Unlike Abbas Kiarostami, a poet of contemporary cinema whose films stopped being about Iran when he stopped making films there, Andrei Tarkovsky, Russia’s preeminent poet of the spirit, proved that while a Russian director could leave his homeland in the name of artistic freedom, he could still be imprisoned by the memories he took with him.
In his book Sculpting in Time, Tarkovsky wrote that he wanted Nostalghia, his first film after leaving Russia to escape censorship, to be “about the particular state of mind which assails Russians who are far from their native land.” Shot in Italy and written by Tarkovsky and Tonino Guerra, the film explores this acute form of nostalgia through a spiritually wearied poet, Andrei Gorchakov (Oleg Yankovskiy), who’s traveled to Italy to research the life of a composer who studied in Bologna during the late 1700s before returning to Russia to hang himself.
In his book Sculpting in Time, Tarkovsky wrote that he wanted Nostalghia, his first film after leaving Russia to escape censorship, to be “about the particular state of mind which assails Russians who are far from their native land.” Shot in Italy and written by Tarkovsky and Tonino Guerra, the film explores this acute form of nostalgia through a spiritually wearied poet, Andrei Gorchakov (Oleg Yankovskiy), who’s traveled to Italy to research the life of a composer who studied in Bologna during the late 1700s before returning to Russia to hang himself.
- 4/12/2024
- by Kalvin Henely
- Slant Magazine
In Andrei Tarkovsky’s penultimate film Nostalghia (1983), which he co-wrote with Michelangelo Antonioni’s longtime collaborator Tonino Guerra, Russian writer Andrei (Oleg Ivanovič Jankovskij) travels to Italy in order to research the life of composer Pavel Sosnovsky, along with his interpreter Eugenia (Domiziana Giordano), a young woman who resembles the Madonna del Parto in the famous fresco by Piero della Francesca.
Ahead of the theatrical release of the new 4K restoration, now playing at NYC’s Film Forum, we had the opportunity to speak with Giuseppe Lanci, the Italian cinematographer who shot the film and oversaw this new restoration. The 81-year-old Lanci still teaches at the Csc (National School of Cinema of Rome). In his diaries, Tarkovsky mentioned watching Nostalghia with cinematographer Sven Nykvist: “The photography made a strong impression on Nykvist. Indeed, Peppe Lanci shot the film in an extraordinary manner. This Swedish copy is much better than the one shown at Cannes,...
Ahead of the theatrical release of the new 4K restoration, now playing at NYC’s Film Forum, we had the opportunity to speak with Giuseppe Lanci, the Italian cinematographer who shot the film and oversaw this new restoration. The 81-year-old Lanci still teaches at the Csc (National School of Cinema of Rome). In his diaries, Tarkovsky mentioned watching Nostalghia with cinematographer Sven Nykvist: “The photography made a strong impression on Nykvist. Indeed, Peppe Lanci shot the film in an extraordinary manner. This Swedish copy is much better than the one shown at Cannes,...
- 2/21/2024
- by Lucia Senesi
- The Film Stage
Kate McKinnon is set to publish her debut novel.
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (Lbyr), a division of Hachette Book Group, will publish the Saturday Night Live alum’s novel, it was announced Monday by Megan Tingley, Lbyr president and publisher.
The book, called The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science, will be the first of an upcoming middle-grade series and center on the Porch Sisters (Gertrude, Eugenia and Dee-Dee) and the town of Antiquarium’s lone mad scientist, Millicent Quibb.
“I wanted to write the kind of book that I would have loved reading when I was younger, when I was eating honeysuckle on the playground and collecting bugs and falling in love with the natural world,” McKinnon said in a statement.
She added, “I hope young people read about the adventures of the Porch Sisters and are inspired to get out there and have their own adventures.
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (Lbyr), a division of Hachette Book Group, will publish the Saturday Night Live alum’s novel, it was announced Monday by Megan Tingley, Lbyr president and publisher.
The book, called The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science, will be the first of an upcoming middle-grade series and center on the Porch Sisters (Gertrude, Eugenia and Dee-Dee) and the town of Antiquarium’s lone mad scientist, Millicent Quibb.
“I wanted to write the kind of book that I would have loved reading when I was younger, when I was eating honeysuckle on the playground and collecting bugs and falling in love with the natural world,” McKinnon said in a statement.
She added, “I hope young people read about the adventures of the Porch Sisters and are inspired to get out there and have their own adventures.
- 2/12/2024
- by Lexy Perez
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Andrei Tarkovsky’s penultimate film, 1983’s gorgeously haunting Nostalghia, also marked new territory for the director. His first film made outside the Ussr, the Cannes Best Director winner (a prize he shared with Robert Bresson for L’Argent), was also a unique collaboration with writer Tonino Guerra, frequent collaborator of Michelangelo Antonioni, Federico Fellini, and Francesco Rosi. Now restored in 4K in 2022 by Csc – Cinetecanazionale in collaboration with Rai Cinema at Augustus Color laboratory, from the original negatives and the original soundtrack preserved at Rai Cinema, the restoration will begin rolling out on February 21 at NYC’s Film Forum via Kino Lorber and we’re pleased to exclusively unveil the trailer.
