Not just lunches, dinners, bingo games, lazy days. Among the rituals of the holidays there is another which after months of crisis seems to be finding its strength again in this period and that is that of cinema.
In years marked by the advent of streaming platforms and individual consumption, in the days between Christmas and New Year and the Epiphany the charm of the big screen regains its appeal and attracts spectators of all ages intent on spending a few hours in a shared space where stories are told. Another Italian tradition from which Turin, the city where cinema was born in Italy and which is building a new industry around film productions, does not shy away.
From the center to the suburbs, from independent cinemas to large multiplexes, the ritual is carried out not only in the afternoon or evening, but in some cases also in the morning to reach out to the younger audience (the one watching first viewings) or to offer exclusive previews.
Looking at the posters, the choice is wide, these are important days for the supply chain, between highly anticipated releases, hidden gems and some classics. And then we cannot ignore the “Zalone phenomenon”: “Good way” the film directed by Gennaro Nunziante and written and starring the comedian from Bari was released at Christmas and in the first four days of programming it grossed almost 27 million euros, beating out all the local and Hollywood competition. The film is distributed in over a thousand theaters throughout Italy and is also at the top of the list of preferences in Turin. On the other hand it is scheduled at restal Greenwich Villageal Two Gardensall’Elysiumai Marx Brothers, all’Ideal Cityplexal Massua Cityplexal Luxal The Space e all’Uci Cinemas Lingotto. And for December 31st the Massawa Cityplex has even decided to dedicate all the evening’s screenings to him by offering a toast during the interval; for those who participate in the initiative there will also be a free poster signed by Checco Zalone while stocks last.
They are immediately behind in terms of box office receipts “Avatar: Fire and Ashes” by James Cameron and “Nuremberg” by James Vanderbilt with Russell Crowe and Rami Malek respectively as the Nazi leader Hermann Göring and the psychiatrist Douglas Kelley. Both blockbusters are also showing at the cinema Massimothe multiplex of the Cinema Museum which also offers the experience in 3D (for “Avatar 3”) and in the original version with subtitles. In Sala Tre del Massimo, on December 31st, they are screened at 4pm “The Grinch”which has now become a classic, then “Orpheus” first feature film by Virgilio Villoresi (at 6pm) and finally, at 8pm, “Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk” the documentary by director Sepideh Farsi which tells of life in the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of 7 October and through video calls with the Palestinian photojournalist Fatima Hassouna. The latter was killed last April 16 by an Israeli air raid together with nine members of her family, the day after receiving the news that the film would be presented at Cannes and having expressed her desire to participate in the preview.
From Thursday 1st January to Wednesday 7th it arrives in the same room “Little Amèlie” animated film directed by Maïlys Vallade and adaptation of the bestseller “Metaphysics of Pipes” by Amélie Nothomb: a delicate fairy tale set in Japan and starring a two-year-old girl who begins to discover the world. It’s a great opportunity to bring those who have never been to the cinema for the first time, as well as the programme National it is designed for the very young, families and the nostalgic. The cinema in via Pomba offers, in fact, in the morning at 10.30, the screening of Disney classics: “Beauty and the Beast”, “Aladdin”, “Hercules”, “The Little Mermaid”, “Pocahontas”, “The Lion King”: the cartoons par excellence, the ones generations grew up with.
In parallel, always in the morning and at the Nazionale, until December 31st it is possible to see the exclusive preview of “Grace”Paolo Sorrentino’s latest film shot mostly between Turin and Moncalieri and starring an extraordinary Toni Servillo in the role of an imaginary President of the Republic grappling with a series of ethical dilemmas. The film was presented in Venice and earned Servillo the Volpi Cup for Best Actor. It will be released in theaters throughout Italy on January 15th and is one of the most anticipated films of the year.
These days there is also the winning film of the Biennale on the big screen, “Father Mother Sister Brother” by Jim Jarmusch and are still found “Bugonia” di Yorgos Lanthimos (al Baretti) e “One battle after another” by Paul Thomas Anderson. For lovers of auteur cinema, the reference always remains cinema Centrale Arthouse in via Carlo Alberto which offers delicates “My family in Taipei” of Shih-Ching Tsou and the Serbian-Romanian tragicomedy “The New Year That Never Comes” by Bogdan Muresanu. At last “Primavera” by Damiano Michieletto al Romanoall’Elysium e Marx Brothers brings to light an ignored Vivaldi and the injustice in which women musicians were relegated.
