Scenes from Giuseppe Tornatore's "Il Camorrista" [1986 Italy]

Giuseppe Tornatore made his directorial debut with the crime drama "Il Camorrista" [Eng. Title: The Professor]. This would be our first glimpse of Tornatore's prodigious talent, which will blossom gloriously in his next project two years later - a film that I still consider possibly the greatest ever made. In case you're wondering, that is "Nuovo Cinema Paradiso" - if you love cinema and enjoy a hearty laugh and a cry in front of a screen, you must watch it. While I sometimes wish Tornatore had made a few more films, a part of me is glad to see him build his creative appetite by taking big time-off between projects - the result - every film of his is worthy of mention in the cinematic hall of fame. On another matter, if I ever venture south of Rome, it'll be thanks largely to watching his films.

Back to the debut, Tornatore scripted the screenplay loosely based on a biopic of a real-life Camorra leader - Camorra being the Neapolitan equivalent of the Sicilian Mafia. It charts the rise and fall of 'Il Professore', from a childhood of extreme poverty to the leader of the 'Reformed' Camorra, and moving among the rich and powerful including the American Cosa Nostra, even while a wanted fugitive. It is a gritty, very well-made crime drama that portrays life and politics as it was when these syndicates cast their long shadow over the lives of every southern Italian against a hopelessly inert State apparatus. Shot in the style of a docu-drama, Tornatore adds an air of urgency to happenings with tactical use of rough edits, giving a journalistic feel to it, and the film is ably aided by the soundtrack - elements that I think were necessary considering the fact that the voice of Ben Gazarra (who plays 'Il professore') was dubbed, and he certainly ain't no Al Pacino. It is nevertheless a fine film, and definitely Recommended Viewing.

Amazon DVD Link (Italian original)
English Subtitles




Compilation: Gilla Novak and others
The film's brief scenes of nudity occurs courtesy of 'Pelle-di-pesca' (Peachy skin), an aide to the Cosa Nostra representative in Milan. She befriends and seduces Ciro, a close associate of 'Il Professore', who will be betrayed. As retribution, both Ciro and Pelle-di-pesca will meet a terrible end in the hands of Il professore's sister Rosaria, played by the fine Spanish actress Laura del Sol. 'Pelle-di-pesca' however, is played by a bold-as-ever Gilla Novak.



 



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Diana Bernedo & co in "Al Acecho del Leopardo" [2011, Mexico]

"Al Acheco del Leopardo" [Eng. title: The Stalking of the Leopard] is writer Enrique Renteria's first foray into directing feature-length films, and I'm sure it must have been a learning curve of sorts for him. Having said that, it isn't a bad effort, notwithstanding the odd continuity errors and a slightly underwhelming climax. But it is after all a typical Mexican mainstream thriller, and I've seen worse even from seasoned directors. The cinematography is actually pleasing to the eye, and of course, the customary inclusion of unbelievably beautiful people makes this film more than tolerable.

Amazon DVD Link




Spoiler-free Storyline:
Roman is on a camping expedition with two attractive young tourist friends, the Spanish Lorena and Brazilian Patricia, when he witnesses and even records the massacre of some Mexican Indian peasants by a man in a leopard-skin hat. Roman is spotted and instantly killed, and so is Patricia. Lorena escapes in the ensuing commotion, and is rescued by a travelling group of midget bullfighters. They offer to take her to safety in Mexico city where Eduardo, Roman's brother lives. But the assassin is determined to catch up with Lorena in order to leave no trace of what happened - he is after all doing the bidding for a very powerful man - the local governor. His relentless pursuit and Lorena's frantic efforts to escape unscathed is what the thriller is all about.




Compilation: Diana Bernedo, Andreia Martins, and Talía Marcela



Scene Guide:

• It's always a pleasure to see blog-related highlights appearing early on in film. Here we have Lorena and Patricia teasing Roman as they go skinny-dipping in the stream, unaware of a massacre about to happen in their vicinity. Lorena is played by a pretty Diana Bernedo, and Patricia by Brazilian model Andreia Martins. Nice..!
• Good things don't last forever and soon poor Patricia meets a terrible end while an understandably petrified Lorena scrambles to safety.
• Exhausted, bruised, and still naked, Lorena is picked up by a some travelling bullfighters who call themselves Bullfighters of Lilliput.
• Eduardo tries to inform Maura, Roman's estranged and totally stoned wife about his brother's death, but her lover just wouldn't let him disturb her. A scuffle ensues. Maura is played by Talía Marcela.

