Opened: Friday, May 30, in New York (Outsider Pictures/Medusa Film).
Fans of such Guiseppe Tornatore films as "Cinema Paradiso" and "Malena" are apt to be left chagrined by this latest effort, a stylish but ludicrous thriller in the Hitchcock vein. The winner of five Italian David de Donatello Awards, including deserved ones for its cinematography and musical score by the great Ennio Morricone, "The Unknown Woman" is ultimately too sleazy to garner much Art House interest on these shores.
Tornatore's twisty, flashback-laden script centers on Irena (Xenia Rappoport), a beautiful Ukrainian who has relocated to a Northern Italian City. Haunted by memories of her past as a prostitute who was abused by her brutal pimp (Michele Placido) and forced to deliver a series of babies destined for the black market, she is now a woman on a mission.
That mission, only gradually revealed, revolves around an upscale married couple (Pierfrancesco Favino, Claudia Gerini) and their 4-year-old daughter, Thea (Clara Dossena). Managing to insert herself into their household as a domestic servant through means like pushing their current maid Piera Degli Esposti) down the stairs with near-fatal results, Irena takes a powerful interest in the little girl, who possesses a near-pathological inability to stand up to the bullies tormenting her at school.
Absorbing in its subtler, more mysterious first half, the film becomes increasingly absurd the more its plot machinations get revealed. The director does, however, demonstrate a real ability to create quietly suspenseful sequences, the best of which involves Irena's desperate efforts to make a copy of a vital key without making its owner aware of the subterfuge.
The film's narrative deficiencies are partially offset by such factors as Rappoport's consistently riveting performance, the spookily atmospheric visuals and a score by Morricone that not so subtly resembles the sort of great work done by Bernard Herrmann.
Cast: Xenia Rappoport, Michele Placido, Claudia Gerini, Pierfrancesco Favino, Clara Dossena, Margheria Buy, Piera Degli Espositi, Allesandro Haber. Director-Screenwriter: Giuseppe Tornatore. Producer: Laura Fattori. No MPAA rating, 118 minutes. Director of Photography: Fabio Zamarion. Production Designer: Tonino Zera. Music: Ennio Morricone. Costume Designer: Nicoletta Ercole. Editor: Massimo Quaglia.
Fans of such Guiseppe Tornatore films as "Cinema Paradiso" and "Malena" are apt to be left chagrined by this latest effort, a stylish but ludicrous thriller in the Hitchcock vein. The winner of five Italian David de Donatello Awards, including deserved ones for its cinematography and musical score by the great Ennio Morricone, "The Unknown Woman" is ultimately too sleazy to garner much Art House interest on these shores.
Tornatore's twisty, flashback-laden script centers on Irena (Xenia Rappoport), a beautiful Ukrainian who has relocated to a Northern Italian City. Haunted by memories of her past as a prostitute who was abused by her brutal pimp (Michele Placido) and forced to deliver a series of babies destined for the black market, she is now a woman on a mission.
That mission, only gradually revealed, revolves around an upscale married couple (Pierfrancesco Favino, Claudia Gerini) and their 4-year-old daughter, Thea (Clara Dossena). Managing to insert herself into their household as a domestic servant through means like pushing their current maid Piera Degli Esposti) down the stairs with near-fatal results, Irena takes a powerful interest in the little girl, who possesses a near-pathological inability to stand up to the bullies tormenting her at school.
Absorbing in its subtler, more mysterious first half, the film becomes increasingly absurd the more its plot machinations get revealed. The director does, however, demonstrate a real ability to create quietly suspenseful sequences, the best of which involves Irena's desperate efforts to make a copy of a vital key without making its owner aware of the subterfuge.
The film's narrative deficiencies are partially offset by such factors as Rappoport's consistently riveting performance, the spookily atmospheric visuals and a score by Morricone that not so subtly resembles the sort of great work done by Bernard Herrmann.
