A big and satisfying movie that's presented in a very straightforward style by veteran director Lina Wertmuller, "Francesca and Nunziata" stars Sophia Loren in one of her more impressive efforts in a long career. The Italian-language feature is one of the most prestigious entries to unspool so far at the 25th World Film Festival of Montreal.
A not-in-competition world premiere Sunday evening that started 45 minutes late -- with some in the crowd growing impatient and becoming a bit rude in the process, while all were greeted by a soaking rain shower when heading outdoors afterward -- "Francesca" should be the first Wertmuller film in a while to garner significant domestic distribution.
Both Loren and Wertmuller were present, and the film received a mixed reaction. But for those who like to, in effect, cuddle up with a good story that unfolds over two hours, covers decades and tracks several love stories, "Francesca" is a page turner that centers on two strong women and the men who love them. With few unpredictable plot turns and surprises -- one is why in a Italian movie featuring pasta making as a backdrop there is nary a meal or eating scene -- the story set on the Sorrento peninsula starts during the 19th century and continues to the early years of fascism.
In the opening scenes, Loren's Francesca, married to Prince Giordano Montorsi (Giancarlo Giannini), adopts a young orphan girl to fulfill a vow when one of her own daughters survives a serious illness. The granddaughter of a master pasta maker who has carried on the craft with great success and dedication to the art, Francesca almost immediately recognizes a kindred spirit in the adopted 8-year-old Nunziata, who blossoms a few scenes later into a pretty young woman played by Claudia Gerini.
Francesca and Giordano live in a world of noble splendor, with a huge villa. But from the start of their relationship, the tension has grown between entrepreneurial Francesca and idler Giordano in terms of their roles in life. While she is comfortable and strong, and used to having her way, he eventually resents her success and seeks to have a banking career. With ultimate disaster on her mind even as she embarks on the scheme, Francesca for love decides to back his business career.
Nunziata learns everything about the pasta business that Francesca inherited, but the younger woman's attraction to her biologically unrelated brother Federico (Raoul Bova) leads to a covert romance that grows more serious as they grow older. It's not hard to guess what happens next. With Giordano's business draining the family fortune that Francesca built up, the only hope is to marry Federico to the daughter of a shipping magnate, with Nunziata playing her part reluctantly but with loyalty.
An unexpected pregnancy and other developments cause Nunziata herself to be married off, and she and Francesca become business rivals with a vengeance. The former over the next decade or so gets the upper hand as the house of Montorsi goes into decline. What is not in decline is the power of such family-based period sagas to keep one enthralled, particularly when the production is so lovingly rendered.
At the center of it all is a vibrant, commanding Loren in a truly dazzling array of costumes and cumbersome but elegant hats that her character complains about throughout the movie. Somewhat overshadowed is Gerini, with a less demanding role. Giannini's performance is stately and evocative of distinguished Old World gentlemen who usually know all their own faults and are not surprised at those displayed by others. Bova is also impressive, along with the large supporting cast of family members and loyal servants.
FRANCESCA AND NUNZIATA
Mediatrade
Credits:
Director: Lina Wertmuller
Screenwriters: Lina Wertmuller, Elvio Porta
Based on the novel by: Maria Orsini Natale
Producers: Simone De Rita, Anna Stoppoloni
Executive producer: Adriano Arie, Guglielmo Arie
Director of photography: Alfio Contini
Production designer: Enrico Job
Editor: Pierluigi Leonardi
Costume designers: Benito Persico, Gabriele Mayer, Enrica Biscossi
Music: Italo Greco, Lucio Gregoretti. Cast: Francesca: Sophia Loren
Giordano: Giancarlo Giannini
Nunziata: Claudia Gerini
Federico: Raoul Bova
No MPAA rating
Color/stereo
Running time -- 126 minutes...
A not-in-competition world premiere Sunday evening that started 45 minutes late -- with some in the crowd growing impatient and becoming a bit rude in the process, while all were greeted by a soaking rain shower when heading outdoors afterward -- "Francesca" should be the first Wertmuller film in a while to garner significant domestic distribution.
Both Loren and Wertmuller were present, and the film received a mixed reaction. But for those who like to, in effect, cuddle up with a good story that unfolds over two hours, covers decades and tracks several love stories, "Francesca" is a page turner that centers on two strong women and the men who love them. With few unpredictable plot turns and surprises -- one is why in a Italian movie featuring pasta making as a backdrop there is nary a meal or eating scene -- the story set on the Sorrento peninsula starts during the 19th century and continues to the early years of fascism.
In the opening scenes, Loren's Francesca, married to Prince Giordano Montorsi (Giancarlo Giannini), adopts a young orphan girl to fulfill a vow when one of her own daughters survives a serious illness. The granddaughter of a master pasta maker who has carried on the craft with great success and dedication to the art, Francesca almost immediately recognizes a kindred spirit in the adopted 8-year-old Nunziata, who blossoms a few scenes later into a pretty young woman played by Claudia Gerini.
