This December, SBS World Movies and SBS On Demand are focusing on the best of Italian cinema with a massive line-up of recent films. Drama, comedy, romance: whatever you’re looking for, you’ll find it here – and to help, here are our picks of some of the standout features on offer.
Gomorrah
MA15+
Italy, 2008
Genre: Drama, Crime
Italy, 2008
Genre: Drama, Crime
Language: Italian
Director: Matteo Garrone
Starring: Gianfelice Imparato, Salvatore Cantalupo, Carmine Paternoster, Marco Macor, Ciro Petrone
Director: Matteo Garrone
Starring: Gianfelice Imparato, Salvatore Cantalupo, Carmine Paternoster, Marco Macor, Ciro Petrone
What’s it about?
Winner of the Grand Prize at Cannes in 2008, this adaptation of Roberto Saviano’s best-selling exposé of the Camorra crime organisation changed the face of the (movie) mafia forever. Following the lives of five individuals with various dealings with the Camorra, whose vice-like grip on Southern Italy bends all things to their benefit, it’s a gritty, often bleak look at corruption and social decay on a major scale. It stripped away what little romance organised crime might have held in Italy; TV spin-offs like and (based on Saviano’s follow-up book) have taken this film’s clear-eyed realism about European crime and run with it.
Winner of the Grand Prize at Cannes in 2008, this adaptation of Roberto Saviano’s best-selling exposé of the Camorra crime organisation changed the face of the (movie) mafia forever. Following the lives of five individuals with various dealings with the Camorra, whose vice-like grip on Southern Italy bends all things to their benefit, it’s a gritty, often bleak look at corruption and social decay on a major scale. It stripped away what little romance organised crime might have held in Italy; TV spin-offs like and (based on Saviano’s follow-up book) have taken this film’s clear-eyed realism about European crime and run with it.
Gomorrah airs on SBS World Movies, Monday 13 December at 9.30pm. Stream it anytime at SBS On Demand.
Like Crazy
MA15+
Italy, France, 2016
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Italy, France, 2016
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Language: Italian
Director: Paolo Virzì
Starring: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Micaela Ramazzotti
What’s it about?
Two very different patients call Tuscan asylum Villa Biondi home – but not for long. Beatrice is a fantasist force of nature; Donatella is a battered, withdrawn wreck. When Beatrice drags Donatella onto a bus during a day trip, the pair begin an adventure across Tuscany that’ll bring them together as they both face down their pasts. Skilfully walking the line between sentiment and comedy, and with first-class performances from both the leads (and a range of performers playing less extreme characters), this ends up a surprisingly moving and often insightful look at female friendship.
Two very different patients call Tuscan asylum Villa Biondi home – but not for long. Beatrice is a fantasist force of nature; Donatella is a battered, withdrawn wreck. When Beatrice drags Donatella onto a bus during a day trip, the pair begin an adventure across Tuscany that’ll bring them together as they both face down their pasts. Skilfully walking the line between sentiment and comedy, and with first-class performances from both the leads (and a range of performers playing less extreme characters), this ends up a surprisingly moving and often insightful look at female friendship.
Like Crazy airs on SBS World Movies, Tuesday 14 December at 9.30pm. Stream it anytime at SBS On Demand.
Dogman
MA15+
Italy, France, 2018
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Italy, France, 2018
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Language: Italian
Director: Matteo Garrone
Starring: Marcello Fonte, Edoardo Pesce
What’s it about?
Marcello runs a dog-grooming business in a decaying Italian resort town. He also does some minor drug dealing, which leaves him open to constant bullying and abuse from Simoncino, a violent thug who dominates the town. Simoncino has enemies and a total disregard for everyone around him; when Marcello finds himself roped into a robbery, it starts a chain of events that leads to the puppy-dog divorced dad biting back hard. A quirky sense of humour and a strong focus on character makes this more than just a minor crime story, though the bleak setting and general corruption underline the damage organised crime does across all levels of society.
