Tornatore's Latest Comes to Sentieri

Tornatore at the Nastro d'Argento awards

Giuseppe Tornatore, acclaimed director of the Italian classic Cinema Paradiso, returns to the big screen with his new film (and his only to operate entirely in English) La Migliore Offerta. Despite opening to mixed reviews here in the States, the film has been received warmly in Italy, taking home numerous prizes at the Nastro d'Argento and David di Donatello awards, including the Donatello award for Best Film.

La Migliore Offerta will be screened at Sentieri on Saturday, February 22nd. Come join the discussion and let us know what you think!

You can find more info about the event here.  

Gisella

Sentieri Blog Contributor

Cineforum: La Migliore Offerta

La Migliore Offerta

Virgil Oldman is the managing director of an auction house, who is hired by a reclusive young heiress, Claire Ibbetson, to auction off a large collection of art and antiques which had been left to her by her parents. Virgil is intrigued by this mysterious woman, and in the process of restoring some antiques receives advice from his friend about how to deal with his growing feelings towards her.

View the trailer here.

After the viewing there will be a light reception for a discussion of the film. The film is in English with Italian subtitles.

Saturday, February 22^nd 4:00-7:00pm

$10 - member discount

$15 - general admission

by 2/20/14

or $20 at the door, last minute seating, cash only

Send or Hand Deliver payment to Sentieri Italiani (Event location)

5430 N. Broadway St. Chicago, IL 60640

Call or Email with inquiries 773-275-5325 enrico@sentieri.com

The Great Beauty screening, January 25

On Saturday, January 25, a group of about 20 gathered at Sentieri to watch and discuss Paolo Sorrentino's latest effort, The Great Beauty.

The film is a character study with two protagonists— Jep Gambardella and the city that he inhabits, Rome. Jep is a writer who doesn't write, an underwhelmed intellectual, an aging socialite doing his best to remain young and important. He's a cynic, shallow and decadent much like the city in which he finds himself, a city that multiple characters try to leave throughout the film.

During a post-movie aperitivo, Daniela, Sentieri's President, brought up the point that in Fellini's La Dolce Vita there was hope in the end, but in The Great Beauty there seems to be none. This led to a heated discussion about the realities of life in post-Berlusconi Italy, Italian cynicism, and comparisons between American and Italian mentalities.

What about you? Have you seen the film yet? What did you think? Leave your thoughts below!

Gisella
Sentieri Blog Contributor

Italian Word of 2013: Crisi

As we move on into the New Year, many of us have been left reflecting on the old one. We've read dozens of articles and blog posts, recounting the best and worst of 2013, the most memorable events, the lessons learned.

Of course, one way to reflect on the most relevant issues of the past year is to look at how language was used. In America, it was selfie  that was named the word of 2013. In Italy, though, crisi.

In a survey conducted by La Repubblica, readers voted this word as the most representative of 2013.

And it's true that in Italy, there have been a number of recent crises. There's the recession and the financial crisis. There's the work crisis (in Bologna, in only five years, unemployment has increased over 120%). There's the political crisis (Berlusconi, anyone?), the health crisis (many families go without health services), the social crisis (the growing disparity between the North and the South, the rich and the poor), and the crisis of values (the continuation of hatespeech and various other atrocities perpetuated on the internet).

La Repubblica  calls 2013 un anno da dimenticare ("a year to forget"). Here's to hoping that 2014 is better.

For those who read Italian, the full article is here.