Cast: Xenia Rappoport, Michele Placido, Claudia Gerini, Pierfrancesco Favino, Clara Dossena, Margheria Buy, Piera Degli Espositi, Allesandro Haber. Director-Screenwriter: Giuseppe Tornatore. Producer: Laura Fattori. No MPAA rating, 118 minutes. Director of Photography: Fabio Zamarion. Production Designer: Tonino Zera. Music: Ennio Morricone. Costume Designer: Nicoletta Ercole. Editor: Massimo Quaglia.
Opens
Friday, Sept. 26
Adapting "Under the Tuscan Sun", writer-director Audrey Wells spices up Frances Mayes' best-selling memoir in a way that honors the soul of the piece while creating memorable big-screen dynamics. The 1996 book's elegant, poetic prose celebrates the romance of self-discovery through immersion in a foreign place -- specifically, the hilly sun-drenched region of Italy and the tumbledown, 300-year-old villa that Mayes and her partner, Ed, lovingly renovated.
Wells' script is more insistently about love in all its manifestations as well as its folly. She also addresses matters of faith and serendipity, the power of women's friendships and the resilience of the heart, and in Diane Lane, she has a warm and likable protagonist.
The eminently watchable Lane, fresh off her searing, Oscar-nominated performance in "Unfaithful", again demonstrates her appeal to men and women alike, though her full-blooded portrait of an intelligent, sensuous woman will have particular resonance for female audiences. "Tuscan Sun" allows her to explore a more sympathetic, identifiable character than in her previous film. Wells, too, is delving into more accessible emotional territory than in her flawed "Guinevere". All elements click in "Sun", a shimmering, deeply felt film. Fueled by the must-see factor among fans of Lane and of Mayes' book, "Sun" will shine at the fall boxoffice.
Wells astutely heightens the drama of Mayes' discovery: While the author and her partner searched diligently through real estate before choosing the villa Bramasole, here Frances is newly single and buys the Cortona property on an impulse. She's a San Francisco writer shellshocked from a brutal divorce
her best friend, Patti (Sandra Oh, perfectly wisecracking and compassionate), believes she's "in danger of never recovering." Patti gives her a needed push out of the crossroads, and soon Frances is traipsing through the cobbled streets of Tuscany and impulsively buying an old stone house with an olive grove.
The film is very much about the ways we create our families, and in her new aloneness, Frances is surrounded by vivid characters, some invented for the screen, some expanded upon from the book. Her adopted clan includes Katherine (an arresting turn from Lindsay Duncan), a 50-ish Brit in showy hats and high heels who worked with Fellini as a teenager and can't quite move beyond that golden moment.
Closer to Bramasole, Frances' immediate family consists of her comical contractor, Nino (Massimo Sarchielli), and his "team of experts" -- three Polish workers (Valentine Pelka, Sasa Vulicevic and Pawel Szajda).
Vincent Riotta delivers a lovely performance as Frances' real estate agent, Martini, a kind man who is attracted to Frances but a devoted husband. He and Lane share an especially tender scene in which he calms her doubts about the project she's undertaken and her fears of being alone.
By far the spiciest addition to the source material is dreamboat Marcello (Raoul Bova, suitably smoldering), whom Frances meets on an antique-hunting expedition to Rome. Their ultraromantic, movie-ish idyll is a jarring departure from the down-to-earth tone of the film, but it makes sense in light of the way things play out between them.
Shooting in Italy, DP Geoffrey Simpson captures the region's warm light through all the seasons and, more impressive, depicts the transformation from Frances' initial, tourist's-eye view to the outlook of someone at home. There also are top-notch contributions from designers Stephen McCabe and Nicoletta Ercole and an unobtrusive score by Christophe Beck.
UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN
Buena Vista
Touchstone Pictures presents a Timnick Films/Blue Gardenia production
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Audrey Wells
Based on the book by: Frances Mayes
Producers: Audrey Wells, Tom Sternberg
Executive producers: Laura Fattori, Sandy Kroopf, Mark Gill
Director of photography: Geoffrey Simpson
Production designer: Stephen McCabe
Music: Christophe Beck
Costume designer: Nicoletta Ercole
Editors: Andrew Marcus, Arthur Coburn
Cast:
Frances: Diane Lane
Patti: Sandra Oh
Katherine: Lindsay Duncan
Marcello: Raoul Bova
Martini: Vincent Riotta
Chiara: Giulia Steigerwalt
Pawel: Pawel Szajda
Jerzy: Valentine Pelka
Zbignew: Sasa Vulicevic
Nino: Massimo Sarchielli
Placido: Roberto Nobile
Old Man With Flowers: Mario Monicelli
Nona Cardinale: Evelina Gori
Signora Raguzzi: Claudia Gerini
Contessa: Laura Pestellini
Ed: David Sutcliffe
Running time -- 113 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Friday, Sept. 26
Adapting "Under the Tuscan Sun", writer-director Audrey Wells spices up Frances Mayes' best-selling memoir in a way that honors the soul of the piece while creating memorable big-screen dynamics. The 1996 book's elegant, poetic prose celebrates the romance of self-discovery through immersion in a foreign place -- specifically, the hilly sun-drenched region of Italy and the tumbledown, 300-year-old villa that Mayes and her partner, Ed, lovingly renovated.
Wells' script is more insistently about love in all its manifestations as well as its folly. She also addresses matters of faith and serendipity, the power of women's friendships and the resilience of the heart, and in Diane Lane, she has a warm and likable protagonist.
The eminently watchable Lane, fresh off her searing, Oscar-nominated performance in "Unfaithful", again demonstrates her appeal to men and women alike, though her full-blooded portrait of an intelligent, sensuous woman will have particular resonance for female audiences. "Tuscan Sun" allows her to explore a more sympathetic, identifiable character than in her previous film. Wells, too, is delving into more accessible emotional territory than in her flawed "Guinevere". All elements click in "Sun", a shimmering, deeply felt film. Fueled by the must-see factor among fans of Lane and of Mayes' book, "Sun" will shine at the fall boxoffice.
Wells astutely heightens the drama of Mayes' discovery: While the author and her partner searched diligently through real estate before choosing the villa Bramasole, here Frances is newly single and buys the Cortona property on an impulse. She's a San Francisco writer shellshocked from a brutal divorce
her best friend, Patti (Sandra Oh, perfectly wisecracking and compassionate), believes she's "in danger of never recovering." Patti gives her a needed push out of the crossroads, and soon Frances is traipsing through the cobbled streets of Tuscany and impulsively buying an old stone house with an olive grove.
The film is very much about the ways we create our families, and in her new aloneness, Frances is surrounded by vivid characters, some invented for the screen, some expanded upon from the book. Her adopted clan includes Katherine (an arresting turn from Lindsay Duncan), a 50-ish Brit in showy hats and high heels who worked with Fellini as a teenager and can't quite move beyond that golden moment.
Closer to Bramasole, Frances' immediate family consists of her comical contractor, Nino (Massimo Sarchielli), and his "team of experts" -- three Polish workers (Valentine Pelka, Sasa Vulicevic and Pawel Szajda).
Vincent Riotta delivers a lovely performance as Frances' real estate agent, Martini, a kind man who is attracted to Frances but a devoted husband. He and Lane share an especially tender scene in which he calms her doubts about the project she's undertaken and her fears of being alone.
By far the spiciest addition to the source material is dreamboat Marcello (Raoul Bova, suitably smoldering), whom Frances meets on an antique-hunting expedition to Rome. Their ultraromantic, movie-ish idyll is a jarring departure from the down-to-earth tone of the film, but it makes sense in light of the way things play out between them.