Marcello runs a dog-grooming business in a decaying Italian resort town. He also does some minor drug dealing, which leaves him open to constant bullying and abuse from Simoncino, a violent thug who dominates the town. Simoncino has enemies and a total disregard for everyone around him; when Marcello finds himself roped into a robbery, it starts a chain of events that leads to the puppy-dog divorced dad biting back hard. A quirky sense of humour and a strong focus on character makes this more than just a minor crime story, though the bleak setting and general corruption underline the damage organised crime does across all levels of society.
Dogman airs on SBS World Movies, Wednesday 15 December at 9.30pm. Stream it at SBS On Demand, available till March 2022.
The Traitor
MA15+
Italy, France, Germany, Brazil, 2019
Genre: Drama, Crime, Biography
Italy, France, Germany, Brazil, 2019
Genre: Drama, Crime, Biography
Language: Italian
Director: Marco Bellocchio
Starring: Pierfrancesco Favino, Maria Fernanda Cândido, Fabrizio Ferracane
What’s it about?
The mafia’s vice-like grip on Italian society was severely weakened in the 80s and 90s thanks to a combination of crusading law enforcement and high-profile informers – and they didn’t come more high profile than Tommaso Buscetta. A former boss, Buscetta fled to Brazil to live in peace, but when war broke out after his departure he was arrested and extradited to certain death in Italy. His only way out was to testify against the organisation in Sicily, which led to over 400 convictions – and the deaths of several of his family members and numerous magistrates as the mafia struck back. As Buscetta, Pierfrancesco Favino gives a gripping performance as the first mafioso ever to testify against the mob, while the film’s dry wit and at times surreal tone underline just how big – and how bizarre – this case was.
The mafia’s vice-like grip on Italian society was severely weakened in the 80s and 90s thanks to a combination of crusading law enforcement and high-profile informers – and they didn’t come more high profile than Tommaso Buscetta. A former boss, Buscetta fled to Brazil to live in peace, but when war broke out after his departure he was arrested and extradited to certain death in Italy. His only way out was to testify against the organisation in Sicily, which led to over 400 convictions – and the deaths of several of his family members and numerous magistrates as the mafia struck back. As Buscetta, Pierfrancesco Favino gives a gripping performance as the first mafioso ever to testify against the mob, while the film’s dry wit and at times surreal tone underline just how big – and how bizarre – this case was.
The Traitor airs on SBS World Movies, Thursday 16 December at 9.30pm. Stream it anytime at SBS On Demand.
Lovers
M
Italy, 2018
Genre: Romance, Drama
Italy, 2018
Genre: Romance, Drama
Language: Italian
Director: Matteo Vicino
Starring: Primo Reggiani, Margherita Mannino, Antonietta Bello, Luca Nucera
What’s it about?
Subtitled in Italy as Piccolo Film Sull’amore (A Small Film About Love), this rom-com anthology features four stories, each using the same four actors but in different roles. Set in Bologna, each story focuses on relationships in turmoil, with jealousy, unrequited love, frustrated creative types and unscrupulous businesspeople featuring throughout. These are relationships with winners and losers (though there’s more to it than that), showing how success in one situation can turn against you in another. Thoughtful and sharply funny, it lays bare the characters’ obsessions and the role of culture in shaping our romantic selves.
Subtitled in Italy as Piccolo Film Sull’amore (A Small Film About Love), this rom-com anthology features four stories, each using the same four actors but in different roles. Set in Bologna, each story focuses on relationships in turmoil, with jealousy, unrequited love, frustrated creative types and unscrupulous businesspeople featuring throughout. These are relationships with winners and losers (though there’s more to it than that), showing how success in one situation can turn against you in another. Thoughtful and sharply funny, it lays bare the characters’ obsessions and the role of culture in shaping our romantic selves.
Lovers is streaming at SBS On Demand from Friday 24 December.
The Mafia Kills Only In Summer
MA15+
Italy, 2013
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Italy, 2013
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Language: Italian
Director: Pif, aka, Pierfrancesco Dilberto
Starring: Pierfrancesco Dilberto, Cristiana Capotondi, Alex Bisconti, Ginevra Antona
What’s it about?
