Raffaele La Capria

The narrative wanders through Rosi’s films, not in the order they were shot but following the chronology of the historical facts they deal with. The documentary therefore not only narrates Rosi’s work, but also portrays half a century of Italian history.

On his death bed in the 1820s, King Ferdinando I of Naples tries to escape the ghosts of his bloody kingship by remembering his younger days, when he was allowed to go hunting and have fun, and inventing love games. Then he was obliged to marry Mary Caroline of Austria, daughter of Empress Mary Theresa, in a political marriage: unexpectedly, they became happy lovers, until court power games divided them, and a different historical season arrived.

Rosa, a mature mother of several children, is concerned that her beloved husband Don Peppino is losing interest in her, and does his best to provoke some jealousy in him. She is a masterful cook, and if her romantic charms are fading, her culinary skills are not. By one means and another, and after some amusing confrontations, she succeeds in keeping her husband from taking her for granted and harmony is restored.

Film makers Clem Da Silva (Tomas Milian) and Theo Steiner (Elliott Gould) are childhood friends, although now estranged. While both are gifted and equally passionate about cinema, their destinies couldn’t have been any different – multiple Oscar winner Theo is successful and admired around the world, whereas few have ever heard of Clem, because he often gets to work only for television. Clem has accused Theo of plagiarising his ideas that, to add insult to injury, went on to win awards.

In the fascist Italy of 1935, a painter trained as a doctor is exiled to a remote region near Eboli. Over time, he learns to appreciate the beauty and wisdom of the peasants, and to overcome his isolation.

Lise, a mentally unbalanced middle-aged woman, travels from her home in London to Rome, Italy where she embarks on a fatal destiny that she had helped to arrange for herself — a premeditated search for someone, anyone, with whom she could form a dangerous liaison.

Time after time, soldiers of the Italian Army are forced to leave their mountain trenches in attempts to storm an enemy fortress, always with the same disastrous results. As casualties mount, indignation spreads among the rank and file. Disturbed by his superiors' decisions, Lieutenant Sassu is led to question the purpose of war and reconsider where his real duties lie.

The tumultuous life of Arthur Rimbaud, the cursed poet, who completed his masterwork at the age of twenty, became an arms dealer and died at thirty-seven; and his passionate relationship with Paul Verlaine, full of wanderings, storms and falling out.

Tells a dark story about a young lawyer that falls in love with a strange girl with an unknown past.

A fairy tale of the misadventures of a beautiful but temperamental Neapolitan peasant, Isabella, when she meets the ill- tempered Spanish Prince Rodrigo Ferrante y Davalos. The King of Spain has ordered Rodrigo to choose a wife among seven Italian Princesses, but he is smitten by the lowly peasant.

A fairy tale of the misadventures of a beautiful but temperamental Neapolitan peasant, Isabella, when she meets the ill- tempered Spanish Prince Rodrigo Ferrante y Davalos. The King of Spain has ordered Rodrigo to choose a wife among seven Italian Princesses, but he is smitten by the lowly peasant.

Prior to a city council election, the collapse of a building leaves a land developer and his political backers defending themselves against a scandal.

Prior to a city council election, the collapse of a building leaves a land developer and his political backers defending themselves against a scandal.

The endless summer of a group of thirty-something neapolitans at Positano.