300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE
April 1–3
More camp (if that’s possible) than ‘300,’ its prequel/sequel/companion piece has the Chippendale hoplites and the kinky Persians at odds again, with Admiral Themistokles of Athens entering into an uneasy alliance with Sparta to confront arch enemy Xerxes, aided and abetted by supervillain Artemisia. Graphic novel fantasy meets ancient history in a bloody ferocious clash of wills, six-pack abs and egos. ‘A triumph of production design, costumes, brilliantly choreographed battle sequences and stunning CGI’ (Chicago Sun-Times). ‘It really is pretty dull, though, with the same moments of campy silliness: the same frowning gym bunnies with the same digitally enhanced abs’ (Guardian). ‘When the film isn’t sloppily directed, it’s a series of lazy filmmaking tics, including fetishistic slow-motion shots of blood, water and sweat, as well as sundry dismemberments, impalings and decapitations’ (Washington Post). Eva Green as Artemisia is its barely saving grace.
ODEON Cinema
piazza Strozzi 2, tel. 055/295051
SAVING MR BANKS
April 4–6: ODEON
The making of ‘Mary Poppins’: author P.L. Travers proves to be a demanding collaborator when commissioned by Walt Disney to translate her novel to the screen. Her Australian upbringing has a lot to do with it. Emma Thompson as Travers gives one of her greatest performances: ‘She is sheer perfection in the complex role, never allowing the author to descend into crotchety caricature, constantly suggesting a strain of melancholia behind the biting, control-freaky haughtiness. As always, her comic timing is impeccable … giving us a fully rounded portrait of a person who is hard to like but impossible not to love’ (Guardian). ‘A delicate and brilliantly acted story of overcoming the past to embrace an uncertain future. Emma Thompson, in particular, is magic’ (Empire). ‘Saving Mr. Banks tries to turn a lie about securing a book’s film rights into a parable about St. Walt and the Dragon Lady. I hereby denounce the movie and all its works (except for Hanks). But for a few moments there, I was like the movie’s P.L. Travers, helpless under the Disney spell’ (Time).
ODEON Cinema
piazza Strozzi 2, tel. 055/295051
CAPTAIN AMERICA. THE WINTER SOLDIER
April 4–8: ODEON
‘Retired’ Steve Rogers, a.k.a. Captain America, is trying to adjust to the modern world. But when a S.H.I.E.L.D. colleague comes under attack, Steve joins forces with the Black Widow and a new ally, the Falcon, against an unexpected and formidable enemy, the Winter Soldier. ‘In the first movie, an injection transformed wimpy Steve Rogers into strapping Captain America; similarly, this sequel gives the flagging comic-book movie an adrenaline shot of relevance. You’ve got to hand it to them’ (Guardian). ‘For sheer plotting and audience involvement, this is a notch above any of the other Avengers-feeding Marvel entries, the one that feels most like a real movie rather than a production line of ooh-and-ahh moments for fanboys’ (Hollywood Reporter). ‘You can’t help but feel disappointed that a film with a relatively spicy premise becomes, in the end, so risk-averse’ (Telegraph).
ODEON Cinema
piazza Strozzi 2, tel. 055/295051
L’INNOCENTE
April 16, 8pm
Last in the series and Visconti’s last film, L’innocente is an immaculate adaptation of Gabriele D’Annunzio’s fin de siècle novel.
Tullio Hermil is a chauvinist, perhaps psychotic, aristocrat who flaunts his mistress to his wife, but when he believes his wife has been unfaithful he reverses the double standards and falls in love with her again. When a child of uncertain paternity is born, he acts in a spectacularly indecorous way, which can only result in doom. ‘Although The Innocent is one of Visconti’s most beautiful films, the décor is essential to its meaning. The Innocent is also one of Visconti’s most terse, most dramatically economical films. There’s not a superfluous frame in it’ (New York Times). ‘L’Innocente is a peculiarly adagio note on which to close a career with so many fortissimo gestures, though, by exploring the desires seething under society’s lacquered surfaces, it proves also to be a fitting one’ (Slant).
BRITISH INSTITUTE of Florence
Lungarno Guicciardini 9
tel. 055/26778270
THE MALTESE FALCON
April 30, 8pm: BRITISH INSTITUTE
Launching a new series of the Best of Bogart
‘I hope they don’t hang you, precious, by that sweet neck … The chances are you’ll get off with life. That means if you’re a good girl, you’ll be out in 20 years. I’ll be waiting for you. If they hang you, I’ll always remember you,’ says Sam Spade, Humphrey Bogart’s iconic persona to the femme fatale Brigid O’Shaughnessy (Mary Astor) in John Huston’s classic film noir ‘The Maltese Falcon,’ the 1941 movie that virtually defines the genre. Written by Huston from Dashiell Hammett’s novel, the movie has all the elements that make for the perfect noir experience, and well deserves its elevated status as a movie legend. ‘Of major importance is the standout performance of Humphrey Bogart, an attention-arresting portrayal that will add immeasurable voltage to his marquee values. Bogart not only dominates the proceedings throughout, but is the major motivation in all but a few minor scenes’ (Variety).
BRITISH INSTITUTE of Florence
Lungarno Guicciardini 9
tel. 055/26778270