December 11, 2006  

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Italian Language Film Series Presented at Ramapo College

(Mahwah) - Ramapo College of New Jersey, in conjunction with its Italian cinema course, will present a series of Italian language films this spring.  The featured films represent classics by internationally known Italian directors as well as more recent productions.  Admission is free and open to the public.  Dr. Rosetta D’Angelo, professor of Italian studies, will coordinate the series.  All of the films will be shown at 6 p.m. in the Laurel Hall Auditorium, located in this student residence hall.  A discussion follows each screening in Room SC-219 in the Student Center.  The schedule for the screenings is as follows:

January 24:  Open City, 1945, directed by Roberto Rossellini
Rossellini captures the tension and tragedy of Italian experiences during the German occupation and the partisan struggle against the Nazi invaders.  The plot is an intriguing reflection of contradictions, and focuses on dramatic episodes in the lives of a handful of characters.

February 7:  Rocco and His Brothers, 1960, directed by Luchino Visconti
The clash between two value systems is played out in the rivalry between two brothers who both struggle for survival and recognition.

February 21:  Seduced and Abandoned, 1963, directed by Pietro Germi
One of the funniest Italian films, this comedy is about the oblique machinations of the Sicilian “code of honor.”  A madcap chain of events, seductions and revelations mock the hypocrisy of social conventions.

March 7:  Amarcord, 1974, directed by Federico Fellini
This nostalgic memory piece examines daily life in the Italian village of Rimini during the reign of Mussolini.  The film won the 1974 Academy Award as Best Foreign Film.

March 28:  The Night of Shooting Stars, 1983, directed by the Taviani Brothers
A woman’s wish to tell her child the story of her Tuscan village during World War II, and of the villagers brave escape from fascism during the war’s final days, is the theme of this film.  As she wishes on a shooting star, recollections of the daring plan and search for freedom come alive.

April 11: Cinema Paradiso, 1990, directed by Giuseppe Tornatore
The story of a lifelong affair with the movies, Cinema Paradiso tells of a young boy in a small Italian village, where the only pastime is a visit to the movies.  Enchanted by the flickering images, Salvatore yearns for the secret of the cinema’s magic, and is overjoyed when Alfredo, the projectionist, agrees to reveal the mysteries of moviemaking to him.

April 25:  Once you are born, you can no longer hide, 2005, directed by Marco Tullio
Giordana

Sandro, the 12-year-old son of a young businessman from Brescia, goes off with his father and one of his father’s friends to cruise on a yacht in the Mediterranean.  One night the boy falls overboard and is saved by Radu, a Romanian boy who is trying to reach Italy on a “junk” full of illegal immigrants.  Sandro’s grateful parents offer to adopt Radu and his sister Alina, but as soon as the occasion arises, the two children rob them and run away.  Sandro’s conscience give him no peace and he goes by himself to Milan, where he manages to raise Alina in a disused factory occupied by immigrants:  then he will have to face a new and terrible truth.
For further information please contact Dr. Rosetta D’Angelo, (201) 684 - 7408.

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