Happy 70th Birthday, Marco Tullio Giordana! Born today in 1950, this Italian screenwriter and director’s relationship with Italian history, literature, culture and the nation's cinematic tradition are prevalent in his features.
In the mid-1990s, Giordana co-wrote and directed the 1995 Italian drama/crime film 'Pasolini, un delitto italiano' ('Pasolini, an Italian Crime').
Internationally released as 'Who Killed Pasolini?', the film depicts the trial against Italian teenage criminal Giuseppe "Pino" Pelosi, who was charged with the murder of Pier Paolo Pasolini ('The Gospel According to St. Matthew', 'Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom').
Based off of Italian writer, playwright, literary critic and intellectual Enzo Siciliano's 1982 biographical book Vita di Pasolini (Pasolini: A Biography), the film is set in 1975, after Pasolini is murdered.
The public is enraged, and seventeen-year-old Giuseppe Pelosi (Carlo DeFilippi) is convicted of the crime.
It certainly seems Pelosi is connected; prior to Pasolini's death, the openly gay director solicited Pelosi for a sexual encounter in a poor neighborhood, and the deal went sour.
However, forensics experts uncover evidence that leads to theories of conspiracy, corruption and injustice. And yet, the truth still remains out of reach.
Aside from 'Pasolini, an Italian Crime', Giordana is also known for directing three other notable films among his credits.
These include the 2000 Italian crime/drama film 'I cento passi' ('One Hundred Steps'), the 2003 Italian historical drama/comedy-drama film 'La meglio gioventù' ('The Best of Youth') and the 2012 Italian drama/political thriller film Romanzo di una strage' (internationally released as 'Piazza Fontana: The Italian Conspiracy').
'One Hundred Steps' tells of political activist Peppino Impastato (Luigi Lo Cascio), whose family has ties to the mob. Despite this, he still speaks out against organized crime.
The film was presented at the 57th Venice International Film Festival that same year, where Girodana took the prize for Best Screenplay.
Three years later, Giordana directed the film of which he is best known, being 'The Best of Youth'. The film intersects with the politics and history of Italy from 1963 to 2000.
Two close-knit brothers, Nicola Carati (Luigi Lo Cascio) and Matteo (Alessio Boni), are buffeted by the social and political upheavals that rock their native Italy during the 1960s and 1970s as they navigate their way into adulthood, marriage and middle age.
Along the way, Nicola meets Giulia Monfalco (Sonia Bergamasco), the love of his life whose political beliefs take precedence over her personal happiness, while Matteo falls for the lovely photographer-turned-librarian Mirella Utano (Maya Sansa).
With an eclectic soundtrack consisting of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Sebastian Bach, and The Animals, 'The Best of Youth' aims to show the interaction of the personal and the political; the ways in which small events may become turning points in the important choices made by individuals.
With a runtime of six-and-a-half hours, the film premiered in its entirety at the 56th Cannes Film Festival in May of that same year, where it won the Prize Un Certain Regard. The film, however, was originally planned as a four-part mini-series.
The following year, 'The Best of Youth' won six David di Donatello awards for Best Film, Best Director, Best Producer, Best Screenplay, Best Editing, and Best Sound. This occurred at the 49th David di Donatello Awards in mid-April 2004.
The ceremony is to recognize the outstanding direction of a filmmaker who has worked within the Italian film industry during the year preceding the ceremony.
'The Best of Youth' was later given a theatrical release in Italy as two three-hour films (titled Act I and Act II), before being aired on national broadcaster Rai 1 in a forty minutes longer four-episode television version later that year.
In the United States, the film was released by Miramax in its theatrical version.
The title for 'The Best of Youth' had been borrowed from Pier Paolo Pasolini's 1954 poetry collection of the same name.
Of the film, Roger Ebert wrote: "No good movie is too long, just as no bad movie is short enough.
I dropped outside of time and was carried along by the narrative flow; when the film was over, I had no particular desire to leave the theater, and would happily have stayed another three hours.
The two-hour limit on most films makes them essentially short stories. "The Best of Youth" is a novel."
According to English writer and film critic Peter Bradshaw, the film falls within the tradition of several films that cover expansive times of Italian history through the story of one family, such as Rocco and His Brothers and The Leopard.
In 2012, Girodana directed Piazza Fontana: The Italian Conspiracy'.
Set in 1969, Italy is marked by a wave of strikes and demonstrations that are occurring all over the country. A chronicle of the 1969 bombing at a major national bank in Milan and its aftermath.
Of cinema in general, Giordana once said, "I reckon a film must exist hic et nunc, that is, remain open and never end.”
The trademarks in his films include frequently casting Italian actors Alessio Boni and Luigi Lo Cascio.
According to Giordana's personal life, he has a daughter named Alice Crepax Giordana (b. 1974).
Giordana has been active from 1980–present.
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