Le Quattro Volte, Four Times

Le Quattro Volte, Four Times…. I did say you must go and see this film, at the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival, so I did ….

It won the “Special Jury “price for Italy. Well done to the director Michelangelo Frammartino.

Jameson Dublin International Film Festival JDIFF

Jamerson Dublin International Film Festival 2011 has it’s opening night on the 17th February 2011 and it’s closing Gala on the 27th February 2011.

Dublin’s Film Festival is Ireland’s biggest and it is hugely popular, they have an extensive imaginative programme with films from around the world. I have looked up the Italian entries and feel more than a little deflated, sadly the entries is a reflection on the current Italian film industry and their great passion for comedies, unfortunately humor does not travel lightly and Italy is paying for it  this year abroad.

Rotterdam International Film Festival and  Sedona International Film Festival among others have failed to enter even one Italian film in their otherwise versatile repertoires.

Dublin  (sending love from Sicily to Ireland)  has made the effort and there are a great selection of ” OUT OF THE PAST ” films,  yes chaps out of a very distant past. Lets rejoice for at least for 15  minutes over the fact that the Irish love our old films, films most Italians will not have seen or heard of.

Italians in Ireland opportunity knocks ,here is your change to catch up with a bit of Italian Cinema History, get yourself booked in and bring some style and elegance to the show, please do show your support.

Films from out of the past category are :

Beautiful,  Bellissima   – 1951 –   Luchino Visconti

The Girlfriends, Le Amiche –  1955   –   Michelangelo Antonioni

The Birds, The Bees and the Italians, Signore e Signori  -  1966 – Pietro Germi

Three Brothers, Tree Fratelli  - 1981  -  Francesco Rosi

The Anonymous Venetian, Anonimo Veneziano  -  1970 – Enrico Maria Salerno

Interview, Intervista  - 1987 n – Federico Fellini

Chaos, Kaos   –  1984  -  Paolo Taviani and Vittorio Taviani

I love Bellisima, Beautiful and Le Amiche, The Girlfriends if you are not going to see all the films , they would be my choise for sure, great Italian Cinema at it’s very best

Two films not from “Out of the past” are :

Dark Love, L’amore Buio  Classified under Discovery, this film was released in September 2010, however as yet has not been released nationwide , it was also shown at last years London Film Festival to great acclaim. The director is Antonio Capuano and his gritty story about a gang rape, a Naples juvenile detention center, a victims story and a repentant young aggressor , is a must see film. I hope Capuano will get enough attention abroad for the film to be released here too, Valeria Galino is staring in the film making that a possibility for sure.

Le Quattro Volte , Four Times  classified under Real to Reel ( clever play on words there Ireland) and directed by Michelangelo Frammartino . This film has been released in Art House cinemas here in Italy and is shown at many International Film Festivals. I am not a fan, I tried…… twice actually to see the point of this film, I failed on both occasions. We follow the final months of a shepherds life , lots of nice landscape and lots of goats, many hidden meanings and parallels between them both. I highly recommend that you go and see it , as I am very much alone in not liking it.