By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Year: 2013
| The Great Beauty (Italy/France; 142 min.)
directed by: Paolo Sorrentino starring: Toni Servillo; Sabrina Ferilli; Carlo Buccirosso; Georgio Pasotti; Massimo Popolizio |
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| Peter says: “This is a film loaded with Fellini style imagery, characters, and abrupt scene transitions that make its two and half hours flow by in mesmerizing magic. Paolo Sorrentino ( IL DIVO and THIS MUST BE THE PLACE) knows how to rivet attention to a matured life weighing his missed opportunities and lost romances from an existence bathed in illusion and self-delusion. Jep Gambardella ( Toni Servillo ) has just turned 65 and suddenly realizes his life is approaching its sunset. He assesses whether he’s lived a worthwhile life or one of wasted opportunity. His reputation in the haut monde of Rome has had its hedonistic excitement. He’s grown older within the bubble of the social elite and avant-garde. Has it all just been pretentious and ostentatious BS? Has he really made a mark as the author of a single book he wrote decades earlier and as the journalist of an unconventional art magazine? Was any of it real? This colorful film about the poetry of aging is beautifully crafted and shakes up all of us over 50 to introspect the value of our own life’s contributions. 5 cats“ |
| Diane says: “I liked the costumes and sets on this one, more than the screenplay. And a stunning soundtrack!” |
La Grande Bellezza