Italian Film Festival USA of St. Louis Continues This Weekend With Five Free Films

Italian Film Festival USA of St. Louis continues this weekend with the local premieres of five more Italian films. They are shown in their original language with English subtitles at 3 venues on the campus of Washington University: Lab Sciences 300, Brown Hall and Steinberg Auditorium.

For more details such as directions, times, sponsors, and a complete schedule go to the Italian Film Festival USA site HERE

http://www.italianfilmfestivalstlouis.com/index.html

Admission is FREE!

Italian Film Festival USA of St. Louis continues this weekend with THE BEST OFFER, THE VENICE SYNDROME, SCATTERED CLOUDS , THE RED AND THE BLUE, and REALITY.

THE BEST OFFER screens Friday, April 11  at Brown Hall on the campus of Washington University at 8pm

THE BEST OFFER tells the story of Virgil Oldman (played by Geoffrey Rush), a world renowned antiques expert and auctioneer. An eccentric genius, he leads a solitary life, going to extreme lengths to keep his distance from the messiness of human relationships. When appointed by the beautiful but emotionally damaged Claire to oversee the valuation and sale of her family’s priceless art collection, Virgil allows himself to form an attachment to her – and soon he is engulfed by a passion which will rock his bland existence to the core.

Elias Savala at Film Threat described THE BEST OFFER as:

“an intricate, multi-layered tale of mystery, deceit, and delicate anxiety”

THE BEST OFFER was directed by Giuseppe Tornatore (CINEMA PARADISO) and also stars Jim Sturgess and Donald Sutherland

The documentary THE VENICE SYNDROME screens Saturday, April 12th  at Brown Hall on the campus of Washington University at 5:30pm

Venice is pure romance. But the world’s most beautiful city turns into a ghost town at nightfall. Entire quarters, long since abandoned by their inhabitants, stand empty, their structures merely providing a myth to serve business interests. Twenty million foreigners visited the city last year, an average of more than 50,000 per day. And this year there will be even more. By comparison, there are only 48,000 inhabitants, the same amount as they were after the Great Plague of 1438. And next year there will be even fewer residents. The city is becoming uninhabitable and its urban life has almost collapsed.  THE VENICE SYNDROME shows what remains of Venetian life: a subculture of tourist service industries; a port, waiting to be expanded, for monstrous cruise ships; Venetians who are moving to the mainland as there are no longer affordable apartments to be found. A Requiem for a still grand city.

Daniel Pratt at Exclaim describes  THE VENICE SYNDROME as

“a fascinating and alarming look at what human traffic is capable of and, much more importantly, what we are doing throughout the world”

SCATTERED CLOUDS  screens Saturday, April 12  at Brown Hall on the campus of Washington University at 8pm with a special appearance by the film’s director Saverio Di Biagio

SCATTERED CLOUDS tells of Diego, who was born and raised in a neighborhood on the periphery of Rome. He works as a bricklayer and is engaged to Cinzia, whom he has known his whole life.  She has always known what her future would hold: being a wife and mother.  Diego and Cinzia are surrounded by friends and relatives who are always too willing to give advice and help. Then, one day, Diego meets Viola, the niece of his boss; she is beautiful, lives in the historic center and belongs to a world much different than that of Diego;  suddenly there is an unexpected turn of events…

THE RED AND THE BLUE  screens Sunday, April 13  at Brown Hall on the campus of Washington University at 5:30pm

Set against the background of a Roman school,  the stories of an art history professor who has lost his passion for the job, a young substitute who is doing his best and trying to “save” a very eccentric and rebel student, and a stern and irreproachable head mistress who is forced to deal with a strange student who has been forgotten by his mother.  Based on a book of the same name by real-life teacher Marco Lodoli, THE RED AND THE BLUE is a comedy about life in a modern day high school.

Vittoria Scarpa at Cineuropa says of THE RED AND THE BLUE :

“…an honest, bittersweet comedy, giving an insight into school life, like many others have done before – exceptional only because of its normalcy.”

REALITY  screens Sunday, April 13  at Brown Hall on the campus of Washington University at 8:00pm

REALITY is the story of Luciano, a Neapolitan fishmonger who, along with his wife Maria, carry out little scams in order to supplement their modest income.  Due to his outgoing nature, Luciano never misses a chance to perform for his customers in the fish market and for relatives. One day his family urges him to audition for the reality show Big Brother. From that moment on, his perception of reality will never be the same.

Jim Schembri at 3AW says REALITY:

“Captures the 21st-century affliction of learned discontent, where perfectly happy people go in quest of something they think is better. Reality is a thoughtful, intelligent film.”