009, Basically Sad, Crime, Detective, Imperfect, Italian, Love Story, Nudity, Plot Twist, Quiet, Sex Scenes

The Double Hour (2009)

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From NetFlix:

In the wrong place at the wrong time, Sonia takes a bullet to the head during an art robbery. She survives, but later finds herself haunted by visions. Her mysterious past, meanwhile, comes to light under the watchful eye of a suspicious policeman.

Unfortunately the plot of this Italian film (with non-optional subtitles) is somewhat flawed. Sonia’s double life does not really work or even matter to the film except in some trivial details. For the following reasons this film might be worth viewing:

  • There are some surprise plot twists.
  • All the actors do a good job at their craft.
  • Ambivalence and an underlying sadness lend some urgency to the plot.
  • Listening to an easy Italian is fun.

Nothing special, but I enjoyed the film.