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Alexandra Stewart & Cathryn Harrison in Louis Malle's "Black Moon" [1975 France, W.Germany]

During the time when Nouvelle Vague was in full flow, there was a French director who wasn't formally part of it, and yet explored cinema in his own unique way. Louis Malle started in film as a cameraman, and his evolution didn't stop with becoming a director - even as a successful director, he was always experimenting with new ways of telling stories just as he was exploring human nature through cinema. His can reasonably be considered one of the most varied body of work in film. While I have yet to discover many of his earlier classics, from what I've seen, his filmography is replete with controversial subject matter, sometimes also p*ssing off various governments for one reason or another. But they're all (the films, I mean) beautiful works - melancholic, filled with an air of foreboding, and deeply personal. While Malle also made films in the US, I hope to mainly focus on his European works in this blog.

"Black Moon" was one of his later films that his conventional fans might even consider an anomaly. Here we see Malle exploring the fairytale-fantasy genre and mixing it with modern-day politics and nightmares. Not only that - a life-long Indophile, he recreates imagery inspired from Indian folklore and rural life, and fuses it with Nordic/Gaelic symbolism to take us on a trippy journey - this is Alice in Wonderland after waking up from a night of rave, all in Malle's subdued style of course..! :-)

Human supremacy over the world is supposedly coming to an end as there's a war of all wars going on - between men and women. We see the world literally returned back to nature as husband executes wife, and sister slashes brother. Pubescent Lily, poorly disguised as a man, is ducking and weaving through gunfire to reach safety. Her less-frequented path leads to a dead-end. And a portly little unicorn! And some naked little urchins chasing a big fat pig, and soon a villa (Loius Malle's own home) inhabited by a bedridden old lady listening to her wireless set and talking to her rat called Humphrey. She seems to be looked after by a brother-sister duo - Lily, and Lily (no its not typo). This is just the first fifteen minutes of the film, and a lot more's coming your way..!

The film is visually stunning, thanks to the chilled out direction, Bergman-regular Sven Nykvist's magnificent cinematography, and the exquisite lighting where some of the compositions are like classical paintings. Music is used sparingly, and to telling effect. There's plenty of humour too, as young Lily tries to make sense of what's going on around her. Some feel it is a surreal coming-of-age film, some think it is political statement, some think this is just plain lunacy. But whatever you think, this film is one fascinating experience that you'll never forget easily. Even after several years. Needless to say, Highly Recommended Viewing..!

Amazon DVD Box-set Link
Superb value for money - the box-set from which this compilation was made also includes some of his other late classics, and my favourite, "Au revoir les enfants". 



 

Compilation: Alexandra Stewart and Cathryn Harrison
Made from several blog-related scenes, it features a striking Alexandra Stewart (she also bore a child through Louis Malle) who plays Lily, the sister, and a charming fifteen year old Catherine Harrison (granddaughter of Rex Harrison) who plays young Lily the refugee. The rest of the cast includes veteran German stage actress Therese Giehse who plays the old lady - her last work and to whom the film's also dedicated to, and Warhol-regular Joe Dallesandro. The dialogues are in English which require no further explanation.








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Neta Garty in Maria Schrader's "Liebesleben" [2007 Israel, Germany]

It's a rare occasion to introduce someone who's predominantly an actress as a director, even more so if that actress has an impressive nude portfolio of her own - German actress Maria Schrader is a legend in that aspect which of course will be discussed here in the near future. But the chosen subject for her screenplay and directorial debut in "Liebesleben" [Eng. Title: Love Life] is certainly fascinating and intriguing, to say the least. :)

Ms. Schrader provokes us with the very choice of her title - especially when we see more of obsession rather than love actually depicted through the film. But love there is, from unexpected quarters. Set in modern day Jerusalem, we follow the sudden upheaval in Ya'ara's hitherto 'planned' existence - a young married woman working on her masters degree, with a promising career and blissful life ahead of her. It was her introduction to Arie, a friend of her father that kindles a passion in Ya'ara hitherto unknown, even risking her marriage, family, and dignity in its pursuit. A family in denial's dirty linen is forcibly exhibited much to Ya'ara's dismay, through her own impulsive behaviour. Some of the situations Ya'ara gets into are quite hilarious, which makes me wonder if this could have worked better as a comedy taking a wry look at people's idiosyncrasies in their quest to fulfil hidden desires, rather than a drama that at times seems forced and needlessly drawn out. But since you all know I hate to be critical of anyone making their directorial debut, I'd say the debut has been a qualified success.

