NAMING NUMBER TWO, A CASA NOSTRA
by Andre Soares
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Dennis Harvey in Variety:
"New Zealand playwright Toa Fraser makes a smooth transition to the screen directing No. 2, an adaptation of his 2000 stage work. This warmly observed drama about a Fijian-Kiwi matriarch [veteran American actress Ruby Dee] gathering her discordant clan around one last fete is formulaic at its core: One can guess grandma’s fate from the start, but only after, all wounds have been healed and every narrative string tied. Still, assured handling and an appealing cast make this a deserving crowd-pleaser (it won the dramatic World Cinema audience award at Sundance) that should find friendly theatrical and tube berth in numerous terrains. Title, however — which in the U.S. is scatological slang [--] may have to go."
The film, rebaptized Naming Number 2, opened in New York City on July 27.
***
Boyd van Hoeij reviews Francesca Comencini’s A casa nostra / Our Country at european-films.net:
"A casa nostra literally means ‘in our house’ or ‘in our home,’ and can be taken to refer to individual dwellings, whole cities or provinces as well as the country at large of the English title. In Italian, this ambiguity blurs the line between the private and public spheres even further, as if there really is no difference between what occurs in the privacy of one’s home and society as a whole, which is exactly the point Comencini tries to make. In this age of Big Brother-like scrutiny into the private worlds of all, it seems a valid point to explore."
In the cast: Luca Zingaretti, Valeria Golino, Giuseppe Battiston, and Laura Chiatti. Director Comencini, who also penned the A casa nostra screenplay with Franco Bernini, is one of Luigi Comencini’s daughters. Sister Cristina directed the Academy Award-nominated Don’t Tell.
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