By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Sergio Rubini
Starring: Fabrizio Bentivoglio | Massimo Venturiello | Paolo Briguglia
Original language title: La Terra
Country: italy
Year: 2006
Running time: 92
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0772203/
Bruce says: “Sergio Rubini has acted in over 50 films including THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY and THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST. He is also in his own film LA TERRA playing the most odious creature in the film. This is a man who is not afraid to look bad on screen. As the director of this delightful black comedy he fares much better – he looks marvelous.
“LA TERRA is the story of four brothers, victims of a disastrous childhood, each so different from the others that one’s first instinct is to call in some DNA experts to make sure they are even related. Luigi is the brother who has escaped the family village and is a professor in Milano. Michele is the family politician running for mayor of the village; he whines and snivels when cornered by Tonio the local loan shark. Aldo is the one who still lives on the family farm. He is single and wildly eccentric. Mario is the youngest and is obsessed with helping the disadvantaged and the downtrodden.
“Tonio is about to close in on the family home in the village and the family villa and farm on the outskirts of town. Mario is the debtor. Tonio is a threat to the family heritage, Michele’s political career and the already shaky relationship of the brothers. All the brothers have a woman in their life: Michele is married with children; Aldo is in love with one of Tonio’s prostitutes; Luigi has a live-in girlfriend and Mario has a girlfriend who loves him but doesn’t understand him.
“The brothers are in trouble and one of them must act fast before Tonio destroys the family. Which one will save the day? The lack of communication among the brothers leads to great confusion and subsequently great fun. LA TERRA has a droll sense of humour starting with the red wine swirling in a glass during the opening credits. Rubini skewers his own culture with incredible zest, never taking any situation too seriously. 4.5 cats
“LA TERRA was shown as part of the OPEN ROADS: NEW ITALIAN CINEMA festival at Lincoln Center.”