A special program by Anton Giulio Mancino
Cavani Multiverse
30/08/2023 Biennale di Venezia, 80 Mostra Internazionale d’ Arte Cinematografica, cerimonia di apertura con il Leone d’Oro alla Carriera alla regista Liliana Cavani nella foto
The heart of the matter, whatever direction the wide-ranging study takes, changes each time. From the documentaries of the 1960s to the triptych dedicated to Francesco D’Assisi; from politically antagonistic films against institutional power like The Cannibals or Galileo, voted to antipsychiatry like The Guest or spiritually far from the ones equally oppositional, even if in a mystical key, like Milarepa; or from the most extreme classics like The Night Porter, Beyond Good and Evil and The Berlin Affair to the unappreciated and vexed Beyond the Door or Where Are You? I’m Here; from titles with a manifest literary matrix like The Skin and Ripley’s Game, up to the last eschatological seal which is The Order of Time.
For an undefined period of time, everything is therefore part of Liliana Cavani’s unique cinematographic art, where senses meet and connect, inevitably, as further proof of the writer’s impossibility to express herself differently with an equally correct use of language, due to the need to put to good use the implicit coexistence and combination of communication channels and communicating between themselves. In other words, it is all part of audiovisual practices that could not be called otherwise, separating the visual instance from the auditory one, with a singular/plural need to find, historically, psychologically, culturally, a mechanism that can ensure – even if in a temporary and challenging way, under constant social threat and sanction, both political and institutional – solidity inside or outside belief systems inflicted from the outside, internal, intimate, internal and in interiors that can guard, protect, preserve from inappropriate eyes, except the ones of the all-seeing viewers, the secret, the violated taboo, the scandal.
Cavani’s work are potentially a parable of intersected and interdependent possessions – not diabolical given the unnecessary need to call on the devil, even if lightly touched in Galileo’s hierarchical and processual intimidations – as proof of a perpetually subjugated nation, restricted and suspended, where the solution to the irreconcilable matter of disparity between genders, familiar, cultural and societal subjects resolv in an unfortunate or fortunate exception to the rules – usually precarious and tragic, sometimes enduring – as an extreme solution for the possibility to leave the impasse of an oppression – in known or available forms – that is primordial or temporary, biological or cultural, historical or anthropological, family as much as patriarchy, heterosexuality as orthodoxy of thought, chauvinism as Nazism. The dominion, or rather the power interpreted as unhappiness that denies and represses joyful power, intercepting possession, resolves itself in a counterpower of return: an ante litteram multiverse, co-present and connected, inseparable and fatal, melodramatic and tragic, pictorial and architectural, differently religious and ascetic, sexual and sentimental.
Anton Giulio Mancino
FILMS SYNOPSIS
La donna nella Resistenza (1965)
“La donna nella Resistenza (The woman in the resistance)”, directed by Liliana Cavani and broadcast in 1965 by RAI, is a 47-minute documentary that commemorates the 20th celebration of the liberation of Italy from Nazism and fascism. Belonging to the “Prima pagina – current affairs programme,” the film is a journalistic investigation conducted by Paolo Glorioso. Through the interviews to about twenty partisan women of various ages and geographical origins, the documentary offers touching and dramatic accounts of their experiences during the Resistance. Among the narrated stories, Riccardo Cucciolla’s off-screen voice tells us about Germana Boldrini, Marcella Ficca, and Maria Clotilde Agnoletti Fusconi, women who had played crucial roles in significant episodes during the anti-fascist struggle. The documentary opens with farewell letters written by women condemned to death by the Nazi-Fascists, offering an intense fresco narrated on the thread of memory of the extraordinary dedication and courage of the women involved in the Resistance.
Francesco (1989)
‘Francesco’, directed by Liliana Cavani in 1989, is a historical drama film about the life of St. Francis of Assisi through the memories of the future St. Clare and his early followers. The film narrates the transformation of Francis after he returns from the war and from a period of imprisonment, an experience that will make him strip himself of his earthly goods and repudiate his dissipated youth. After reading the translated Bible, Francis understands complete dedication to God according to the Gospel teachings, asking Pope Innocent III permission to preach a life of poverty and spiritual sharing, breaking with the conventions of his time.
Il portiere di notte (1974)
The story of ‘Il portiere di note (The Night Porter)‘ takes place in 1957, some years after the Second World War, and focuses on Lucia, a Jewish woman who had experienced the horror of the concentration camps, and Maximilian, her Nazi tormentor. The latter, under a false name, works as a night porter in a Vienna hotel. When the two meet by chance, an intricate web of sadomasochistic relationships begins. The peculiarity of the situation lies in the fact that Lucia knows Maximilian’s true past, thus has the power either to denounce him or escape. ‘The Night Porter’ deals with controversial and disturbing themes, creating a scenario charged with sexual tension and psychological torment. Liliana Cavani’s film continues to provoke discussion for its audacity in dealing with the theme of sexual transgression in such a dark and delicate context as the Holocaust.
Al di là del bene e del male (1977)
The film ‘Al di là del bene e del male (Beyond Good and Evil)’, directed by Liliana Cavani in 1977, takes its title from the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s work bearing the same name. The film portrays the life of Friedrich Nietzsche, Paul Rée and Lou von Salomé in their intense love triangle. After a promising start, the relationship becomes complicated due to the different dynamics and conflicting feelings of the protagonists. The cumbersome presence of Nietzsche’s sister Elisabeth further complicates matters. The story explores the challenges of love, jealousy, and madness, culminating in tragic events that mark the lives of the main characters. The film offers an in-depth look into the complex human relationships and cultural tensions of the time.
Interno berlinese (1985)
“Interno berlinese (The Berlin Affaire)” is a 1985 film directed by Liliana Cavani, loosely based on the novel “The Buddhist Cross” by Japanese writer Tanizaki Jun’ichiro. The story takes place in Berlin in 1938 and stars Louise von Hollendorf, the wife of a high-ranking official at the Foreign Ministry. During a drawing course, Louise meets Mitsuko, the charming daughter of the Japanese ambassador, starting a passionate affair that will also involve her husband. Mitsuko draws them both into an intricate erotic game, further complicated by the political situation in Nazi Germany.
Il gioco di Ripley (Ripley’s Game) (2002)
“Il gioco di Ripley (Ripley’s Game)” is a 2002 film based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith. The story follows Tom Ripley, a former US criminal living in Italy, who is married to a young wife. During a party, an ill English framer, Jonathan, publicly insults him, arousing his desire for revenge. The opportunity presents itself when Ripley’s former partner Reeves asks him to find a hitman to kill a gangster in Germany and he suggests Jonathan, unaware that he is involved in a devious revenge ‘game’ orchestrated by Ripley. The plot unfolds in a maelstrom of violence, murder, and deceit, with atmospheric settings in Palladian villas, filmed in Padua, Vicenza, Bassano del Grappa and Berlin.
L’ordine del tempo (2023)
‘L’ordine del tempo (The Order of Time)’ is an Italian film from 2023 based on an essay by Carlo Rovelli, who also served as scientific advisor. The plot follows a group of long-time friends who gather for a short holiday at the seaside villa of two of them, together with their teenage daughter. The uncertainty about a possible end of the world creates tensions in the group, leading to deep reflections on their past and present lives.
