Mamma Roma begins by showcasing the emotive bombast of its star Anna Magnani, who is seen hooting, hollering, and cackling with unbridled glee in the center of the film's opening wedding scene. Magnani, one of the most forceful presences behind the neorealism movement, plays the titular Mamma Roma like her life depends on it. Her…Read more Film Review: Mamma Roma (1962)
Italian cinema
Really That Bad? – Roberto Benigni’s Pinocchio
In cinematic history there are very few films that were more destructive to a career than Heaven’s Gate was to Michael Cimino. While perhaps not entirely on that epic level of failure, Roberto Benigni (remember him?) experienced a similarly dramatic fall from grace after the release of his adaptation of Carlo Collodi’s prolific tale of…Read more Really That Bad? – Roberto Benigni’s Pinocchio
Adam Mohrbacher 