Shooting in Italy, DP Geoffrey Simpson captures the region's warm light through all the seasons and, more impressive, depicts the transformation from Frances' initial, tourist's-eye view to the outlook of someone at home. There also are top-notch contributions from designers Stephen McCabe and Nicoletta Ercole and an unobtrusive score by Christophe Beck.
UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN
Buena Vista
Touchstone Pictures presents a Timnick Films/Blue Gardenia production
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Audrey Wells
Based on the book by: Frances Mayes
Producers: Audrey Wells, Tom Sternberg
Executive producers: Laura Fattori, Sandy Kroopf, Mark Gill
Director of photography: Geoffrey Simpson
Production designer: Stephen McCabe
Music: Christophe Beck
Costume designer: Nicoletta Ercole
Editors: Andrew Marcus, Arthur Coburn
Cast:
Frances: Diane Lane
Patti: Sandra Oh
Katherine: Lindsay Duncan
Marcello: Raoul Bova
Martini: Vincent Riotta
Chiara: Giulia Steigerwalt
Pawel: Pawel Szajda
Jerzy: Valentine Pelka
Zbignew: Sasa Vulicevic
Nino: Massimo Sarchielli
Placido: Roberto Nobile
Old Man With Flowers: Mario Monicelli
Nona Cardinale: Evelina Gori
Signora Raguzzi: Claudia Gerini
Contessa: Laura Pestellini
Ed: David Sutcliffe
Running time -- 113 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 10/9/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This epic, poetical fable from director Giuseppe Tornatore ("Cinema Paradiso") has been cut by nearly an hour since its premiere last year, and it's easy to see why Fine Line, its American distributor, would approve the abridgement.
This tale of a legendary pianist who spends his entire life on board an ocean liner is at times indulgent and rambling. But the film is also that rarity, a true original, though in its current form it occasionally suffers from a choppiness that mars its overall impact.
Although it won't appeal to all tastes, "The Legend of 1900" is an audacious effort that bears commendation for its epic style and imagination. The film was recently included in the World Greats section of the Montreal World Film Festival.
Tim Roth, giving one of his best performances (and that's saying something), plays the title character, an abandoned newborn dubbed 1900 found at the turn of the century by the crew of the trans-Atlantic ocean liner Virginian. 1900 is adopted by genial crewman Danny (Bill Nunn), and the pair form a strong bond. Danny dies during the boy's childhood, but 1900 stays on board, grows up and becomes the pianist in the ship's orchestra. He is a brilliant player, and his reputation spreads throughout the world, even attracting the attention of the legendary Jell Roll Morton (Clarence Williams III).
1900 becomes best friends with Max Pruitt Taylor Vince), the band's trumpet player (and the film's narrator), who urges him repeatedly to leave the ship and see the world. 1900 continually resists his efforts, but when he has a brief but platonic encounter with a beautiful young woman (Melanie Thierry) who lives in New York, he musters the courage to make the attempt. The results are heartbreaking.
The film, taking the form of a story told by Max to an elderly pawnbroker (Peter Vaughan) who possesses 1900's only recording, details the arc of 1900's life aboard the ship. Adapted from a dramatic monologue by Italian writer Alessandro Baricco, it is an episodic but always involving tale that recalls John Irving in its fantastical imagination.
Although dragging a bit at times -- especially in some belabored dialogue sequences -- the film contains many magical scenes. The best of these is a long, beautifully rendered depiction of the piano duel between 1900 and Morton, resulting in a conclusion that will have audiences cheering. Also wonderful is the scene in which 1900 and Max first meet, as they cling to a piano that is being wildly buffeted about the ship by a ferocious storm.
Roth gives his unlikely character a remarkable degree of depth and charm, delivering a precisely calibrated performance as winning as it is eccentric. Vince, in his best turn since "Heavy", is highly appealing as Max, and Williams provides a fierce, effective turn as Morton. Tornatore has given the film a beautiful, not always realistic visual look that well conveys the majesty of the ship and which seems to replicate the dreamy quality of a vintage photograph.