Here’s the synopsis: “Andrei Tarkovsky explained that in Russian the word ‘nostalghia’ conveys ‘the love for your homeland and the melancholy that arises from being far away.’ This debilitating form of homesickness is embodied in the film by Andrei,...
Here’s the synopsis: “Andrei Tarkovsky explained that in Russian the word ‘nostalghia’ conveys ‘the love for your homeland and the melancholy that arises from being far away.’ This debilitating form of homesickness is embodied in the film by Andrei,...
- 1/31/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Wwd has named Eugenia Miranda Richman as its new editor-in-chief, effective Jan. 26.
In this role, Richman will oversee the Wwd editorial team in the development of its breaking news and business content and guide the evolution and expansion of its print, web, social, video and e-commerce initiatives. Richman will report to Jim Fallon, editorial director of Fairchild Media Group.
“I am honored and humbled to take on such a responsibility — the digital evolution of a legendary New York institution,” Richman said. “Wwd’s legacy and authority in the fashion industry is unrivaled, and I look forward to working with Jim to amplify it to a wider audience. With our complementary backgrounds, Jim and I will be able to diversify the brand and business to its fullest potential.”
Said Jay Penske, chairman, founder and CEO of Penske Media (which owns Wwd as well as The Hollywood Reporter): “Over the course...
In this role, Richman will oversee the Wwd editorial team in the development of its breaking news and business content and guide the evolution and expansion of its print, web, social, video and e-commerce initiatives. Richman will report to Jim Fallon, editorial director of Fairchild Media Group.
“I am honored and humbled to take on such a responsibility — the digital evolution of a legendary New York institution,” Richman said. “Wwd’s legacy and authority in the fashion industry is unrivaled, and I look forward to working with Jim to amplify it to a wider audience. With our complementary backgrounds, Jim and I will be able to diversify the brand and business to its fullest potential.”
Said Jay Penske, chairman, founder and CEO of Penske Media (which owns Wwd as well as The Hollywood Reporter): “Over the course...
- 12/18/2023
- by THR Staff
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Lysette is excellent as a young woman returning home to care for her dying mother in Andrea Pallaoro’s intelligently crafted film
A mysterious miracle is at the heart of this absorbing and superbly acted film from the Italian director Andrea Pallaoro, which refuses the cliched “issue movie” beats of confrontation, catharsis and resolution. Like his previous work Hannah, which starred Charlotte Rampling as the haunted, troubled woman of that name, Monica is marked by its cool compositional rigour: scenes from a life are evoked with studied, often wordless vignettes and middle-distance shots from fixed camera positions, combined occasionally with looming, asymmetrical closeups.
Trans performer Trace Lysette plays Monica, who has an income from sex work and who, perhaps for professional reasons, has cultivated a coolly resonant, pleasingly modulated voice, which nonetheless rises to anger in various phone conversations of which we hear just one side: conversations with her partner...
A mysterious miracle is at the heart of this absorbing and superbly acted film from the Italian director Andrea Pallaoro, which refuses the cliched “issue movie” beats of confrontation, catharsis and resolution. Like his previous work Hannah, which starred Charlotte Rampling as the haunted, troubled woman of that name, Monica is marked by its cool compositional rigour: scenes from a life are evoked with studied, often wordless vignettes and middle-distance shots from fixed camera positions, combined occasionally with looming, asymmetrical closeups.
Trans performer Trace Lysette plays Monica, who has an income from sex work and who, perhaps for professional reasons, has cultivated a coolly resonant, pleasingly modulated voice, which nonetheless rises to anger in various phone conversations of which we hear just one side: conversations with her partner...
- 12/12/2023
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
The poignant family drama “Monica” is full of artful mirror shots, serving striking visual reminders of the many angles that shape a life. There’s also something poetic about the sidelong coverage when you consider the film’s luminous star has spent her career as a supporting act — when she’s clearly meant to be a leading lady. Whether she’s seen in a sleek compact, a glancing rearview, or a profile in patina, there’s no such thing as too much Trace Lysette. Delivering both gravitas and levity as the central character in “Monica,” she’s finally given the chance to shine.
Most audiences will recognize Lysette from her breakthrough role as Shea in the groundbreaking series “Transparent,” or opposite Jennifer Lopez in “Hustlers,” where her casting was a major boon for trans representation in a studio movie. Even with such high profile gigs, it’s been a long...