Francesca and Giordano live in a world of noble splendor, with a huge villa. But from the start of their relationship, the tension has grown between entrepreneurial Francesca and idler Giordano in terms of their roles in life. While she is comfortable and strong, and used to having her way, he eventually resents her success and seeks to have a banking career. With ultimate disaster on her mind even as she embarks on the scheme, Francesca for love decides to back his business career.
Nunziata learns everything about the pasta business that Francesca inherited, but the younger woman's attraction to her biologically unrelated brother Federico (Raoul Bova) leads to a covert romance that grows more serious as they grow older. It's not hard to guess what happens next. With Giordano's business draining the family fortune that Francesca built up, the only hope is to marry Federico to the daughter of a shipping magnate, with Nunziata playing her part reluctantly but with loyalty.
An unexpected pregnancy and other developments cause Nunziata herself to be married off, and she and Francesca become business rivals with a vengeance. The former over the next decade or so gets the upper hand as the house of Montorsi goes into decline. What is not in decline is the power of such family-based period sagas to keep one enthralled, particularly when the production is so lovingly rendered.
At the center of it all is a vibrant, commanding Loren in a truly dazzling array of costumes and cumbersome but elegant hats that her character complains about throughout the movie. Somewhat overshadowed is Gerini, with a less demanding role. Giannini's performance is stately and evocative of distinguished Old World gentlemen who usually know all their own faults and are not surprised at those displayed by others. Bova is also impressive, along with the large supporting cast of family members and loyal servants.
FRANCESCA AND NUNZIATA
Mediatrade
Credits:
Director: Lina Wertmuller
Screenwriters: Lina Wertmuller, Elvio Porta
Based on the novel by: Maria Orsini Natale
Producers: Simone De Rita, Anna Stoppoloni
Executive producer: Adriano Arie, Guglielmo Arie
Director of photography: Alfio Contini
Production designer: Enrico Job
Editor: Pierluigi Leonardi
Costume designers: Benito Persico, Gabriele Mayer, Enrica Biscossi
Music: Italo Greco, Lucio Gregoretti. Cast: Francesca: Sophia Loren
Giordano: Giancarlo Giannini
Nunziata: Claudia Gerini
Federico: Raoul Bova
No MPAA rating
Color/stereo
Running time -- 126 minutes...
CANNES -- Italian pubcaster Rai Trade has signed on to co-produce and distribute a seven-part series of Hitchcockian thrillers as well as taking on international distribution for the feature film Radio West. The first title -- "Do You Like Hitchcock?" -- will be directed by Dario Argento. The central thread of the direct-to-video series will be references to the ideas and stories present in many of the works of the famed auteur. The movies will be shot in English and co-produced by Genesis, a company created from a partnership between Edwige Fenech's company Immagine e Cinema, Carlo Bixio's Publispei and Adriano Arie's Solaris.
- 5/13/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A big and satisfying movie that's presented in a very straightforward style by veteran director Lina Wertmuller, "Francesca and Nunziata" stars Sophia Loren in one of her more impressive efforts in a long career. The Italian-language feature is one of the most prestigious entries to unspool so far at the 25th World Film Festival of Montreal.
A not-in-competition world premiere Sunday evening that started 45 minutes late -- with some in the crowd growing impatient and becoming a bit rude in the process, while all were greeted by a soaking rain shower when heading outdoors afterward -- "Francesca" should be the first Wertmuller film in a while to garner significant domestic distribution.
Both Loren and Wertmuller were present, and the film received a mixed reaction. But for those who like to, in effect, cuddle up with a good story that unfolds over two hours, covers decades and tracks several love stories, "Francesca" is a page turner that centers on two strong women and the men who love them. With few unpredictable plot turns and surprises -- one is why in a Italian movie featuring pasta making as a backdrop there is nary a meal or eating scene -- the story set on the Sorrento peninsula starts during the 19th century and continues to the early years of fascism.
In the opening scenes, Loren's Francesca, married to Prince Giordano Montorsi (Giancarlo Giannini), adopts a young orphan girl to fulfill a vow when one of her own daughters survives a serious illness. The granddaughter of a master pasta maker who has carried on the craft with great success and dedication to the art, Francesca almost immediately recognizes a kindred spirit in the adopted 8-year-old Nunziata, who blossoms a few scenes later into a pretty young woman played by Claudia Gerini.
Francesca and Giordano live in a world of noble splendor, with a huge villa. But from the start of their relationship, the tension has grown between entrepreneurial Francesca and idler Giordano in terms of their roles in life. While she is comfortable and strong, and used to having her way, he eventually resents her success and seeks to have a banking career. With ultimate disaster on her mind even as she embarks on the scheme, Francesca for love decides to back his business career.
Nunziata learns everything about the pasta business that Francesca inherited, but the younger woman's attraction to her biologically unrelated brother Federico (Raoul Bova) leads to a covert romance that grows more serious as they grow older. It's not hard to guess what happens next. With Giordano's business draining the family fortune that Francesca built up, the only hope is to marry Federico to the daughter of a shipping magnate, with Nunziata playing her part reluctantly but with loyalty.
