wexner center for the arts


Film/Video

Amarcord images courtesy of Janus Films
Divorce Italian Style images courtesy of Janus Films


Amarcord images courtesy of Janus FilmsDivorce Italian Style images courtesy of Janus Films
Amarcord images courtesy of Janus FilmsDivorce Italian Style images courtesy of Janus Films

A Summer Abroad: Cinema italiano

Most of us won't be sunning on the Amalfi coast or dining near the Trevi Fountain this summer, but this series helps you imagine a splendid Italian holiday. Made by Italian filmmakers and/or filmed in Italy, the selection of classics and new releases features such outstanding directors as Fellini, Visconti, and De Sica and spectacular scenery from Rome, Venice, and the Italian countryside.

Ticket Package
Save when you buy 10 tickets to use at any indoor Cinema italiano screening.
$60 general public
$40 members, students, and senior citizens

Amarcord

(Federico Fellini, 1973)

Divorce Italian Style

(Pietro Germi, 1961)

// Double Feature

Thu, Aug 5, 2010  |  7:00PM
Film/Video Theater

"A movie made entirely out of nostalgia and joy, by a filmmaker at the heedless height of his powers."—Roger Ebert on Amarcord

"Captures the great Italian director at the peak of his cinematic powers.… A massively enjoyable entertainment infused with more than a little wry wisdom, pathos, and mystery."—Andrew O’Hehir, Salon.com, on Amarcord

Fellini's most personal film (the title means "I remember") captures a year of life in a small Adriatic town—very much like Rimini, where the director grew up. A young man grows up, his father lashes out against the Fascists, the town beauty gets married, and the town celebrates and mourns, in scenes that veer between magical beauty and signature Felliniesque excess. Set to an unforgettable score by Nino Rota, Amarcord won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film. (123 mins., 35mm)

"A comedy about the horrors of inertia…A perfect film."—Stuart Klawans on Divorce Italian Style

The outrageous comedy Divorce Italian Style was an international hit, and not just on the art-house circuit. The only place this hilarious and cutting satire on chauvinism did poorly was in southern Italy and Sicily, where it is set. The plot follows a married Baron (Marcello Mastroianni) who wants to marry his young cousin. But since divorce is illegal in Italy, the Baron schemes to drive his unlikable wife into the arms of another man so that he may justifiably murder her to save his honor. The film won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and was the first comedy from Pietro Germi (Seduced and Abandoned). (105 mins., 35mm)

Attending this event? Let your friends know and RSVP on Facebook.