Top 5 Italian Films (including one Spaghetti Western)

Note: I have a great deal many Fellinis and Antonionis to catch up on. As well as Rome, Open City. For the timebeing anyway...

Hon. Mention: Malèna 

A nice little film, this is essentially a coming of age story of a young boy, with a great deal of focus on the titular Malena played with grace by Monica Belluci. It's not an enormously complex performance as Malena is essentially a good woman through and through who's brought down by the envious townspeople, but I quite liked it as a little insight into small-town life and insights. It's not Edward Scissorhands in terms of that but it's good enough. Far from Giuseppe Tornatore's best but it's good enough.

5. La vita è bella

These two are probably my favourite scenes. 

A very interesting experiment in blending two genres together, and even setting aside two halves of the film for them. It's half a romantic screwball/slapstick comedy, half a Holocaust drama, and while I don't feel it merges together perfectly, it fulfils this task very well. While I don't think Roberto Begnini quite gave the best performance of 1998 (that would be Jeff Bridges in The Big Lebowski, in my opinion), he's still very endearing in bringing out both the comedy and pathos in his performance as the loving father trying to hide the horrors of the reality of camp life from his son.

4. Divorce, Italian Style

A hilarious dark comedy. Marcello Mastroianni gives a delightfully deadpan, one-note performance as a man who's trying to 'divorce' his wife in what he envisages as the simplest way possible, killing her. It could've all been too dark or have too much levity but Mastroianni balances the two sides perfectly and turns in a great comedic performance that dominates the film and makes it well worth a watch.

3. Bicycle Thieves

A simple film, and commonly called one of the greatest films of all-time for a reason. I wouldn't quite put it up there but it's a great example that sometimes, simplicity is the key. It's all just about a father and his boy trying to retrieve a stolen bicycle of theirs, but what makes this story a compelling watch is simply how breathtaking the ordinary is rendered through the camera lens of Vittorio de Sica and Carlo Montuori, a pared down but brilliantly written and paced script, and a truly unique conclusion that's heartbreaking, but not necessarily in the way you'd expect.

2. Once Upon a Time in the West

There's a female lead in Claudia Cardinale, and it's directed by Sergio Leone, and scored by Ennio Morricone, so I kind of do warrant its placement on here by virtue of that.it's so Italian in style. It's probably my favourite Western of all-time. The music here is tremendous, some of Morricone's best. The cinematography is great, and the direction manages to make what is a fairly well-worn story of good v.s. evil incredibly compelling since every scene is given such life and style. The best thing about it though are the performances. The smallest roles from Woody Strode, to Gabrielle Ferzetti, all make a strong impact, Cardinale is wonderfully charming, a chilling Henry Fonda and avuncular, charming Jason Robards are fantastic, and of course Charles Bronson, who gives perhaps my favourite 'Man With No Name' performance of all-time as the enigmatic, fascinating Harmonica whose quest for vengeance is both badass and heartbreaking.

1. Cinema Paradiso

Was there ever any question which film was going to be at the top of my list? It's a film about films and filmmaking so naturally I'd love it, it's one of my favourite films of all-time, period (#9 for now and it could move up at any point). It tells the life and times of Toto, played at various ages excellently by Salvatore Cascio, Marco Leonardi, and Jacques Perrin, as he grows from adorable young child, to a succesful filmmaker with a haunted past, and in between a besotted teenager. Throughout he is guided (and depending on the version of the film you watch, given a lesson in tough love) by Phillipe Noiret's Alfredo. All the way through is a genuine sense of passion for cinema by how director Giuseppe Tornatore paints the small town scene even better than he did in Malena, in particular I have always loved the side characters of Toto's mum, and the endearing Ciccio who wins big in the lottery and saves the cinema.

Most importantly though, are the big iconic moments of the film. The film consists my favourite theme tune, my favourite love scene (and arguably romance, well it's up there with Brief Encounter and Edward Scissorhands), and quite possibly one of the truly great film endings. Even if you know what's coming, you can't hold back. I'll write more about this film in the future (that's a promise).

SPOILERS!!!