Wildside (Italy): 5

The comedy film, Rifkin’s Festival (2020), is the work of writer and director Woody Allen as an American-Spanish-Italian collaboration. Mort Rifkin, a snobby elderly film critic from New York, confides in his therapist about recent events in his life. He reluctantly accompanies his much younger wife Sue to a film festival in San Sebastián. She works for Philippe, a French director whose ordinary and unoriginal anti-war movie is being hailed as a masterpiece by all but Mort. As Sue and Philippe’s relationship turns flirtatious, Mort becomes increasingly envious. His unsettling thoughts and fears are ...

We Are Who We Are (2020), co-created and directed by Luca Guadagnino, is a 2020 miniseries on HBO and Sky Atlantic. It’s a coming-of-age drama set on a fictional U.S. military base in Chioggia, Italy in 2016, focusing on two American teens. Through their experiences of friendship, first love and identity, the series captures the thrill and heartache of being a teenager. Although the story could take place anywhere in the world, this specific setting offers a glimpse into this unique American community within Italy. Fraser Wilson and his mothers, Colonel Sarah Wilson and Major ...

The New Pope (2020) is a satirical drama TV series by Paolo Sorrentino for Sky Atlantic, HBO, and Canal+. A continuation of The Young Pope (2016), it was originally announced as the second season. Starring Jude Law and John Malkovich as fictional popes Pius XIII and John Paul III, respectively, it was co-produced by The Apartment Pictures, Wildside, Haut et Court TV, and Mediapro. Despite nine months and multiple unsuccessful heart transplants, Pius XIII remains comatose but has garnered a devoted following who ...

The satirical drama series, The Young Pope (2016), was created and directed by Paolo Sorrentino for Sky Atlantic, HBO, and Canal+. Lenny Belardo, a young cardinal from New York, becomes Pope after the leading contenders of the Papal conclave are unable to gain enough votes. As a compromise candidate, he takes on the name Pius XIII and immediately begins to challenge long-standing traditions and practices within the Vatican. In one of his first actions as Pope, he declares that common people are not permitted to see him and appears shrouded in darkness during a public appearance in St. Peter’s Square. During a ...

In Edoardo Falcone’s comedic Italian film, God Willing (2015), Tommaso is a renowned cardiac surgeon and self-proclaimed atheist. However, when his son Andrea, a medical student, informs the family of his plans to become a priest, Tommaso is both shocked and frustrated with Catholicism. To prevent this change, he enlists the help of his son-in-law Gianni and goes undercover during Andrea’s absence at a retreat to expose Father Don Pietro, whom he believes has influenced his son. As tensions rise within the family, Tommaso’s wife Carla turns to alcohol as her dissatisfaction in their marriage grows. ...