Gisella
Sentieri Blog Contributor

Spring 2014 - Italian Class Schedule

SPRING QUARTER

March 31^st to June 7^th, 2014

CLASS DURATION: 10 WEEKS

BASIC 1
Tuesdays, 6:30-8:30pm



BASIC 2
Wednesdays, 6:30-8:30pm



BASIC 3
Thursdays, 6:30-8:30pm



INTERMEDIATE 1
Saturdays, 10:30am–12:30pm



INTERMEDIATE 2
Saturdays, 10:30am–12:30pm



ADVANCED
Tuesdays, 6:30-8:30pm



CONVERSATION 1
Mondays, 6:30-8:30pm



CONVERSATION 2
Thursdays, 6:30-8:30pm



CONVERSATION 3
Mondays, 6:30-8:30pm



CONVERSATION 4
Wednesdays, 6:30-8:30pm



BOOK CLUB
(intermedio/avanzato)
Fridays, 10:00am–12:00pm

Course Fees (min. 8 students per class)

Early Registration (by February 15^th)
Cash/check/paypal: $290.00
Standard Registration (after February 15^th)
Cash/check/paypal: $310.00


+Materials not included. If required for your course, material prices will be sent with your course confirmation and will be payable at the first class.

Send registration and payment to:

SENTIERI INC., 5430 N. Broadway St. Chicago, IL 60640

La Grande Bellezza triumphs at the Golden Globes

On Sunday night, director Paolo Sorrentino took home the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film for La Grande Bellezza, beating out critic favorite Blue Is the Warmest Color. 

Sorrentino on the set of La Grande Bellezza

The last Italian film to be awarded the prize was Giuseppe Tornatore's Nuova Cinema Paradiso, in 1989. 

La Grande Bellezza is perhaps best summed up in a single scene, when protagonist Jep Gambardella looks out over the hulking corpse of the Costa Concordia cruise ship. It's a striking metaphor for both Gambardella's character and the country in which he lives- both stuck, both dormant. 

What happened here? How did this country- with its natural beauty and infinite cultural treasures- reach the stagnancy in which it now finds itself? This is the difficult question that Sorrentino poses in his film.

Sentieri will be screening La Grande Bellezza on Saturday, January 25. For those interested, more information can be found here.

Additionally, the first six participants to sign up for the screening will be given a ticket to Giuseppe Tornatore's The Best Offer running at the Gene Siskel Film Center from January 17-30. More information about the film can be found here.

See you at the screening!

Gisella

Sentieri Blog Contributor

Italian cinema in Chicago: "The Best Offer"

 The Best Offer (La migliore offerta)

 

Dominating Italy’s Oscar-equivalent Donatello Awards with six wins including Best Picture and Best Director, THE BEST OFFER has been hailed as Tornatore’s best film since CINEMA PARADISO.

The film is built around a powerful performance by Geoffrey Rush as a fastidious art auctioneer who prefers to keep life and love at an aesthetic distance. Then he falls under the spell of a beautiful recluse (Sylvia Hoeks) confined by agoraphobia to her musty mansion.  By coaxing her out of her self-imposed prison, he might free himself from his own--but can emotions, like works of art, be forged?
The film’s amenities include a lush score by Ennio Morricone, an antique automaton that tops the one in HUGO, and memorable supporting performances by Donald Sutherland as the protagonist’s shady accomplice and Kurina Stamell as a dwarf whose photographic memory carries a crucial plot twist.  

In English.  DCP digital. View trailer here.

TWO-WEEK RUN!

January 17--23
Fri. at 6:00 pm 

Sat. at 5:15 pm and 7:45 pm
Sun. at 3:00 pm
Mon. at 8:00 pm

Tues. at 6:00 pm

Wed. at 8:00 pm

Thu. at 6:00 pm

January 24--30
Fri. at 7:45 pm;
Sat. at 3:00 pm, 5:30 pm, and 8:00 pm;
Sun. at 4:45 pm;
Tue. at 6:00 pm  

Wed. at 7:45 pm  

Thu. at 6:00 pm

  

Special Discount tickets available for Friends of Sentieri: $7.00 for individual tickets (a savings of $4.00/ticket) when purchased in person at the Gene Siskel Film Center Box Office. Use discount code: ITALY

Additionally, the first six people to sign up for Sentieri's Cineforum "La grande bellezza" will win a FREE ticket to "The Best Offer".

  

Gene Siskel Film Center 

164 N. State Street

312-846-2800

  

www.siskelfilmcenter.org

 

http://www.siskelfilmcenter.org/best-offer