Italian Language, Literature & Culture

Coming-of-age story in which Caterina moves from a small seaside town to an ailing aunt's apartment in Rome. Her private school reflects moden day Italy in all its political and class-skewed complexity. Winner of numerous film awards. In Italian with English subtitles.

Giovanna is a young working-class wife and mother, who has no time for the senile elderly man her husband has rescued from the streets. But as she uncovers the stranger's secrets, it unlocks a freedom she never expected. Winner of numerous film awards. In Italian with English subtitles.

Since the legendary success of his only novel, journalist Jep Gambardella has been a permanent fixture in Rome's literary and elite social circles. But on his sixty-fifth birthday, Jep finds himself taking stock of his life, turning his cutting wit on himself and his contemporaries, and looking past the lavish nightclubs, parties, and cafes to find Rome itself, in all it's monumental glory. 2014 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In Italian with English subtitles.

In postwar, poverty-stricken Rome, a man, hoping to support his desperate family with a new job, loses his bicycle and main means of transportation to work. With his wide-eyed young son in tow, he sets off to track down the thief. Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film.

Famed director, Pier Paolo Pasolini tells the story of a middle-aged prostitute who attempts to extricate herself from her sordid past for the sake of her son. Filmed in the great tradition of Italian neorealism, Mamma Roma offers an unflinching look at the struggle for survival in postwar Italy. In Italian with English subtitles.

As Italy explodes in an era of social unrest, a single ill-fated incident sends the lives of equally idealistic brothers Nicola and Matteo Carati careening in opposite directions. Divided by politics but bonded by blood, the next 40 years will find the brothers' divergent paths intersecting through some of the most tumultuous events in recent history. Recipient of numerous film awards.

In this award-winning film, it is the Night of San Lorenzo, the night when dreams come true. While watching shooting stars, Cecilia tells her son about a similar night in 1944, when she was six years old, and the residents of San Martino, her small Tuscan hometown, struggled against Nazi oppression during the final days of WWII.

A young boy in a small Italian village is befriended by the projectionist at the movie theater, the Cinema Paradiso. As the boy grows up, he learns to love films, and is encouraged by his good friend to pursue his dream of one day making movies. Originally released in Italy in 1988 at 155 minutes; pulled and shortened to 123 minutes. This cut version won the Special Jury Prize at the 1989 Cannes festival and the 1990 Best Foreign Film Oscar. In 2002 a 174 minute director's cut was released theatrically. This disc includes the 123 min. and 174 min. versions. Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

When a harried housewife is accidentally left behind while on vacation with her family, she decides to take a holiday of her own in Venice. She becomes charmed by the city and her newfound freedom. She decides to extend her stay, finding a job in a flower shop, renting a room from a wistful waiter, and rediscovers her love for playing the accordian. But her solo journey does not sit well with her tyrannical husband, who hires an amateur detective to bring her back home. Recipient of numerous film awards.

The postman, Mario, enlists the aid of the poet Pablo Neruda to conquer the heart of the beautiful Beatrice. The film received Academy Awards nominations in several categories.

Follows a strong and optimistic mother raising her two children against all odds. Throughout grief and pain she teaches her family to remain open and loving and to cherish the little joys in life.

Award-winning film about fascist dictator Benito Mussolini and the woman he loved. Ida Dalser was scorned, denounced, and then written out of history. Mussolini's rise to power and Dalser's descent into an insane asylum are tragic counterpoints in a doomed romance.

A charming but bumbling waiter who's gifted with a colorful imagination and an irresistible sense of humor has won the heart of the woman he loves and has created a beautiful life for his young family. Then that life is threatened by World War II. Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Actor.

Available as an e-book

Call Number: DG451 .C35 2001

Call Number: TX641 .D44 2008