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ITALY

At the First Breath of Wind- Franco Piavoli
"Franco Piavoli crafts a breathtaking poem from, and to, cinema in this luminous feature. An idyllic evocation of place, the film actually derives its extraordinary power from a mastery of the medium: its transcendence of time, its unique juxtaposition of representation and abstraction, and its flirtations with human perceptive processes.
The 'story' generally follows the progression of a sun-drenched afternoon in rural Italy, as a landed family and a group of field laborers alternately pass the day in leisure, reflection and work. However, the films most powerful journey is one that takes
the viewer inward-plunging headlong into minute incidents that swell with suggestion and reveal an extraordinarily rich, sustained observation of mood, atmosphere, and existential absorption. A young girl observes a boy swimming in a stream. A man slips into a deep, fitful slumber in his library. A woman traverses a cluttered landscape on a search for something untold. Such prosaic scenes fairly shimmer from the screen, as delicate manipulations of sound design, framing, and photographic processes create a seductive undertow, constantly shifting and layering points of view. Haunting and deeply affecting, Piavoli's film inspires a renewed wonder toward the often-untapped power of its medium."-Sundance Film Festival. (89 mins.)
Filmography: Blue Planet (81).
Showtimes: 2/22, 1pm and 2/26, 8:15pm GU.

Neapolitan Heart- Paolo Santori
"To sing Neapolitan songs," explains Hoboken native Jimmy Roselli, "first of all you need heart. Then a brain, then a voice and-balls." From the suburbs of Naples to the Italian immigrant neighborhoods of Manhattan's Lower East Side come the vibrant personalities of Neapolitan music. Archival footage captures the likes of singers Enrico Caruso, Elvira Donnarumma, and Gilda Mignonette and from the Italian-American music scene, Jerry Vale and Rita Berta, whose songs were used in Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas and Casino. Based on Arab laments and Spanish folk songs, the Neapolitan tradition can be heard today in the casinos of Atlantic City, in the streets of New York and Naples, and, of course, at weddings and family reunions. (94 mins.) Print courtesy of Paolo Santori.
First Feature.
Showtimes: 2/21, 9:15pm WH and 2/22, 4pm BW.

Respiro- Emanuele Crialese
Respiro is an evocative, subtle dramatization of the life of a particular family who live within an isolated fishing community on the island of Lampedusa, west of Sicily. Although the film concentrates on the trials and tribulations that beset Grazia (Valeria Golino), the mother of the family, Respiro is much more of a tapestry, stitching together vignettes of a society that seems almost completely removed from modern day existence. The stark beauty of the sun-drenched island is used to great effect as a backdrop for the characters' domestic disputes and miniature dramas and provides haunting images superbly shot by cinematographer Fabio Zamarion. A highly distinctive film that lingers long in the mind, Respiro won the Best Film prize in this year's Critics' Week section of the Cannes Film Festival. (90 mins.) Print courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.
Filmography: Once We Were Strangers (98).
Showtimes: 2/22, 6pm and 2/23, 7:30pm GU.

PHOTO- RESPIRO