It certainly has several things going for it - the characterisation from a woman's perspective which is refreshingly frank, the clean cinematography aided by the stunning locations, and the sound engineering. While we may have to deal with the accented English (charming in some ways), it is a simple film that doesn't try to say too much, but also throws a rare non-cliché'd glimpse into middle-class Jewish life. Recommended Viewing.

Amazon.de DVD Link




Compilation: Neta Garty



Scene Guide:

• No nudity but sexy. Ya'ara impulsively tries on Arie's trousers at a boutique changing room, only to be caught with the wrong red-handed. Ya'ara is played by young Israeli actress Neta Graty (credited as Netta Garti).
• No nudity - Ya'ara invites herself into Arie's house and he has fleeting pointless sex with her to get her out of the way.
• On her way home, Ya'ara imagines herself as Arie's trophy paraded in public.
• Ya'ara hands over her panties in the car (as self-respecting married women do to strangers, I guess), and soon finds herself making love to Arie while his Turkish friend watches, before joining in..!
• An embarrassed Ya'ara tries to escape the groping middle-aged men, only to find herself naked among some workers restoring the building.
• As if that wasn't humiliation enough, it turns out Arie's Turkish friend is also a friend of her family..!
• Ya'ara, during one of her 'impulsive' vists to Arie's - she'd changed her mind about accompanying her hubby to Istanbul - finds herself naked (again) in the bathroom that her father, Arie's guest is wanting to use. She hides herself in the bath, but nevertheless ends up drawing his attention. Could this get any worse for the poor sod - catching his daughter naked at a friend's house, who'd also had an affair with his wife years ago..?!

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Béatrice Romand in Rohmer's "Le Beau Mariage" [1982 France]

Here's your typical Eric Rohmer. "Le Beau Mariage" [Eng. Title: A Good Marriage] is a charming little comedy about a young woman's desperate quest for social mobility. Rohmer gently pokes fun at society's obsession with idealised myths, a perfect marriage in this instance, using the female protagonist as the butt of his jokes. What makes it engaging and a pleasure to watch is the beautifully structured screenplay, the almost perfect shot selection, and the dialogues laced with Rohmer's customary dry wit. Every single frame in the film is absolutely essential - the editing is that good. This post is merely an excuse to get across that point to anyone who would care to listen, there otherwise being very little need to talk about nudity in the film. A superb comedy from a French master, this late Nouvelle Vague gem is Highly Recommended Viewing..!

Amazon DVD Link
(a good deal going at the time of this post)




Storyline:
Sabine is fed up being a married man's mistress, she now wants to have an ideal marriage and get settled. Seems like a good idea, only she needs to find a suitor first. Enter Sabine's best friend Clarisse, the one she subconsciously tries to emulate. Suburban Clarisse is married and self employed by doing what she likes best, handicrafts. Despite Clarisse's worldly advise, Sabine is determined to seduce and marry the 'ideal' husband when she sees one. She finds the idea of marrying Clarisse's Parisian cousin Edmond appealing, and decides to pursue him vigorously, even as it becomes clear to us that he's not remotely interested in getting married, least of all to Sabine. But she is confident of her charms and chases him despite becoming increasingly aware that she herself might not be in love with him after all. It takes some plain talking from Edmond to bring Sabine back to her senses. The teasing ending is probably the best I've seen in a little while, as we see a resourceful Sabine get back on her feet after such an embarrassing fall from grace in front of Edmond. The film stars Rohmer regulars Béatrice Romand as Sabine, and the utterly delightful Arielle Dombasle as Clarisse.




Scene: Béatrice Romand
In the only brief nude scene in the film, we see Sabine walk off the bed when lover Simon gets a call from his wife and children in the middle of the night. It is then that Sabine decides to find herself a husband of her own and get settled, much to the annoyance of Simon. Béatrice Romand who plays Sabine has shown more in other films than this dinky little scene, notably the classic "Themroc" which as far as I know has never been released on DVD.






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