Adding greatly to the film's romantic impact are the lavish production design by Francesco Frigeri and the score by the great Ennio Morricone, which imbues the proceedings with his trademark haunting mournfulness.
LEGEND OF 1900
Fine Line Features
Director-writer: Giuseppe Tornatore
Producer: Francesco Tornatore
Executive producer: Laura Fattori for Medusa Cinematografica
Director of photography: Lajos Koltai
Production design: Francesco Frigeri
Editor: Massimo Quaglia
Music: Ennio Morricone
Color/stereo
Cast:
1900: Tim Roth
Max: Pruitt Taylor Vince
Danny Boodmann: Bill Nunn
Jelly Roll Morton: Clarence Williams III
The Girl: Melanie Thierry
Running time -- 116 minutes
No MPAA rating...
This tale of a legendary pianist who spends his entire life on board an ocean liner is at times indulgent and rambling. But the film is also that rarity, a true original, though in its current form it occasionally suffers from a choppiness that mars its overall impact.
Although it won't appeal to all tastes, "The Legend of 1900" is an audacious effort that bears commendation for its epic style and imagination. The film was recently included in the World Greats section of the Montreal World Film Festival.
Tim Roth, giving one of his best performances (and that's saying something), plays the title character, an abandoned newborn dubbed 1900 found at the turn of the century by the crew of the trans-Atlantic ocean liner Virginian. 1900 is adopted by genial crewman Danny (Bill Nunn), and the pair form a strong bond. Danny dies during the boy's childhood, but 1900 stays on board, grows up and becomes the pianist in the ship's orchestra. He is a brilliant player, and his reputation spreads throughout the world, even attracting the attention of the legendary Jell Roll Morton (Clarence Williams III).
1900 becomes best friends with Max Pruitt Taylor Vince), the band's trumpet player (and the film's narrator), who urges him repeatedly to leave the ship and see the world. 1900 continually resists his efforts, but when he has a brief but platonic encounter with a beautiful young woman (Melanie Thierry) who lives in New York, he musters the courage to make the attempt. The results are heartbreaking.
The film, taking the form of a story told by Max to an elderly pawnbroker (Peter Vaughan) who possesses 1900's only recording, details the arc of 1900's life aboard the ship. Adapted from a dramatic monologue by Italian writer Alessandro Baricco, it is an episodic but always involving tale that recalls John Irving in its fantastical imagination.
Although dragging a bit at times -- especially in some belabored dialogue sequences -- the film contains many magical scenes. The best of these is a long, beautifully rendered depiction of the piano duel between 1900 and Morton, resulting in a conclusion that will have audiences cheering. Also wonderful is the scene in which 1900 and Max first meet, as they cling to a piano that is being wildly buffeted about the ship by a ferocious storm.
Roth gives his unlikely character a remarkable degree of depth and charm, delivering a precisely calibrated performance as winning as it is eccentric. Vince, in his best turn since "Heavy", is highly appealing as Max, and Williams provides a fierce, effective turn as Morton. Tornatore has given the film a beautiful, not always realistic visual look that well conveys the majesty of the ship and which seems to replicate the dreamy quality of a vintage photograph.
Adding greatly to the film's romantic impact are the lavish production design by Francesco Frigeri and the score by the great Ennio Morricone, which imbues the proceedings with his trademark haunting mournfulness.
LEGEND OF 1900
Fine Line Features
Director-writer: Giuseppe Tornatore
Producer: Francesco Tornatore
Executive producer: Laura Fattori for Medusa Cinematografica
Director of photography: Lajos Koltai
Production design: Francesco Frigeri
Editor: Massimo Quaglia
Music: Ennio Morricone
Color/stereo
Cast:
1900: Tim Roth
Max: Pruitt Taylor Vince
Danny Boodmann: Bill Nunn
Jelly Roll Morton: Clarence Williams III
The Girl: Melanie Thierry
Running time -- 116 minutes
No MPAA rating...
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