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News

International gems sparkle on the silver screen

Amongst the exciting international fare at this year’s Gold Coast Film Festival, cinefiles will find three star studded international gems that should be included in their viewing program:  Lope, a Spanish romantic bio pic, Salvation Boulevard, a devilishly funny American indie and The Ages of Love, a stunning Italian romantic comedy.

He was born only two years before William Shakespeare. However, while The Bard was constructing his future-classics, Lope de Vega was dominating the Spanish theatre. His story unfolds in Lope, a film which won a number of the 2011 Spanish Goya Awards.
 
With hints of similarities with films such as Shakespeare in Love, Lope is a historic drama that does justice to the Spanish icon. Starring Alberto Ammann (Cell 211) as the playwright, and a strong pair of female leads (Leonor Watling, Talk to Her and Pilar López de Ayala, Obaba), the film offers a long-awaited glimpse at one of the world’s great writers.
 
“The Baroque period invented modern man, and Shakespeare presented us with psychological dramain the midst of “fabulous” adventures. It was a period inwhich the popular and the learned, entertainment andart, walked hand in hand - one of the great objectivesand challenges of cinema today. Lope wanted to mergedrama and comedy, in a way that mirrored what heaffirmed life to be like.We live in a profoundly mass-produced and media saturated era. Lope made me believe that it is possible to unite in a single character the swash buckling hero and the romantic, alongside a profound discussion of what moves art.” Andrucha Waddington, Director
 
Deadheads, doctors and the ordained collide in Salvation Boulevard. The film features the story of Carl Vanderveer (Greg Kinnear, Little Miss Sunshine, As Good As It Gets), Deadhead (a fan of The Grateful Dead) turned born-again Christian who finds himself on the run from fundamentalist Christians after becoming privy to a crime committed by his mega-church’s pastor, Dan Day (Pierce Brosnan, The Ghost Writer, Die Another Day).
 
Featuring a star-studded cast including Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler, My Cousin Vinny), Ciarán Hinds (There Will Be Blood, Munich) and Ed Harris (A History of Violence, The Abyss) Salvation Boulevardis the work of director George Ratliff, known for his previous religiously-inspired works such as Hell House and Joshua: The Devil’s Child. With an interesting mix of thrills and humour capped off by a larger-than-life performance by Pierce Brosnan, the film is a good, old fashioned comedy.

“Traditionally with any movie about this particular stripe of Christian faith, fiction or nonfiction, the final product is either a total send up or an evangelical tool.  Doug and I wanted to write one that would be very entertaining but would also capture this culture as if in a time capsule, with likeable movie stars playing some over-the-top roles absolutely straight.” George Ratliff, Director.

American and British romantic comedies are rife, and all of varying quality. Now showing us that Italy does it better than the rest is The Ages of Love, an Italian rom-com with an impressive international cast including Robert De Niro (Goodfellas), Monica Bellucci (Irreversible, The Matrix) and Riccardo Scamarcio (Loose Cannons). The Italian language film features a tale of interwoven backgrounds and the power of love over even the most determined individual.

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