Romance Studies

Events at the MFA

Spotlight on Italian Films- April 23-25

Salty Air
8:45 pm
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Remis Auditorium

Salty Air (L'aria salata) by Alessandro Angelini (2006, 90 min.). Salty Air is "rooted in the prison drama where men are tough as nails until their skin is peeled away" (Deborah Young, Variety). Fabio is a young, energetic educator who works with passion and dedication to help former prison inmates reintegrate into society. One day a prisoner, Sparti, is sent to him by a colleague. Sparti is a man in his sixties with a very difficult character, which prison has helped harden even further. While reading Sparti's files, Fabio suddenly understands that the man in front of him is the father he has neither seen nor heard from since his childhood. This unexpected encounter forces Fabio to face the buried ghosts of his family's past, and to clash with his sister Cristina, who does not want to reopen old wounds and jeopardize the tranquility of their current lives.

The Spectator

Thursday, April 24, 2008
Remis Auditorium

The Spectator (La Spettatrice) by Paolo Franchi (2004, 98 min.). "Casual voyeurism grows into an obsession in this low-key thriller from Italy" (Mark Deming, All Movie Guide). Introverted young Valeria (Barbora Bobulova) serves as a translator in Turin, Italy, content to be disconnected from the world in her private life...until meeting physician Massimo (Andrea Renzi), for whom she translates one day at a conference and to whom she feels a powerful connection. Valeria's obsession with Massimo leads her to follow him to Rome, where she arranges an "accidental" friendship with his lover in order to stay close.

One Man Up
3:15 pm
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Remis Auditorium

One Man Up (L'uomo in piú) by Paolo Sorrentino (2001, 103 min.). Two men in Naples share the same name and parallel destinies in this dramatic comedy. Antonio Pisapia (Toni Servillo) is a bloated, cocaine-addicted lounge singer whose brother was killed by an octopus, and who subsequently harbors an obsession for cooking fish. When he is caught in bed with a sexy but underage groupie, Antonio's fame and career vanish, sending him on a downward spiral of drugs and seafood. Meanwhile, the other Antonio (Andrea Renzi) is a glum soccer star who dreams of becoming a coach. After a training accident destroys one of his knees, he sacrifices everything in pursuit of this dream, with little result other than personal loss. These two embittered men eventually (sort of) meet, and their destinies intertwine in an offhand and unpredictable way. Fans of European cinema may find something unusual in this colorful tale of loss and redemption.

Three Step Dancing
6 pm
Friday, April 25, 2008
Remis Auditorium

Three Step Dancing (Ballo a tre passi) by Salvatore Mereu (2003, 111 min.). "Salvatore Mereu's charming debut film joyfully blends the visual lyricism of Federico Fellini with the neo-realism of Roberto Rossellini in an Altmanesque quartet of related vignettes" (Leslie Blake, Offoffoff.com). This richly textured film is as timeless as its earthy Sardinian setting. The magic of childhood is depicted through the adventures of Andrea and his frisky buddies as they go for a wild ride and encounter the spectacle of the sea for the first time. The events mirror the changing seasons, photographed in delectable, sensual colors as the characters come together in a life-affirming finale that borders on the mythic. A work of intense beauty and startling originality. Description adapted from the Film Society at Lincoln Center.

Sailing Home
4:15 pm
Friday, April 25, 2008
Remis Auditorium

Sailing Home (Tornado a casa) by Vincenzo Marra (2001, 88 min.). Sailing Home is one of a growing number of recent southern Italian independent films that are firmly rooted in local culture and dialect. The film chronicles a group of Italian fishermen as they fill their nets in the illegal waters of the Tunisian Sea. Narrowly escaping Tunisian police, they return home to Naples, but find no safe harbor in the increasing competition with and boycotts by other fisherman. Shot in semi-documentary style with handheld cameras and a nonprofessional cast, Sailing Home develops as a melancholy, contemplative drama that builds steadily to its poignant conclusion. Description adapted from Philadelphia Film Festival.
MFA members, seniors, and students $6; general admission $7.

Ongoing:
Tours in French
Every Wednesday, 11:15 am Introduction to Museum Collections
Every fourth Wednesday, 6:30 pm Introduction to Museum Collections

Tours in Spanish
Every first Wednesday, 6:30 pm Introduction to Museum Collections

Events at the French Library in Boston

Events at Harvard

Wednesday, April 23 at 3:30 P.M.
34 Concord Ave., 2nd Floor Colloquium Room
"Divo/Duce: Italian Masculinity in 1920s America"

This event is part of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study Spring 2008 Fellows' Presentation Series

Events at the Boston Public Library

Gian Lorenzo Bernini: Sketches in Clay

Fogg Art Museum
Ongoing

In one of its most important purchases ever, the Fogg, in 1937, acquired twenty-seven terracotta sculptures, fourteen of which can be associated directly with Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Naples 1598-1680 Rome), the greatest sculptor of the Roman Baroque. Read More...