“Baaria”. A Closer Examination.

"Baaria", (Nick name for Bagheria), a Palermo suburb, is a sentimental sweep through 20th century Sicily.is billed as one of Italy’s most expensive ever movies costing $36 million,

The long-planned project, spans the Fascist period, World War II, the rise of the Italian Communist Party and the first decades of the post-war era. Peppino, the central character played by Francesco Scianna, is swept up by the Communist movement, travels to the Soviet Union where he sees first hand what it really means for citizens there and lives briefly in France seeking work. But Sicily’s landscapes and passionate people also play a prominent part in a sumptuously shot film set amid olive orchards, rugged hills and the ever-changing streets of Baaria.

Venice Kicks Off With Italian Epic

VENICE, Sept 2, (Agencies): The Venice film festival opens on Wednesday with big-budget Italian movie “Baaria”, a sentimental sweep through 20th century Sicily taking in Fascism, war, Communism and the mafia. Billed as one of Italy’s most expensive ever movies costing 25 million euros ($36 million), the first home-made film to open Venice for around 20 years kicks off 11 days of screenings, photo shoots, parties and red carpet glamour on the Lido island. Director Giuseppe Tornatore, whose 1988 movie “Cinema Paradiso” won a foreign film Oscar, said the story of a poor family living through the upheavals of the last century was partly based on his own memories of life in Sicily. He told reporters ahead of the official evening premiere that he wanted to use his birthplace as a microcosm of what was happening in the wider world. “It might be any other place,” he said, speaking through a translator. “The idea was not to tell the story of Sicily. The idea was to tell the story of a number of characters in the microcosm of a small town, hearing the echoes of what was happening around the town and far from that town,” he added. Passionate And so Peppino, the central character played by Francesco Scianna, is swept up by the Communist movement, travels to the Soviet Union where he sees first hand what it really means for citizens there and lives briefly in France seeking work. But Sicily’s landscapes and passionate people also play a prominent part in a sumptuously shot film set amid olive orchards, rugged hills and the ever-changing streets of Baaria.

Tornatore recalled a saying that young men should leave Sicily before they turn 17 to void absorbing the island’s distinctive flaws. “I went away at 27, so I absorbed all the flaws of the Sicilian, even those I know nothing about.”

While Venice organisers would welcome an Italian hit on the Lido after home-grown films have generally flopped in recent years, the success of the festival will be judged as well by how many Hollywood stars and US movies it attracts.
The early signs are promising, with Matt Damon, Michael Moore, Nicolas Cage, George Clooney, Oliver Stone, Charlize Theron, Eva Mendes, Richard Gere and Sylvester Stallone among those expected to walk the red carpet.

The cinema complex on the Lido waterfront is being re-built in a 100-million euro makeover designed to drag the world’s oldest film festival into the 21st century and help it compete with other festivals, notably Toronto, which it overlaps.
Damon appears in “The Informant!”, in which he plays a crooked company whistleblower, and Moore brings “Capitalism: A Love Story,” a documentary attacking corporate greed and analysing the recession.

Favorite

Clooney, who has a home in Italy and is a local favourite, appears in “The Men Who Stare at Goats,” about a reporter who stumbles across a US military unit in Iraq which employs paranormal powers on its missions....
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“Sounds, people, frustrations, dreams, happiness, challenges — I thought all of these themes could be turned into a movie,” Tornatore told a news conference after the press screening at the 66th Mostra in the lagoon city.
He said turning 60 had finally pushed him to complete a long-planned project, which spans the Fascist period, World War II, the rise of the Italian Communist Party and the first decades of the post-war era.

Ennio Morricone, who scored the spaghetti westerns of Sergio Leone, wrote the soundtrack for “Baaria” more than 20 years after that of “Cinema Paradiso,” which won the Oscar for best foreign film in 1989.

Noting that he spent the first 27 years of his life in Sicily, Tornatore said: “That’s how I see things. It’s my take on life.”
Describing the film as “allegorical,” the director said: “All those who were born in a small town will find similarities.... We should recover our sense of duty, the ability to teach our children how important it is to forge a relationship with the rest of the community.”

Since both leads are Sicilians — Francesco Scianna was born in Bagheria (nicknamed Baaria) itself — they are native speakers of the island’s dialect.

Appearance

With a cast of many homegrown stars, including Monica Belluci who offers a cameo appearance as a prostitute, Italians will feast on a red carpet bonanza at the gala opening Wednesday evening.Organisers could not confirm press reports that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi would be on hand for the official screening, but his son Piersilvio is expected to attend.In all more than 80 films will be presented at the prestigious festival, which has a strong American presence both in and out of competition....

One of the chosen films is Michael Moore’s “Capitalism: A Love Story,” his first Venice entry after winning the top prize twice in Cannes. By many measures, landing Moore’s film is a coup for Venice. It is one of 24 films, including a surprise film to be announced later in the week, in competition for the coveted Golden Lion.“I think Michael has had a terrific time in Cannes. He needed a change. And we needed a different Michael Moore film. This one is incredibly symphonic,” said Mueller, who has known Moore for 20 years and premiered 1999’s “The Awful Truth,” at the Locarno Film Festival when he was director there.

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