Most audiences will recognize Lysette from her breakthrough role as Shea in the groundbreaking series “Transparent,” or opposite Jennifer Lopez in “Hustlers,” where her casting was a major boon for trans representation in a studio movie. Even with such high profile gigs, it’s been a long...
- 5/10/2023
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Patricia Clarkson is no stranger to playing a mother in turmoil.
She earned an Oscar nomination for her performance as a woman perhaps oxymoronically named Joy and dealing with breast cancer in “Pieces of April” (2003). On the small screen, she earned an Emmy nomination for portraying Adora, a bitterly faded Southern belle with Munchausen by proxy syndrome in “Sharp Objects” (2018). Now, in director/co-writer Andrea Pallaoro’s “Monica,” she plays Eugenia, a Midwestern mother dying of brain cancer and now getting reacquainted as best she can with her estranged daughter (Trace Lysette), who is trans.
In “Pieces of April,” “I was a very present, very feisty woman. [With ‘Monica’], I’m considerably older. I’m 20 years older. She really is on borrowed time,” Clarkson said in a recent interview with IndieWire. As for preparing to play a woman physically and psychologically succumbing to the terminal illness, she added, “I’ll tell you this: the preparation,...
She earned an Oscar nomination for her performance as a woman perhaps oxymoronically named Joy and dealing with breast cancer in “Pieces of April” (2003). On the small screen, she earned an Emmy nomination for portraying Adora, a bitterly faded Southern belle with Munchausen by proxy syndrome in “Sharp Objects” (2018). Now, in director/co-writer Andrea Pallaoro’s “Monica,” she plays Eugenia, a Midwestern mother dying of brain cancer and now getting reacquainted as best she can with her estranged daughter (Trace Lysette), who is trans.
In “Pieces of April,” “I was a very present, very feisty woman. [With ‘Monica’], I’m considerably older. I’m 20 years older. She really is on borrowed time,” Clarkson said in a recent interview with IndieWire. As for preparing to play a woman physically and psychologically succumbing to the terminal illness, she added, “I’ll tell you this: the preparation,...
- 5/9/2023
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Trace Lysette in Monica Photo: courtesy of IFC Films. An IFC Films release.
In Andrea Pallaoro’s striking third feature, Monica, Trace Lysette plays the title character, a trans webcam performer, who returns home and tries to reconnect with her ailing mother, Eugenia (Patricia Clarkson). Continuing the director’s exploration of family and relationships in an effort to understand human nature, it refrains from offering answers, instead borrowing from Michelangelo Antonioni’s non-intrusive and observational approach, Pallaoro invites his audience to embrace and understand the fractured family at the heart of his film.
Lysette spoke with Eye For Film about the collaborative relationship she shared with Pallaoro, and the film’s contribution to conversations about representation for trans people.
Trace Lysette and Patricia Clarkson in Monica Photo: courtesy of IFC Films. An IFC Films release.
Paul Risker: When you first read the script, what drew your interest in the character of Monica?...
In Andrea Pallaoro’s striking third feature, Monica, Trace Lysette plays the title character, a trans webcam performer, who returns home and tries to reconnect with her ailing mother, Eugenia (Patricia Clarkson). Continuing the director’s exploration of family and relationships in an effort to understand human nature, it refrains from offering answers, instead borrowing from Michelangelo Antonioni’s non-intrusive and observational approach, Pallaoro invites his audience to embrace and understand the fractured family at the heart of his film.
Lysette spoke with Eye For Film about the collaborative relationship she shared with Pallaoro, and the film’s contribution to conversations about representation for trans people.
Trace Lysette and Patricia Clarkson in Monica Photo: courtesy of IFC Films. An IFC Films release.
Paul Risker: When you first read the script, what drew your interest in the character of Monica?...
- 5/7/2023
- by Paul Risker
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Andrea Pallaoro’s Monica bursts out of the gate with a shot that announces its distinctive style: a protracted close-up of the eponymous character (Trace Lysette) in a tanning bed, throbbing music playing in the background. Before a word is even uttered, Pallaoro’s film, which was shot in full frame, articulates how stifled Monica is by the world. But the observational nature of the shot also signals Pallaoro’s approach to the narrative, as Monica’s painterly compositions and intricate blocking invite viewers to study the body language of its reticent characters in order to understand them and their mysterious pasts.
On the surface, the film follows Monica, a trans woman, as she returns home after a very long absence in order to reconnect with her estranged and dying mother, Eugenia (Patricia Clarkson), who had disowned Monica for, generally speaking, failing to accept her sexuality. But Pallaoro and co-writer...
On the surface, the film follows Monica, a trans woman, as she returns home after a very long absence in order to reconnect with her estranged and dying mother, Eugenia (Patricia Clarkson), who had disowned Monica for, generally speaking, failing to accept her sexuality. But Pallaoro and co-writer...
- 5/7/2023
- by Wes Greene
- Slant Magazine
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.