20 sigarette (2010)

20 sigarette: Directed by Aureliano Amadei. With Vinicio Marchioni, Carolina Crescentini, Giorgio Colangeli, Orsetta De Rossi. Autobiographical story about an assistant director who receives an offer to shoot a film in Iraq.

“Itu0026#39;s a autobiographical film about the experience of the director himself, as a debut feature, Iu0026#39;m glad to watch it while the director was visiting Shanghai and had a screen at Tongji University. The film won CONTROCAMPO ITALIANO prize in the Venice festival this year. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film combines comedic element with all the tragic incident during the war of Iraq. The close-ups of smoking cigarette is hovering round the film and renders proficiently sober impact on the audience, meanwhile, highlights the motif, a farce full of ridicule, sarcasm which a war could bring forth. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe DV-styled photography carries deep turbulence on vieweru0026#39;s organs of senses, mainly optically though, it bizarrely diffuses persuasively into a self-tortured experience after the bloody bomb and shooting scene, then our protagonistu0026#39;s gory appearance could be daringly disturbing; on the other hand, one can sense the ambition of the director to face the true grit and mockery and the same time. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe acting in the film is compelling with a humorous undertone, Vinicio Marchioni gives the protagonist a libertine quality and easily could appeal to the audience. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSo, 20 Cigarettes is a comparatively mature debut for novice director Aureliano Amadei, who has a potential to swing swiftly between drama and comedy, Iu0026#39;m eager to wait to see his next move and hope his skills will be honed to a higher level.”