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Wrongly viewed by many as an Italian Woody Allen, thanks in large part to the fact that he casts himself in movies that attempt to fuse comedy and tragedy whilst at the same time relying on intimate drama to make more universal comments about society at large, Nanni Moretti is a far more capable and interesting director than he is sometimes given credit for. Aprile, from 1998, is a case in point: Moretti is keen to make a hard-hitting documentary exposing the corruption of the Berlusconi administration (a topic Moretti returned to in The Caiman earlier this year) who finds himself side-tracked, both by his anticipating the birth of his child and by a weird retro musical about a Troskeyite chef. Moretti has a good grasp of how to make an audience smile - but, for the discerning viewer, there is more to Moretti than perhaps first meets the eye. He is quite possibly the most subtle European film-director working today, with a righteous sense of indignation at the injustice of the world and a keen humanist sensibility, all of which are copiously on show in Aprile.

 

Peter Wild on 12th July 2007
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Moretti's Dear Diary was one of those films I discovered because it was the only thing on one Sunday afternoon. I ended up buying it on video and I watch it often to c... more >

Moretti's Dear Diary was one of those films I discovered because it was the only thing on one Sunday afternoon. I ended up buying it on video and I watch it often to cheer myself up after a long day. So I was very excited at the release of Aprile earlier this year. It did not dissapoint, another wonderfully life affirming, spirit lifting film that I know I'll keep coming back to. Deserving of everyone's attention. Also contains one of the best finales to a film I have seen in years, I'll say no more. This is a film you'll end up forcing on your friends and I advise you not to shun anyone who is not captivated. < less