Laura Morante
December 8–10, 2005
Few actresses in recent years have demonstrated in equal measure the sensuality, culture, beauty, and introspection that characterize Laura Morante. Tuscan born, and trained as a dancer, Morante has since the beginning of her career been an astonishing and passionate presence in the best tradition of the great Italian actresses. She has worked with acclaimed directors such as Bernardo Bertolucci, Gianni Amelio, and Nanni Moretti, for whom she became a muse. During the 1990s, Morante’s career took on international status, and she has recently displayed a great talent for comedy, working with Paolo Virzi’ and Carlo Verdone.
Organized by Natalie Hirniak, Manager, Department of Film and Media, and Antonio Monda, Film Professor, New York University. Copresented by A.I.P-Filmitalia, under the patronage and contributions from the Cinema Department of the Italian Ministry for Cultural and Heritage Activities, and in collaboration with Cinecittà Holding and the Italian Cultural Institute, New York.
Special thanks to Giovanni Galoppi, Griselda Guerrasio, and Amelia Antonucci; and to Fox Searchlight, Miramax Films, and Roadside Attractions for the loan of prints.
An Evening with Laura Morante
Un viaggio chiamato amore (A Journey Called Love). 2002. Italy. Directed by Michele Placido. Screenplay by Placido, Diego Ribon, Heidrun Schleef. With Laura Morante, Stefano Accorsi, Alessandro Haber, Galatea Ranzi. About the tormented love between two figures of early twentieth-century Italian literature: the novelist Sibila Aleramo and the poet Dino Campana. Morante gives one of her most sensitive performances, showing both the impossibility of resisting intellectual and erotic attraction and the pain of being burnt by an impossible love. A discussion with Ms. Morante follows the screening on December 8. In Italian, English subtitles. 96 min.
Thursday, December 8, 6:00 (followed by a discussion with Morante); Friday, December 9, 9:00. T1
La stanza del figlio (The Son’s Room). 2001. Italy. Directed by Nanni Moretti. Screenplay by Linda Ferri, Heidrum Schleef, Moretti. With Laura Morante, Moretti, Jasmine Trinca. An honest, moving look at a family torn apart by sudden tragedy. With gentle, aching beauty, Moretti and Morante portray the complex emotions of parents who must try to live with their guilt, rage, and sorrow while attempting to mend their family ties. In Italian, English subtitles. 99 min.
Thursday, December 8, 8:30. T1
Ricordati de me (Remember Me). 2003. Italy. Directed by Gabriele Muccino. Screenplay by Muccino, Heidrun Schleef. With Laura Morante, Fabrizio Bentivoglio, Monica Bellucci. A clever and disturbing portrait of contemporary Italy in which disillusion overcomes dreams and egotism goes hand in hand with ignorance. Morante plays Giulia, a woman who tries to resuscitate her old passion for the theater when her daughter decides to become a television starlet and her husband has an affair with an old flame. In Italian, English subtitles. 125 min.
Friday, December 9, 6:00; Saturday, December 10, 2:00. T2
The Dancer Upstairs. 2002. USA. Directed by John Malkovich. Screenplay by Nicholas Shakespeare. With Javier Bardem, Juan Diego Botto, Laura Morante. For his directorial debut, Malkovich cast the acclaimed Morante in the role of Yolanda, in part because of her look: “She has a very communicative face… I didn’t want someone with an innocent face, I wanted a woman with a past, with experience, with a history.” Indeed it is Morante’s embodiment of these qualities that draws the viewer into this gripping story about the fight to stay one step ahead of hopelessness. 133 min.
Saturday, December 10, 5:45. T1
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