Writer, director and star Pierfrancesco “Pif” Dilberto’s autobiographical film is a charming coming-of-age tale – only it takes place in 1970s Palermo, a city where the mafia reigns supreme. Since conception (literally) Arturo has found his life intertwined with organised crime, with mobsters and their victims regular fixtures around town. While tracing his decades-long crush on Flora and his faltering steps into the world of journalism, this funny and insightful comedy also builds up a picture of Palermo’s weary acceptance of the mafia’s brutal tactics until finally the locals have had enough.
Writer, director and star Pierfrancesco “Pif” Dilberto’s autobiographical film is a charming coming-of-age tale – only it takes place in 1970s Palermo, a city where the mafia reigns supreme. Since conception (literally) Arturo has found his life intertwined with organised crime, with mobsters and their victims regular fixtures around town. While tracing his decades-long crush on Flora and his faltering steps into the world of journalism, this funny and insightful comedy also builds up a picture of Palermo’s weary acceptance of the mafia’s brutal tactics until finally the locals have had enough.
The Mafia Kills Only in Summer is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
The Immortal
MA15+
Italy, 2019
Genre: Crime, Drama
Italy, 2019
Genre: Crime, Drama
Language: Italian
Director: Marco D’Amore
Starring: Marco D’Amore, Giuseppe Aiello
What’s it about?
A spin-off from Gomorrah (the series, ), this stand-alone feature tells the story of Ciro Di Marzio, AKA “The Immortal”, notorious and ruthless member of the Camorra who was last seen at the end of season 3 going into the ocean with a bullet in him. Part of the film focuses on what happened next, while extensive flashbacks fill in the story of Ciro’s childhood as an orphan on the streets of Naples in the 1980s. The Gomorrah production team are a well-oiled machine so it’s hardly surprising that this is a polished product. But it’s when writer, director and star Marco D’Amore – together with Giuseppe Aiello, who plays 11-year-old Ciro – look to the past that this movie really comes into its own as a powerful look at childhood betrayed.
A spin-off from Gomorrah (the series, ), this stand-alone feature tells the story of Ciro Di Marzio, AKA “The Immortal”, notorious and ruthless member of the Camorra who was last seen at the end of season 3 going into the ocean with a bullet in him. Part of the film focuses on what happened next, while extensive flashbacks fill in the story of Ciro’s childhood as an orphan on the streets of Naples in the 1980s. The Gomorrah production team are a well-oiled machine so it’s hardly surprising that this is a polished product. But it’s when writer, director and star Marco D’Amore – together with Giuseppe Aiello, who plays 11-year-old Ciro – look to the past that this movie really comes into its own as a powerful look at childhood betrayed.
The Immortal is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
I Am Love
MA15+
Italy, 2009
Genre: Romance, Drama
Italy, 2009
Genre: Romance, Drama
Language: Italian
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Starring: Tilda Swinton, Pippo Delbono, Flavio Parenti, Edoardo Gabbriellini
What’s it about?
Tilda Swinton is Emma, the respectable but isolated matriarch of a rich Milan family. Their wealth comes from their textile business, now handed down to her husband and son. But beneath the family’s perfectly controlled surface, tensions stir, and when Emma falls in love with her son’s best friend, passions are ignited that will burn it all down. Writer and director Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name, ) pits passion against convention in a sumptuous setting, while Swinton’s performance as a woman willing to risk everything just to feel something is a high point of her formidable career.
Tilda Swinton is Emma, the respectable but isolated matriarch of a rich Milan family. Their wealth comes from their textile business, now handed down to her husband and son. But beneath the family’s perfectly controlled surface, tensions stir, and when Emma falls in love with her son’s best friend, passions are ignited that will burn it all down. Writer and director Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name, ) pits passion against convention in a sumptuous setting, while Swinton’s performance as a woman willing to risk everything just to feel something is a high point of her formidable career.
I Am Love is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
Find more Italian films (plus great series such a Cacciatore: The Hunter, Masantonio, Petra and Doc) streaming not in .
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