The Ignorant Fairies arrives on Netflix: plus 3 other Ozpetek films

THEn waiting for New Olympusout November 1, on Netflix Four films by Ferzan Özpetek arrive today: The ignorant fairies (2001), The front window (2003), Sacred heart (2005) and Harem Suare (1999). It’s already streaming Loose cannons.

The ignorant fairiesthe plot of the movie

Born in 1959, Özpetek made his directorial debut in 1997 with Turkish bathfollowed in 1999 by Harem Suare. The consecration, however, came in 2001 with The ignorant fairies. 4 Silver Ribbons and 3 Golden Globes they are only the partial recognition of a film that has become part of the history of Italian cinema. Is that in 2022 it also became a series for Disney+.

The plot revolves around the relationship between Antonia (Margherita Buy) and her husband Massimo (Andrea Renzi). When he dies in a car accident, Antonia has to deal with mourning, but his moment of pain is overturned by a completely unexpected revelation. Among her husband’s objects, finds a painting with the title The ignorant fairywith a dedication: «Your ignorant fairy».

He embarks on a journey in search of Massimo’s mysterious lover, only to discover that she is actually a man, Michele (Stefano Accorsi). After the initial rejection, he becomes part of Michele’s life, to understand Massimo’s. So that’s it she meets the extended family of her husband’s lover, which includes gay friends, a Neapolitan woman, a transgender, a Turkish refugee (Serra Yilmaz) and a Turkish singer. In between, the meeting with Ernesto (Gabriel Garko), an HIV-positive friend of Michele.

The encounter with this new world, distant from her, soon turns into a journey within herself, which leads her to explore unknown sides. And when she discovers that she is pregnant with Massimo, she makes a decision that changes her life.

The front windowwith Giovanna Mezzogiorno and Raoul Bova

The protagonist is Giovanna (Giovanna Mezzogiorno), a woman in her thirties, married to Filippo (Filippo Nigro), with whom she has two children, Martina (Benedetta Gargari) and Marco (Carlo Daniele). She works in a chicken shop and is dissatisfied with her professional and sentimental life. Filippo, on the other hand, gets by with precarious jobs. So, Giovanna dreams of a different life and becomes passionate about that of a neighbor who lives in the building opposite hers.

The precarious family balance suffers a further shock when Filippo welcomes Simone (Massimo Girotti), an elderly gentleman who has lost his memory, into his home. However, after the initial distrust, an intense relationship is established between him and Giovanna. AND Simone finds the courage to reveal his true identity: his name is Davide Veroli and he is a homosexual Jew who escaped the roundup of 1943. On that occasion, she chose to save several people, not having time to save the man she loved, Simone. Even though decades have passed, she still hasn’t processed the guilt. The fear of regret gives Giovanna the right push to dedicate herself to herself.

Meanwhile his mind travels and he continues to think about his neighbor, Lorenzo (Raoul Bova), with whom he exchanges a kiss. Maybe he is the right key to starting a new life? He thinks about it and thinks about it, until fate chooses for her.

Sacred heartwith Barbora Bobulova

Irene Ravelli (Barbora Bobulova), a successful manager, has just come into possession of the family palace, thanks to the intercession of aunt Eleonora (Lisa Gastoni). His goal is to turn it into a commercial business and, while carrying out an inspection, he enters the room of his mother Adriana, who had died some time before. You see that nothing has changed since then, but she is struck by religious symbols and writings engraved on the walls.

Meanwhile, a chance encounter turns her life upside down. It’s Benny (Camille Dugay Comencini), a little girl who steals her wallet. The episode is a harbinger of the birth of a deep friendship. And Benny it represents for Irene the key to access a world different from hers. A world of poverty and extreme hardship, which will be followed shortly after by a further, even deeper shock.

She too like Antonia in The ignorant fairiesembarks on an inner journey that transforms her and subverts all plans, thanks to the meeting with Benny. And he goes in search of answers about the spiritual aspect of her mother, until then unknown to her.

Beyond The ignorant fairiesalso on Netflix Harem Suare And Loose cannons

They complete the cycle dedicated to Ferzan Özpetek, Harem Suare And Loose Mines. In the first the protagonist is Safiye (Marie Gillain), an elderly woman of Italian origins. At a station he meets Anita (Valeria Golino) and tells her his troubled love story. As a young man she was a concubine of Sultan Abdul Hamid II, but has always loved the eunuch Nadir (Alex Descas). She becomes pregnant by the sultan, but the child dies of poisoning and the harem is closed. Safiye moves to Italy, where she acts like in the theater as the sultan’s last favorite.

Loose cannonshowever, was released in 2010 and tells the story of the Cantone family, in particular of the brothers Tommaso (Riccardo Scamarcio) and Antonio (Alessandro Preziosi). The first studies economics in Rome and dreams of becoming a writer. The second works in the family pasta factory in Puglia, but dreams of escaping. Both are hiding a secret: they are gay.

When Antonio comes out, his father Vincenzo (Ennio Fantastichini) kicks him out and places all his expectations on Tommaso, ignoring the truth. A difficult period begins for the boy, in which he has to lie to everyone and even to himself, risking causing a crisis in his relationship with Marco (Carmine Recano). In this family picture made of silences and emotional repression, the figures of two women fit in: Stefania Cantone (Lunetta Savino) and Tommaso and Antonio’s grandmother, played by Ilaria Occhini. Also in this case, a shower of awards, including 2 David di Donatello, 5 Nastri d’argento and 4 Globi d’oro.

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