N.I.C.E Festival
The 16th annual New Italian Cinema Events Festival, featuring seven features by young Italian directors paired with seven paired short films, will take place at Tribeca Cinemas from November 9th through the 15th. See www.nicefestival.org for complete showtimes and synopses; this year’s lineup includes:
Never Again as Before (Giacomo Campiotti, 2006) 106 min. Being shown as the festival’s special Opening Night presentation, Giacomo Campiotti’s film is a sort of classic coming-of-age story in the sleeve of a tragic event. A half dozen teens complete their last day of high-school and decide to spend the first days of post-graduate life amid the breathtaking Dolemite mountains — five of them on a mission of escapism and one of discovery. Guess who meets tragedy? Read broadly, each is a recognizable type — the virgin spaz, the hot girl, the anti-social misfit with the soft centre, and so on. But Campiotti uses his beautiful backdrop to coax some great dramatic readings of teendom from his young cast. He ends up relying a bit too much on the melo part of the melodramatic equation and loses his footing on the craggy mountain face now and then, but provides enough breadth to keep the picture engaging.
Jason Bogdaneris
Thu, Nov 9 at 7pm, 9pm
The Wind Blows Round (Giorgio Diritti, 2005) 110 min. A French goatherd and cheesemaker relocates with his family to a Northern Italian mountain community so remote it still speaks its own language — Occitan, a romance hybrid only spoken in a handful of previous films. Friction between the locals and the outsiders develops, as per the First Law of Anthropological Fiction Filmmaking (the Second Law, dictating the use of a nonprofessional cast, is also observed); but Diritti’s brisk editing rhythms keep the action as organic as the setting.
Mark Asch
Fri, Nov 10 at 9pm; Sat, Nov 11 at 7pm
Sorry You Can’t Get Through (Paolo Genovese, Luca Miniero, 2005) 98 min. Walter is a widowed pensioner who’s bored out of his skull. With the help of the 10-year old girl who’s his next door neighbour he finds a mission. Realizing that half of Italy is working to support the other half who are pensioners like himself, they set out to find the one who’s supporting him. It turns out to be a terminally shy man who’s so stricken by his condition that he wants to end his life. The young directing duo of Genovese and Miniero then take their potentially sacharrine premise and spike the punch. After schooling his pathetic pupil in the art of conversation, romance and purchasing shoes, Walter creates a sort of Frankenstein lothario which he comes to regret. It occasionally gets a bit baffling, as the plot twists back on itself but there’s a warmth that viewers will sympathize with.
JB
Sat, Nov 11 at 9pm; Sun, Nov 12 at 4pm
Never Again as Before (Giacomo Campiotti, 2006) 106 min. Being shown as the festival’s special Opening Night presentation, Giacomo Campiotti’s film is a sort of classic coming-of-age story in the sleeve of a tragic event. A half dozen teens complete their last day of high-school and decide to spend the first days of post-graduate life amid the breathtaking Dolemite mountains — five of them on a mission of escapism and one of discovery. Guess who meets tragedy? Read broadly, each is a recognizable type — the virgin spaz, the hot girl, the anti-social misfit with the soft centre, and so on. But Campiotti uses his beautiful backdrop to coax some great dramatic readings of teendom from his young cast. He ends up relying a bit too much on the melo part of the melodramatic equation and loses his footing on the craggy mountain face now and then, but provides enough breadth to keep the picture engaging.
Jason Bogdaneris
Thu, Nov 9 at 7pm, 9pm
The Wind Blows Round (Giorgio Diritti, 2005) 110 min. A French goatherd and cheesemaker relocates with his family to a Northern Italian mountain community so remote it still speaks its own language — Occitan, a romance hybrid only spoken in a handful of previous films. Friction between the locals and the outsiders develops, as per the First Law of Anthropological Fiction Filmmaking (the Second Law, dictating the use of a nonprofessional cast, is also observed); but Diritti’s brisk editing rhythms keep the action as organic as the setting.
Mark Asch
Fri, Nov 10 at 9pm; Sat, Nov 11 at 7pm
Sorry You Can’t Get Through (Paolo Genovese, Luca Miniero, 2005) 98 min. Walter is a widowed pensioner who’s bored out of his skull. With the help of the 10-year old girl who’s his next door neighbour he finds a mission. Realizing that half of Italy is working to support the other half who are pensioners like himself, they set out to find the one who’s supporting him. It turns out to be a terminally shy man who’s so stricken by his condition that he wants to end his life. The young directing duo of Genovese and Miniero then take their potentially sacharrine premise and spike the punch. After schooling his pathetic pupil in the art of conversation, romance and purchasing shoes, Walter creates a sort of Frankenstein lothario which he comes to regret. It occasionally gets a bit baffling, as the plot twists back on itself but there’s a warmth that viewers will sympathize with.
JB
Sat, Nov 11 at 9pm; Sun, Nov 12 at 4pm
