Taking a cue from Federico Fellini, Italian director Paolo Sorrentino plumbs the variously deformed and occasionally beautiful human fauna that populate a fascinating if idiosyncratic version of modern Rome. His centerpiece figure is Jep Gambadella (Toni Servillo), a malaise-ridden writer who was once a leading artistic figure but has lost his mojo — both creative and sexual (much like Fellini’s Guido in “8 1/2”). Servillo, … Continue reading La Grande Bellezza

Since its debut at the Cannes film festival, Italians have been divided over director’s Paolo Sorrentino latest film, “La Grande Bellezza.” At a recent dinner I watched as opposite sides of the table debated it as passionately as the fans of Milan or Rome’s rival football teams. Although the film opens with the death of a Japanese tourist, the focus soon turns to protagonist Jep … Continue reading The Meaning of Jep

I recently came back from a trip home. That would be the United States, where I haven’t lived for 25 years. Returning to Milan inevitably raises old questions. Why do I call a place I no longer live “home?” What do I call the place I live? And why do I stay in a place that is not home? The morning after my return, a … Continue reading O Maramao

The story of Italy in World War I is filled with grotesque images. But the most grotesque of all may well be that of Italian soldiers crawling across battlefields scattered with their own excrement. According to historian Mark Thompson, they didn’t bother to dig themselves latrines. The comparison is extreme, but it comes to mind when — all too often — Italians abuse the beauty … Continue reading Self-Infliction

Italian journalist Robert Saviano’s 2006 “Gomorra,” an exposé of the Naples underworld group known as Camorra, was a unique and gripping bestseller. Saviano put face and detail to news reports and conveyed the pervasive horror and grit that perverts the life in the southern Italian city. The book’s success produced two immediate results: a round-the-clock police escort for its author and his status as a … Continue reading Zero, Zero, Zero

“Never Mind” is the first in British novelist Edward St. Aubyn’s acclaimed five-volume series about the life of centerpiece character Patrick Melrose (“Bad News,” “Some Hope,” “Mother’s Milk,” and “At Last” followed over two decades). Here, Melrose is a 10-year-old boy cruelly ignored by his mother and sexually abused by his father, all of it wrapped around a dinner party in Provence. When one character … Continue reading Never Mind

The other day, I faced a dilemma. My reserved seat on the train was exposed to a corrente, or freezing draft. My inner American told me to stay put; an assigned seat was where I had to stay. My inner Italian said: “Who cares about the reservation. Get out of the draft.” End result: As soon as I found a non-drafty empty seat, I took it. … Continue reading Meridional Woman

With a general election quickly followed by the arrival of a new pope, Italy and the Vatican have been on front pages of newspapers the world over. These are local events (Italians think they own the Vatican), but their international repercussions seem to make non-Italian media become what Italians call invadente; sticking judgmental noses into local matters. Foreign commentators, particularly German, British and American ones, act … Continue reading Parenting Italy

For those who insist old jokes are the best jokes, Sicilian writer-director Roberto Andò’s film plays off a number of familiar ones: identical twins, mistaken identity, the wise fool. During a national election campaign, Enrico Olivieri (Toni Servillo), the leader of a party with more than a passing resemblance to Italy’s Partito Democratico, goes AWOL. He’s tired and disillusioned, trapped in a role he no … Continue reading Viva la Libertà

Commentators in Italy and abroad have expressed near-universal surprise and incomprehension regarding the outcome of Italian national elections. The party that was widely expected to win, a center-left grouping led by veteran Pier Luigi Bersani of the Partito Democratico (Democratic Party), was all but overtaken by a rightist coalition led by disgraced former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, including the old tandem of the People of … Continue reading Wag the Dog