Visit Italy Through the Art of Cinema
Italian Films: Stealing Beauty, Dangerous Beauty, Bread and Tulips
Nov 24, 2008
Helmed by Bernardo Bertolucci, this lush film stars a young, gamine Liv Tyler who plays the role of Lucy, a 19-year-oid American who is traveling to a Tuscany villa in the wake of her mother's suicide. Armed with her mother's diary filled with whimsical verse and enigmatic poetry, Lucy has reason to believe that her true father is not the man she was raised by, but is either the husband of her mother's friend - Ian, an Irish artist - or another friend, an English playwright, who has taken up residence among his artist friends while he slowly dies of AIDS. (The role is played beautifully by Jeremy Irons). Her friendship with Irons blossoms into one of platonic love and deep friendship, while her infatuation with Nicolo, a boy she has dreamed about since she met him four years ago when she was last in Italy, teaches her bittersweet truths about young love. Played out amid the picturesque countryside of vineyards and olive trees, this beautiful coming-of-age tale transports viewers to the rolling hills of Tuscany. (Also stars Joseph Fiennes, Sinead Cusack and Rachel Weisz).
Dangerous Beauty (1998)
This story of star-crossed lovers tells the tale of real-life 16th century courtesan and poetess, Veronica Franco, played by Catherine McCormack. Amid the backdrop of Renaissance Venice she, as the daughter of a former cortigiana onesta, (an intellectual courtesan who was considered a class above the average prostitute), has no choice but to become one herself unless she wishes to join the nunnery. Passionately in love with one of the wealthiest men in Venice, Marco Venier (played by Rufus Sewell), she chooses a courtesan's life, which enables the lovers to continue their affair even though he is to marry and she is to attend to other rich men. Veronica soon becomes a luminary among the upper class, publishing volumes of poetry and charming all with her natural wit and intelligence. With gorgeous costumes of rich brocades and satin, the film transports one to another place as well as another time. (Also stars Oliver Platt, Naomi Watts, Moira Kelly and Jacqueline Bisset).
When she is accidentally left behind by her family and a tourist bus while vacationing in Italy, Rosalba's initial reaction is to phone her husband for help. When he orders her to stay put so he can come and fetch her, something clicks in Rosalba's mind - a need for adventure and a thirst to feel fulfilled in life. She decides to hitchhike home, and, on a whim, stops in Venice where she finds a flat and decides to take up residence temporarily. Back home, her teenage sons and adulterous husband are learning how difficult life is without the woman they took for granted. Meanwhile, Rosalba is befriending a bevy of quirky characters and lands a job at a local flower shop. The film is saturated with the love-of-life that seems to come so natural to Italians, with Venice acting as the cathartic arena where an overlooked housewife finds herself again.
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