Taught in English. By paying special attention to how certain themes are addressed— immigration, organized crime, and family life— this course provides a critical perspective on today’s Italian society and culture. It also examines how contemporary Italian film has challenged traditional cinematic language and transgressed genre boundaries.
While focusing on contemporary films (all released in the last decade), we will also consider the legacy of the masters, to capture the evolution of Italian cinema in relation to society and culture. The variety of pictures presented, with the relevant contribution of female directors, belong to genres such as the Noir, the political film, the cinema impegnato (socially-committed cinema), the drama, LGBTQI cinema, and the auteur film. They will all shed new light on the evolution of cinematic language, themes and genres, while providing a challenging reading of today’s Italy.
The selection includes the 2014 Oscar-winning The Great Beauty; indie pictures, such as Perfect Strangers, a huge hit at the Italian box-office; Shun Li and the Poet, dealing with the issue of immigration from an unusual perspective; Call Me Jeeg Robot, one of the few original and successful super-hero films; the internationally acclaimed Gomorrah, and many more. All films have English subtitles.
Meets with LIT 423.
This course has an associated course fee. See the Course Fees webpage for more information.
Department: Film
Location: Florence
Semesters: Fall, Spring
Credits: 3