Nanni Moretti, the director of "Il Caimano", is one of the most important directors working in the Italian cinema today. We have admired his previous work a lot and it was a complete surprise when this movie showed up on cable recently. The film owes much of its success to Silvio Orlando, an actor who has worked with Mr. Moretti before and is, without a doubt, one of the most accomplished actor on the scene today, as he has demonstrated in past collaboration with Mr. Moretti.
"Il Caimano" is a fine film in which one can see the talented Mr. Moretti doing impressive work. It is in a way, a tribute to the Italian cinema, past, and present and clearly demonstrates the quality behind the people that were involved in the project.
The film starts with a retrospective of the work of Bruno Bonomo, a producer of exploitation films. As he is leaving the auditorium, a young woman, holding a child, approaches him with the manuscript of a film she has written. Bruno's own life is unraveling at this point; he and his wife Paola are going through a nasty divorce. It's clear Bruno loves her and he adores his young boys.
Bruno, after reading the manuscript, decides to sell the idea for a feature film and starts assembling a production team to work on it. What starts as a product of love, ends up in being a disaster production, where everything seems to fall apart. Only at the end, when he decides to begin shooting the movie, the mood changes and we are taken to a quite different film being made with political undertones based on recent events in Italy.
Silvio Orlando is amazing as Bruno. He gives an excellent performance as the troubled producer whose life has unraveled against his best wishes. Mr. Orlando is the best excuse to watch the movie. Margherita Buy is seen in the double role of Paola, the estranged wife, and the heroine of Bruno's own action movies. They are joined by a wonderful cast, and even Mr. Moretti, who appears in the last segment of the film.
This film which hasn't been shown commercially in this country, as far as we are concerned, is worth a look because of the winning team of the director and the leading man.
"Il Caimano" is a fine film in which one can see the talented Mr. Moretti doing impressive work. It is in a way, a tribute to the Italian cinema, past, and present and clearly demonstrates the quality behind the people that were involved in the project.
The film starts with a retrospective of the work of Bruno Bonomo, a producer of exploitation films. As he is leaving the auditorium, a young woman, holding a child, approaches him with the manuscript of a film she has written. Bruno's own life is unraveling at this point; he and his wife Paola are going through a nasty divorce. It's clear Bruno loves her and he adores his young boys.
Bruno, after reading the manuscript, decides to sell the idea for a feature film and starts assembling a production team to work on it. What starts as a product of love, ends up in being a disaster production, where everything seems to fall apart. Only at the end, when he decides to begin shooting the movie, the mood changes and we are taken to a quite different film being made with political undertones based on recent events in Italy.
Silvio Orlando is amazing as Bruno. He gives an excellent performance as the troubled producer whose life has unraveled against his best wishes. Mr. Orlando is the best excuse to watch the movie. Margherita Buy is seen in the double role of Paola, the estranged wife, and the heroine of Bruno's own action movies. They are joined by a wonderful cast, and even Mr. Moretti, who appears in the last segment of the film.
This film which hasn't been shown commercially in this country, as far as we are concerned, is worth a look because of the winning team of the director and the leading man.