Monica Birladeanu in Francesca (top); Bobby Paunescu (bottom)
Romanian-born filmmaker Bobby Paunescu's Francesca, which premiered at this year's Venice Film Festival, may be banned from Italian screens following a legal motion by far-right lawmaker Alessandra Mussolini (right), granddaughter of dictator Benito Mussolini and niece of Sophia Loren. Reason for Mussolini's outrage: in one scene in Francesca, she is called "a whore." (In 2007, Mussolini created a furor after stating that all Romanians living in Italy were "criminals.")
According to reports, right-wing Verona mayor Flavio Tosi has said he has also filed a criminal complaint against Francesca because in the film he is depicted in a "vulgar" manner. Tosi, who has been accused of both racism and instigating racial hatred, is reportedly referred to as "a shitty mayor."
Dan Chiriac, Monica Birladeanu, Isabela Neamtu in Francesca
In Francesca, which is co-produced by Cristi Puiu (the director of the widely acclaimed The Death of Mr. Lazarescu), a Bucharest schoolteacher (Monica Birladeanu, Paunescu's off-screen companion) struggles to find a way to emigrate to Italy, home to anywhere between 600,000 and 1 million Romanians. The problem is that Romanians aren't exactly welcome west of the Adriatic, where several high-profile crimes have been blamed on them.
Paunescu, who grew up in Italy, says he doesn't intend to cut any scenes from Francesca — something that would be tantamount to Michael Moore opting to chop up Fahrenheit 9/11 because it hurt the feelings of, say, the former White House occupants, the Saudi royal family, or Britney Spears. Since the courts have actually taken up the matter, Italy's freedom of speech laws are apparently quite different than those of the United States. (Though that didn't prevent Michael Moore, at Venice to promote Capitalism: A Love Story, to make fun of scandal-plagued Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.)
Luminita Gheorghiu, Monica Birladeanu, Doru Boguta in Francesca
"What is important about my film," Paunescu told The Independent, "is its discussion of the Romanian community. Twenty per cent of the population in the last 10 years have emigrated, the majority to Italy, which has become the 'promised land' for many Romanians. Yet at the same time, there is a negative perception about the country. The film is not an attack on anyone. I'm trying to highlight the prejudices. I think the film creates a valid debate."
In 2006, long before she was called "a whore" by a movie character, Mussolini was called "a fascist" by transgender MP candidate Vladimir Luxuria. Mussolini's response: "Meglio fascista che frocio," or "it is better to be a fascist than a faggot." (I wonder what Sophia Loren thought of this exchange.)
A ruling on the Italian fate of Francesca is expected before the end of October when the film is scheduled for release.
Photos: Venice Film Festival