Darling Moretti: The Italian Woody Allen

Throughout history of cinema, Italian filmmakers have been somewhat important and influential contributors towards the world’s progression of innovation and film. They introduced and popularized multiple different genres of film in the cinematic community such as Neorealism and “Spaghetti Westerns.” However, relative to other countries with a larger influence of international cinema, Italy hasn’t produced mass numbers of significant directors. One such more modern filmmaker that has brought a greater popularity and inspiration to Italian Cinema though, is award winning director Geovanni Moretti. Moretti uses his films to accomplish multiple goals of his work such as displaying human emotion and experience as well as political purposes through satire. And although not a great amount of his movies become intensively popular on an international scale, he is very well-known in Italy for his influential films. Through his directing and acting (he often plays roles in his films), Moretti makes a push for his country and its national cinema towards further global recognition and prominence.

Born in 1953, Moretti grew up in a family of academics with his father being a professor of Greek epigraphy and his mother teaching high school. In his youth he developed his three major interests: politics, the cinema, and water polo. He was raised playing water polo and eventually played for several Italian national teams. He developed a passion for film and began making amateur films in 1974. He then had his first success in his 1978 film Ecce Bombo, a comedy film in which he starred and directed. The film helped further the development of his work that became filled with irony and comedy that was distinctive to Moretti’s style. He then followed this film up in 1981 with Sweet Dreams and in 1984 with The Beautiful Body of Bianca, which incorporated styles of “Whodunit” mystery films. Then in 1993 he developed his first big success in Cora Diario, or “Dear Diary,” which incorporated three sectors of autobiographical annotations that displayed his sardonic and wry views of life and adaptations in film. This movie became very attractive to viewers because of its deeply personal situations and episodes. Following Dear Diary, he produces April which loosely serves as a sequel to his autobiographical anecdotes that further display a view of dejection and despondency. These works in his particular style furthered his name as an innovative thinker and producer of film. The autobiographical nature of these films that launched his career, however, did bring some contempt from viewers in the impression of a self-centered state of mind in Moretti. In actuality though, Moretti once claimed,” It is not because of conceit that I said that I would like to make films about myself. It was simply the only thing I was able to do.”

Nanni Moretti is considered a very independent and original director. He often plays multiple roles throughout the filmmaking process such as directing, screenplay writing, producing, and acting, and is often referred to internationally as “the Italian Woody Allen.” Moretti uses a unique style of irony and satire to portray society in his films, which are sometimes described as “cult-movies.” He commonly uses his films to display his characteristically left-wing political views towards the public, and has been called a “tormented skeptic.” Moretti once claimed,” I am not a director. I am one who makes films when he has something to say.” As Ewa Mazierska and Laura Rascaroli declare in their book about Moretti The Cinema of Nanni Moretti: Dreams and Diaries,” Nanni Moretti is the most important Italian filmmaker of the past thirty years, not only for his creation of an utterly unique and modern filmic style, or his impact on the national cinematographic industry and his influence on young filmmakers, but also for his ability to raise debate within the world of cinema and also in society at large.” Despite occasional accusations of immaturity, praises such as these are common for the way in which Moretti tactfully uses his films for a purpose. Julie Rigg describes him as,” not a clown… Rather he is a sardonic, a serious ironist, with flashes of mad wit.” Also, Moretti doesn’t only use his films to display his left-wing activism, but has organized massive street protests against the Italian government.

Moretti’s biggest influence and most popular film is his 2001 drama La Stanza del Figlio, or “The Son’s Room.” The film tells the story of a family who loses a son and, as Roberto Zaccaria says,” succeeds in speaking the universal language of emotion, pain, and rigor.” The Son’s Room differs from his usual film styles of comedy and political satire, by providing a deeper and more sensitive movie of loss. The film received vast amounts of global and national praise in the press while also having much success in film festivals. The Son’s Room received the Palme d’Or, or the Golden Palm, the most coveted prize at France’s International festival, the Cannes Film Festival. This was a great and treasured achievement for modern Italian cinema because it marked the first film for 23 years to receive the international award for Italy. Also, for the months in which the film was in theatres, it was the main cause for a 20% rise in ticket sales for Italian movies shown in Italy. Also, the film earned a spot in Empire Magazine’s 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time. The Son’s Room’s success provoked BBC News to label Moretti the “Darling of Italy.”

A more recent successful Moretti film is his 2006 comedy-drama, II caimano, or “The Caiman.” Moretti uses this film to reveal his perceived inability and failure of the at-the-time Prime Minister of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi. The film coincides well with his political advocacy, protest habits, and attempts to influence public opinion. Writer Peter Bradshaw describes the film as,” it gets some indulgent laughs, but manages to be tricksy and politically feeble.” He also strategically releases the film soon before the April 2006 elections in order to hinder the Prime Ministers chance of re-election. And, in fact, Moretti got what he wanted when Berlusconi lost in his attempt to stay in office. The Caiman displays traits common in Moretti’s work of humanizing the politics he advocates while also allowing for humor and satire. In the 2006 David di Donatello awards (the Italian equivalent of the academy awards), The Caiman won Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Music, Best Sound, and Best Producer.

In conclusion, through his unique and innovative approach toward modern cinema, Nanni Moretti has developed a solid reputation for himself as a filmmaker and improved the status of Italian cinema on a national scale. The importance of the way in which Moretti’s films impress the public is the way they influence the thought processes of the people and how they perceive their country, the world, and their lives. He has become a one-of-a-kind producer who is able to see people’s inner traits, such as their emotions, which he appeals to through his dramas, their sense of humor, encountered in his comedies, and their political perception of Italy and the rest of the world through his political satires. With the lack of immense international prominence for Italian films in the modern era, bright, different, and talented directors like Moretti are needed to develop a resurgence of popularity, influence, and financial gain for Italy as a nation politically, socially, and culturally.