Three years ago, Italian actor-writer-director
and comic cult hero Roberto Benigni made a huge splash on these
shores with his Holocaust tragicomedy, "Life Is Beautiful,"
which made loads of money and won the Oscar for Best Foreign
Film, finally establishing Benigni to a wide American audience,
something his earlier, distinctive physical comedies failed to
do.
Flash forward to Cannes International Film Festival, 2001. Nanni
Moretti wins the fest’s grand prize, the Palme d’Or, for his
new film, "The Son’s Room." A tragic, intensely dramatic
study of how a family falls apart after the sudden death of a
teenage son, "The Son’s Room" – Moretti’s 10th feature,
all of which he’s starred in – may finally bring this Italian
actor-writer-director and cult hero the worldwide recognition
that has heretofore eluded him.
How fortunate for the BAM Rose Cinemas to be scheduling a complete
retrospective of Moretti’s films so soon after his big win at
Cannes. ("The Son’s Room" was previously scheduled
to kickoff the series, but the screening has since been removed
pending negotiations with U.S. distributors.)
"Nanni Moretti: I Am Self-Sufficient," which runs June
8-29, traverses a quarter-century of moviemaking by a true maverick.
Moretti has continued to go his own way, at odds with most of
his contemporaries, as he explores his very individualistic style
that meshes documentary, fiction and a mix of self-effacing touches
and egotism (like such obvious forbears as Benigni and Woody
Allen).
The Moretti series takes its title from the filmmaker’s very
first film. "I Am Self-Sufficient" (1976; showing June
14) was shot on Super 8 and is the blueprint for all the Moretti
features to come. In it, Moretti plays an actor in an avant-garde
theatrical troupe whose burgeoning marital crisis adversely affects
his work.
If Moretti is known in this country at all, it’s for "Caro
Diario" ("Dear Diary," 1994; showing June 15),
an alternately wryly humorous and stonefacedly serious movie
diary that presents Moretti, as himself, as a sort of tour guide
through his life. Among the events the audience is privy to include
his tooling around Rome on his moped in the middle of summer,
as he discusses such diverse topics as the movie "Henry:
Portrait of a Serial Killer" and shows us fellow director
Pier Paolo Pasolini’s murder site.
Most disturbing in "Caro Diario" is the final section,
wherein we follow Moretti through his harrowing year of cancer
treatment. Moretti won his first award at Cannes, for Best Director,
for this intriguing exploration of a restless mind. Its subsequent
showing at the New York Film Festival gave Moretti his biggest
spotlight to date on this side of the Atlantic.
A follow-up to "Caro Diario," 1998’s "Aprile"
(showing June 8 and June 21-22) eschews the former’s triptych
construction for a freer, looser form, as Moretti amusingly follows
several events happening in and around his own life – his wife’s
pregnancy, his inability to begin a movie musical he’s been looking
to make for years, and the results of the Italian national elections
that show how far the Communist Party has moved from its ideals.
(Moretti, always the good Communist, is especially taken aback
by this political retreat.)
Like all committed European leftists, Moretti never shies away
from politics in his fictional or factual movies. His only other
feature previously seen in this country, "Palombello Rossa"
("Red Lob," 1989; showing June 29), is a diverting
comedy about a water polo player whose amnesia forces him to
re-examine his relationship with his family, his teammates and
his fellow Communists.
The following year, Moretti made an hour-long documentary about
the inner workings of the Italian Communist Party, "La Cosa"
("The Thing," 1990; showing June 21-22). Its length
precludes it from developing many revealing insights, but as
a slice of history – there’s talk of creating a new identity
and even name for the Communist Party following the fall of the
Berlin Wall – "La Cosa" is often illuminating.
Moretti’s big Cannes win this year is just one of the many awards
he’s picked up at various festivals. The boldly comic "Sweet
Dreams" – again recounting a film director’s difficulty
making his latest project – won Grand Special Jury prize at the
1981 Venice Film Festival, while "The Mass Is Ended"
– an off-kilter comedy about a parish priest whose faith and
will are tested by his latest assignment in his old neighborhood
– took the Silver Bear at the 1985 Berlin Film Festival.
Whether or not "The Son’s Room" gives Moretti the success
he’s long deserved, it’s not a given that his earlier work will
be seen again hereabouts, so the BAM Rose Cinemas retro is essential
viewing.
"Nanni Moretti: I Am Self-Sufficient,"
runs from June 8 – 29 at the BAM Rose Cinemas [30 Lafayette Ave.,
(718) 636-4157]. Tickets are $9, $6 for students, seniors and
children under 12. For a complete list of films and screening
times, visit www.bam.org on the Web.
