Creativity of Italian cinema bursts onto screen
Tornatore explores influence of movies in ‘The Star Maker’
By Dina Gachman
Daily Bruin Contributor
Italian films are bursting through the seams of the typically
closed minds of the Academy, and Giuseppe Tornatore has a lot to do
with this explosion.
The worldwide success of Tornatore’s "Cinema Paradiso," which
won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 1990, may be
repeated this year with his new film "The Star Maker."
The Sicilian-born director began his artistic career as a
photographer, and he had staged two plays by the time he turned 16.
Inevitably, his passion for films lured him to the camera, where he
has become a new voice in Italian cinema.
For Tornatore, this love of films explains the sensation
inspired by "Cinema Paradiso."
"I think there was a universal element in that story," says the
filmmaker. "I think that any of us, no matter what language we
speak, no matter where we’re born, (that) we have all had one place
with which we associate our formative years. For many generations
it was the movie house."
The pervasive influence of movies, on the world and on
individuals, finds its way into the theme of "The Star Maker." The
film, which opens in the United States on March 8, tells the story
of Joe Morelli (Sergio Castellito), a lonely man who travels to
Sicilian towns in the 1950s selling the natives false hopes of
stardom and wealth. Instead of merely reciting lines for the
camera, the hopeful auditioners begin to confide their deepest
emotions in Joe. The barrier he attempts to create with the camera
soon fails to protect Joe from humanity, and he is drawn in to the
emotions of the lives around him.
Tornatore based his screenplay on a true story he heard as a
boy. A friend told him of a man who roamed throughout Sicily,
claiming to be a talent scout and, like Tornatore’s character,
pitching his ability to make dreams come true. The director
scribbled the story on an index card, and years later it became
"The Star Maker."
Acclaimed actor Castellito ("Le Grand Bleu," "Amor E Stelle")
masterfully embodies the lost, detached Joe Morelli. Tornatore
found 19-year-old Tiziana Lodato, an unknown schoolgirl from
Catania, to star opposite Castellito. Lodato plays the virginal
orphan Beata, whose own isolation draws her to Joe and to the
promise of hope that he promotes. His love for Beata shows him that
the faces which speak to his camera are individuals who have souls,
and they are selling these souls to Joe.
Tornatore feels that his artistry has been deeply influenced by
his country, both visually and historically, and he expresses great
interest in Italian cinema. While his projects often deal with the
ability of films to inspire awe and even salvation, the reality
that Tornatore speaks of is quite different.
"It (Italian cinema) has certain elements of schizophrenia," he
says. "On the one hand it’s a cinema that’s full of energy and
creativity and new authors. At the same time, it’s an industry that
becomes poorer all the time. There are no (film) schools; there is
not an adequately strong law to defend our national cinema."
The lack of institutions and funding for Italian cinema is
countered by a determination and skill on the part of filmmakers
such as Tornatore. The director explains this duality with a simple
metaphor.
"You could make the comparison to a sick man," he says, "who, as
he becomes sicker physically, his ideas become better, and his
creativity surges even more."
This creativity is seen in Tornatore’s films, along with other
Italian gems such as Best Picture nominee "Il Postino," and the
more comical "Mediterraneo." The success of these films in America
and Europe, however, is not an exact reflection of their status in
Italy.
There is a touch of sadness in Tornatore’s voice when he talks
about the limitations of producing a movie in Italy, and of the
difficulty in exposing film to the public.
"It’s a grave phenomenon," says Tornatore, "that it’s very hard
for Italian films to be played in our own country. Naturally, the
question that remains is what will prevail – the financial problems
of the industry or the vitality of the people making films."
Tornatore’s work supports the latter possibility, and the global
attention paid to Italian films today points toward a positive
future for this industry. Despite his fears, Tornatore seems
hopeful about a renewed and invigorated Italian cinema.
"There is a vitality now," he says, "that could make one think
of a renaissance."
Sergio Castellito appears in Giuseppe Tornatore’s "The Star
Maker."
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