An unexpected pregnancy and other developments cause Nunziata herself to be married off, and she and Francesca become business rivals with a vengeance. The former over the next decade or so gets the upper hand as the house of Montorsi goes into decline. What is not in decline is the power of such family-based period sagas to keep one enthralled, particularly when the production is so lovingly rendered.
At the center of it all is a vibrant, commanding Loren in a truly dazzling array of costumes and cumbersome but elegant hats that her character complains about throughout the movie. Somewhat overshadowed is Gerini, with a less demanding role. Giannini's performance is stately and evocative of distinguished Old World gentlemen who usually know all their own faults and are not surprised at those displayed by others. Bova is also impressive, along with the large supporting cast of family members and loyal servants.
FRANCESCA AND NUNZIATA
Mediatrade
Credits:
Director: Lina Wertmuller
Screenwriters: Lina Wertmuller, Elvio Porta
Based on the novel by: Maria Orsini Natale
Producers: Simone De Rita, Anna Stoppoloni
Executive producer: Adriano Arie, Guglielmo Arie
Director of photography: Alfio Contini
Production designer: Enrico Job
Editor: Pierluigi Leonardi
Costume designers: Benito Persico, Gabriele Mayer, Enrica Biscossi
Music: Italo Greco, Lucio Gregoretti. Cast: Francesca: Sophia Loren
Giordano: Giancarlo Giannini
Nunziata: Claudia Gerini
Federico: Raoul Bova
No MPAA rating
Color/stereo
Running time -- 126 minutes...
A not-in-competition world premiere Sunday evening that started 45 minutes late -- with some in the crowd growing impatient and becoming a bit rude in the process, while all were greeted by a soaking rain shower when heading outdoors afterward -- "Francesca" should be the first Wertmuller film in a while to garner significant domestic distribution.
Both Loren and Wertmuller were present, and the film received a mixed reaction. But for those who like to, in effect, cuddle up with a good story that unfolds over two hours, covers decades and tracks several love stories, "Francesca" is a page turner that centers on two strong women and the men who love them. With few unpredictable plot turns and surprises -- one is why in a Italian movie featuring pasta making as a backdrop there is nary a meal or eating scene -- the story set on the Sorrento peninsula starts during the 19th century and continues to the early years of fascism.
In the opening scenes, Loren's Francesca, married to Prince Giordano Montorsi (Giancarlo Giannini), adopts a young orphan girl to fulfill a vow when one of her own daughters survives a serious illness. The granddaughter of a master pasta maker who has carried on the craft with great success and dedication to the art, Francesca almost immediately recognizes a kindred spirit in the adopted 8-year-old Nunziata, who blossoms a few scenes later into a pretty young woman played by Claudia Gerini.
Francesca and Giordano live in a world of noble splendor, with a huge villa. But from the start of their relationship, the tension has grown between entrepreneurial Francesca and idler Giordano in terms of their roles in life. While she is comfortable and strong, and used to having her way, he eventually resents her success and seeks to have a banking career. With ultimate disaster on her mind even as she embarks on the scheme, Francesca for love decides to back his business career.
Nunziata learns everything about the pasta business that Francesca inherited, but the younger woman's attraction to her biologically unrelated brother Federico (Raoul Bova) leads to a covert romance that grows more serious as they grow older. It's not hard to guess what happens next. With Giordano's business draining the family fortune that Francesca built up, the only hope is to marry Federico to the daughter of a shipping magnate, with Nunziata playing her part reluctantly but with loyalty.
An unexpected pregnancy and other developments cause Nunziata herself to be married off, and she and Francesca become business rivals with a vengeance. The former over the next decade or so gets the upper hand as the house of Montorsi goes into decline. What is not in decline is the power of such family-based period sagas to keep one enthralled, particularly when the production is so lovingly rendered.
At the center of it all is a vibrant, commanding Loren in a truly dazzling array of costumes and cumbersome but elegant hats that her character complains about throughout the movie. Somewhat overshadowed is Gerini, with a less demanding role. Giannini's performance is stately and evocative of distinguished Old World gentlemen who usually know all their own faults and are not surprised at those displayed by others. Bova is also impressive, along with the large supporting cast of family members and loyal servants.
FRANCESCA AND NUNZIATA
Mediatrade
Credits:
Director: Lina Wertmuller
Screenwriters: Lina Wertmuller, Elvio Porta
Based on the novel by: Maria Orsini Natale
Producers: Simone De Rita, Anna Stoppoloni
Executive producer: Adriano Arie, Guglielmo Arie
Director of photography: Alfio Contini
Production designer: Enrico Job
Editor: Pierluigi Leonardi
Costume designers: Benito Persico, Gabriele Mayer, Enrica Biscossi
Music: Italo Greco, Lucio Gregoretti. Cast: Francesca: Sophia Loren
Giordano: Giancarlo Giannini
Nunziata: Claudia Gerini
Federico: Raoul Bova
No MPAA rating
Color/stereo
Running time -- 126 minutes...
- 8/28/2001
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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