New out this week in Italy:
L’utimo ultras, a football hooligan drama directed by Stefano Calvagna. This did moderate business over its opening weekend, although to describe it as a success would be over-egging it somewhat (it took €37,000). The plot goes something like this:
John is on the run after killing a young man during a fight in a football stadium. A die-hard football fan and gambler, he meets several people who, in one way or another, change his life: Sergio, a supporter of a local team; Lucretia, a young prostitute; Marina, cashier at a betting office; and Alice, a violinist …
Here’s a trailer:
Here’s a blast from the past: politically inclined filmmaker Francesco Maselli (Open Letter to the Evening News and The Suspect were two of his bigger films from the seventies) is still at it. His latest release is Le ombre rosse, which includes a central part for veteran actor Arnoldo Foa (who was appearing in peplums way back in the late 50s). Unsurprisingly, it sounds like a committed kind of film judging from the synopsis on Cineuropa:
A world-renowned intellectual is invited to the social centre “Change the World” et set up in a derelict old local cinema in Rome. The man is profoundly impressed by the turmoil and life that animate this place. A revolutionary idea originates by chance during an interview transmitted on “Street TV”. These juvenile venues, which are so full of life, could develop into socially and culturally innovative situations. The idea is greeted with general enthusiasm and becomes a project that receives a great amount of publicity in the media. It becomes an international case. Everyone starts rallying around and wants to make the most of the opportunity. However, the vital turmoil that impressed the intellectual is soon distorted, becoming the object of tirades and conflicts between the various souls of the left.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, opening receipts have been, well, moderate (just under €31,000). But on the strength of Maselli’s name and given it’s topical subject matter it’ll probably do reasonably well on the festival circuit.