back	October 29, 2008 RSS

The bad girls of Italian cinema

This is a festival for the bad girls. Perverse teenagers, evil women, prostitutes and sadists who kill animals, or who torment men. The cinema seems to have left behind the old stereotypes, opening itself up to the portrayal of unique personalities and interpersonal dynamics which are typical to today's society. This observation is based primarily on today's third edition of Un tè con MINI Ciak, where writer Donatella Finochiaro and actor Sabrina Impacciatore were guests. The event began with a discussion of the polemics of the film Un gioco da ragazze (for which T. Ciabatti wrote the script). The preview of the film was screened three days ago, and the controversy arose primarily as a result of the decision to prohibit underage moviegoers from viewing it. "The fact that young audiences do not identify with the violence portrayed in the film was used to defend it, but that's not the point." The scriptwriter explained: "It was actually my objective, to stimulate a certain identification. Reality reveals a world full of violence, and simply closing our eyes to it and not doing anything is the most dangerous response. The girls of today really are bad, and children are too." Teresa declares that "in life, and especially when composing my texts, I too am a beast..." Then, Donatella Finocchiaro took hold of the conversation: "They say that good girls go to paradise, and the bad ones don't. Personally, I grew up with the good girl complex. Now I feel 'badder', and at least I'm free of that stereotype." She continued, talking about Lucia, a character in Edoardo Winspeare's film Galantuomini: Lucia is the boss of a clan of Sacra Corona Unita, an evil alliance formed in 1983 in Apulia, with the aim of subjecting the region to the influence of Sicilian and Calabrian families. A complex character, for the director Lucia is a genuine Janus-like figure. She shows equal amounts of tenderness and toughness, which clothe the Sicilian actor like a tailored dress. Perhaps it is her wild and Mediterranean femininity which makes the role of the 'bad girl' neither new nor unfamiliar for Donatella. "I'm flattered that Edoardo chose me to interpret this dark soul." Sabrina Impacciatore (who played one half of a lesbian pair, alongside Donatella Finocchiaro, in an episode of the series Donne Assassine`) confided that in reality, she is not the 'bad girl' that she is sometimes made out to be. However, from the words of the three women emanates a desire to create and portray strong female figures, free of formulas, who are in a position to take over the male domain; that is, to reverse gender roles. Incidentally, even the first competition film of the festival (L`uomo che ama - written and guided, not coincidentally, by a woman) featured a suspension of such roles, in the form of a man playing the role of the brokenhearted. It is essential to push beyond the boundaries which restrain and constrict Italian cinema. Boundaries, for example, such as smalltown morality or self-censorship: The two actors agreed without reservation, and were also supported by director Edoardo Winspeare, who meddled congenially in the conversation. The discussion was animated, and the topic of discussion was complex. There's a lot left to do, but the foundations are there.   Related Links: Win a ticket to the MINI Lounge