Never released in America, Petri’s second feature displays the same evocative mix of realism and symbolism found in THE LADY KILLER OF ROME. The film stars Salvo Randone as Cesare, a lonely Roman plumber in his early fifties. Traveling by tram one day, he witnesses the sudden death, by heart attack, of a man his own age. The event shocks him into the realization that his own days might be numbered, and he becomes determined to make the most of the time he has left. Quitting his job, he sets out with enthusiasm to enjoy the finer things in life, but the effort only leaves him dispirited and disillusioned.
Tag: ITALY
Alexandre, a TV reporter, is working for a few days in a border town, where a lot of refugees from Albania, Turkey and Kurdistan are packed in. Among them, he notices an old man and thinks he is an important Greek politician who disappeared mysteriously a few years ago. Back in Athens, he asks this politician’s former wife to come and identify him. A slow and dry meditation about the inhumanity of borders.
This drama about the Carmelite order of nuns is set during the French Revolution. A young woman seeks refuge with the Carmelites because she is terrified of dying during the upheaval. The longer she associates with the nuns the more she is transformed by their faith and devotion.
Two women on vacation decide to see who the better seductress is. When an accident causes tragedy, their husbands do what they can to cover all traces of a scandal.
The film is divided into several sections, dedicated to various aspects and ways of life, love, tenderness, and sensuality. The documentary is a summary of more than 9 hours of interviews with a mother, a child, a transsexual, a transvestite and a prostitute. Each of them explains in their own words their way of seeing life.
Fisher, a fine art dealer, goes to Prague after the death of a friend, the Baron von Utz, to see if he can obtain some of the pieces of the Baron’s priceless Meissen porcelain collection. He meets up with an old mutual friend, Orlik, who tells him about the Baron’s past, his struggle to keep his collection intact, while Fisher struggles to discover what happened to the collection.
Sexual escapades with a parade of beautiful women distract an American Author trying to establish himself in post WWI Paris. Henry, the young author, travels through brothels and the streets of Paris, making friends and falling in love along the way. The dark underbelly of the city is explored in nights of drunken revelry as Henry’s exploits become increasingly lascivious.
A former priest becomes embroiled in the drama raging between a Mexican rancher, his unhappy daughter and psychotic son whilst dealing with his own issues of guilt and a loss of faith. A new relationship with the local brothel keeper seems to offer a fresh start but the rancher and his son are set on making him pay for his interference and his own inner demons are never far away.