Un château en Italie par Valeria Bruni Tedeschi (review)

Reviews 203 ses jeunes exilés. Dans un contexte de malaise général où le système scolaire français ne satisfait plus personne et où l’hétérogénéité des classes est souvent dénoncée, ce documentaire glorifie l’école républicaine française. Le site du film comprend un dossier pédagogique qui intéressera les enseignants désirant utiliser ce documentaire en classe: . Siena College (NY) Nathalie Degroult Bruni Tedeschi,Valeria, réal. Un château en Italie. Int.Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Louis Garrel, Filippo Timi. SBS, 2013. When her mother is forced to sell the family home in Italy, Louise Rossi Levi must cope with her own unrealized dreams of success and motherhood. Un château en Italie adds another complex and intriguing film to Tedeschi’s limited, yet already welldeveloped repertoire. It shares many characteristics with her two previous films, Il est plus facile pour un chameau (2003) and Actrices (2007), including a strong focus on family dynamics, an intense desire for motherhood, and an autobiographical overtone created by, among other aspects, Tedeschi being cast as the lead, her own mother as her on-screen mother, and the portrayal of their old family home in Italy. However, anyone familiar with Tedeschi as a director will also notice a very different ambience than that portrayed in her previous works. Un château en Italie tells the story of an Italian mother and her two children, Louise and Ludovic. Louise quickly emerges as the protagonist. She is a middle-aged retired actress searching for love, a sense of belonging and, above all, a path to motherhood. Nathan, a young actor whom Louise meets early in the story, provides her with the opportunity to fulfill all of these desires. Un château en Italie becomes their love story. Despite their mutual attraction, Nathan does not share Louise’s desires for the future as he is opposed to both children and a stable relationship. Undeterred by Nathan’s opposition, Louise continues to pursue her desires whole-heartedly, to the extent of pressuring Nathan to cooperate in an in vitro fertilization procedure. While trying to navigate her newfound romantic relationship and satisfy her maternal desires, Louise must also come to terms with her brother’s deteriorating health and impending death from AIDS. From the very first scene featuring the two, in which Ludovic tackles Louise to the ground and feigns an attack with his cane,it is clear that they share a special and untraditional bond.This bond continues after Ludovic’s death and is even accentuated by Louise’s obsession with Ludovic’s shoes after his passing. She hugs them, dances with them, and caresses them, mimicking all aspects of their relationship. Despite her brother’s death, her inability to conceive, and the apparent failure of her relationship with Nathan, this film is not inherently a tragedy. It is serious and tragic, yet somehow optimistic. Tedeschi does not just blur emotional boundaries. For instance, what starts out as nondiegetic piano music heard over the profoundly emotional scene of Ludovic collapsing under the weight of his illness transitions to a scene of his mother playing the piano, seemingly unaware of the world around her. This musical mélange intensifies the emotional resonance of the film each time that it occurs. With its well-developed characters and intense interpersonal conflicts, Un château en Italie offers the spectator a visual and intellectual treat that is a must-see for any fan of Tedeschi. University of Alabama Ann Marie Moore Dupré, Colin. Le Fespaco, une affaire d’État(s): festival panafricain de cinéma et de télévision de Ouagadougou, 1969–2009. Paris: L’Harmattan, 2012. ISBN 978-2-336163 -0. Pp. 406. 31,35 a. Le Fespaco, né de la volonté de cinéphiles et cinéastes africains en 1969, a toujours été une priorité du Burkina Faso, quel que soit le régime politique en place. Ce festival, unique en son genre puisqu’il est à la fois un carrefour de la production cinématographique et un forum culturel et politique panafricain, attire jusqu’à cinq cent mille spectateurs venus de toute l’Afrique. Dupré retrace les...