This feel-good movie, which offers American audiences spectacular views of Central European landscapes, uses gentle humor to tell the story of two common men who place themselves in an uncommon situation. Franco, a recently laid-off co-op stud farmer whose company jilted him out of his settlement money, returns to break into the main offices to look for proof that he was wronged. Instead he ends up stealing their prize bull Corinto with the thought of selling Corinto for a great profit in Hungary. Franco enlists the aid of his quiet friend Loris. Together the three set off on their obstacle-filled journey......more

Popular Italian rock star Luciano Ligabue made his directorial debut with this Italian drama based on Fuori e dentro il borgo, his collection of autobiographical short stories about growing up in small-town Italy of the '70s. DJ Bruno (Lucian Federico) reflects on the past, a small circle of friends, and the hopes of their generation. At the group's core is Freccia (Stefano Accorsi), a heroin user until Marzia (Patrizia Piccinini) steps in to help him kick the habit. As expected, Iena (Alessio Modica) marries and settles down, while unhappy Boris (Roberto Zibetti) is a victim of his own cynicism, and Tito (Enrico Salimbeni) is driven to violence by his dysfunctional family. An older bartender (singer-songwriter Francesco Guccini) listens to the group's woes and dreams. Along with a guitar score and a closing-credits song by Ligabue, tunes of the time include ones by Iggy Pop, Roxy Music, and David Bowie. Shown at the 1998 Venice Film Festival ......more

Three feuding friends discover making up is hard to do in this broad comedy. Aldo (Aldo Baglio), Giovanni (Giovanni Storti), and Giacomo (Giacomo Poretti) are thee actors who were once close friends and long dreamed of staging a new production of their favorite stage play, Cyrano de Bergerac. However, when Aldo fell in love, it led to a bitter disagreement between the friends; Aldo went his own way, while Giovanni and Giacomo continued to work together. However, when word gets back to Giovanni and Giacomo several years later that Aldo has fallen ill and is near death, the two old friends decide it's time to bury the hatchet, and they travel to Sicily to visit him. But Giovanni decides to bring along his former girlfriend, Marina (Marina Massironi), and soon things get complicated between Giacomo and his old buddy. Aldo Baglio, Giovanni Storti, and Giacomo Poretti wrote and directed Chiedimi Se Sono Felice in addition to playing the leading roles; it was the third box-office hit for the comic trio, who are also perennial stars on Italian television......more

Parenthood stirs up a wealth of mixed emotions in this drama from Italy. Carlo (Stefano Accorsi) and Giulia (Giovanna Mezzogiorno) are a couple in their late twenties who realize they've crossed the final threshold into adulthood when Giulia discovers she's going to have a baby. Even though Carlo has already settled down, he sees parenthood as the first step towards becoming the sort of middle-class suburbanite he's never respected, and he's not happy about it. Carlo's friends are also having mixed feelings about the onset of maturity: Adriano (Giorgio Pasotti) can't decide if he should go through with his marriage to Livia (Sabrina Impacciatore), Paolo (Claudio Santamaria) is trying to find a way out of going into business with his father, and Alberto (Marco Cocci) seems to be waging a one-man war against monogamy by seducing as many women as possible. Meanwhile, Giulia is having her own misgivings about parenthood, and her mother Anna (Stefania Sandrelli) is torn between happiness for her daughter and dread that she's now old enough to be a grandmother; Anna's malaise isn't eased by the lack of compassion shown by her husband (Luigi Diberti)......more

Two men learn firsthand about the cruel twists of fame and fortune in a drama from Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino. In the early '80s, Tony Pisapia (Toni Servillo) and his younger brother, Antonio (Andrea Renzi), have each risen to the peak of their chosen professions. Tony is a nightclub singer who after years of struggle has achieved nationwide fame, and Antonio is a soccer player who becomes a star after scoring the game-winning goal in the European championship match. However, a few years down the line both men are experiencing a sharp reversal of their good fortune. Tony has developed a devastating cocaine addiction, and after it's revealed he's become sexually involved with an underage girl, it doesn't seem likely that the public will ever forgive him. Meanwhile, a leg injury has put an end to Antonio's career as an athlete, and he finds himself starting from zero as he tries to launch a new career in coaching; he faces another personal crisis when his wife, frustrated by Antonio's career decline, leaves him. L'Uomo in Piu was loosely based on the true stories of two Italian celebrities, musician Franco Califano and football star Agostino Di Bartolomei......more

A family struggles to go on after a devastating loss in this deeply emotional drama from Italy. Giovanni (Nanni Moretti) is a psychiatrist with a successful practice in a small community near the ocean. Giovanni has a warm relationship with his wife Paola (Laura Morante), and they have a pair of well-adjusted teenage kids, Andrea (Giuseppe Sanfelice) and Irene (Jasmine Trinca). But the family's calm is shattered when Andrea is unexpectedly killed in an accident. Giovanni finds it impossible to continue with his work, and blames himself for the death, since he was planning to go jogging with Andrea that morning before he opted instead to take an emergency call from a client. Paola and Irene try to keep their emotions in check, but both find this all but impossible as they sink further into anger and grief. The appearance of an unexpected visitor, however, forces the family to confront their feelings about Andrea. Arianna (Sofia Vigliar) is a girl who had a summer romance with Andrea the year before, and has come to town to pay him a surprise visit, unaware of his recent death. Nanni Moretti directed and co-wrote this film, while also starring as Giovanni; it was his first dramatic feature in over a decade after devoting himself to documentaries and short films......more