Naples Archives - Jeremy C. Processing

The Last One for the Road
(Le Città di Pianura)

Director – Francesco Sossai – 2025 – Italy – Cert. 15 – 100m

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Two older men travel around Italy by car, constantly stopping for “a last one for the road”, joined by a young architecture student – out in UK cinemas on Friday, July 10th

Night. Two men passed out in a car. A voiceover relates a local myth, shown to us in flashback as he describes it. On the day that Primo (Gianni Da Re) retires from the workforce, he is taken aside by officials and… presented with a gift from the company president (Roberto Citran from Conclave, Edward Berger, 2024; The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 1: The Moab Story, Peter Greenaway, 2003; Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, John Madden, 2001) who flies in by helicopter. As the latter leaves, he tells Primo the secret of life, but his words are lost in the noise of the ‘copter blades. At the back, a figure leaves.

In the car, moustache wakes up. It’s still dark. Dori (Pierpaulo Capovilla) is still out. They wake. The go for a last one for the road. Moustache, who is Carlobianchi (Sergio Romano), can’t remember what it was he was saying. It’s gone. It was something important.… Read the rest

Exhibition on Screen:
Caravaggio

Directors – David Bickerstaff, Phil Grabsky – 2025 – UK – Cert. 12a – 101m

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A look at the turbulent life of sixteenth century Italian painter Caravaggio, his troubles, his forced travels, and his art – out in UK cinemas from Tuesday, November 11th

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1610), generally known as Caravaggio, is here, initially, curiously and somewhat confusingly referred to as Michelangelo only to be called Caravaggio throughout the remainder. The narrative of the artist’s life is built around talking head footage of actor Jack Bannell as Caravaggio himself speaking his own words – except that, they aren’t his own words since, as is pointed out later, this particular artist wrote very little himself and most of what is known about him today comes from police records of the time.

The framing device with the actor is supposed to be Caravaggio recalling his life on the boat trip back to Rome. Historically, he mysteriously disappeared after landing and was never seen again. Alas this latter fact – which might have made a great framing device – is only clarified at the end, at which point it plays merely as a less than satisfying conclusion.

Also included are a handful of art experts – historian Helen Langdon, artist Stephen Nelson, Caravaggio author Fabio Scalatti and Letizia Treves, Global Head of Research and Expertise, Christie’s – all of whom have a great deal to say about the various works of the artist which appear here.… Read the rest