"Padre Pio', Abel Ferrara recounts (in his own way) the saint from Pietrelcina

The path taken by Ferrara with this operation is certainly a fascinating one: linking the life and spirituality of Padre Pio with Italian history, through socio-political reflections and characters - the landowners in primis - that become a metaphor for something broader and serve to mark the difference between them and the young friar who in this film is becoming aware of the world around him and what his path should be.

Giving the right space to the many themes, however, is not so easy and the film struggles to balance the various parts of which it is composed, falling into some rather obvious stylistic slips.

At the same time, however, there is no lack of powerful moments, especially towards the conclusion, thanks also to the visceral performance of a Shia LaBeouf definitely in part.

We will soon see the actor again, in autumn, in Italian theatres in a must-see film like Francis Ford Coppola's 'Megalopolis'.

After its presentation in competition at the Cannes Film Festival 2023, 'Banel & Adama', the debut feature by Ramata-Toulaye Sy, a filmmaker born in Paris in 1986 of Senegalese parents, has arrived in our cinemas.

The film stars two young people living in a village in northern Senegal. Very much in love, the two want to be together at any cost, so much so that Adama decides to give up his future role as village chief in order to spend all his time with Banel.

Undoubtedly this is a very heartfelt operation by the young director, who ends up, however, playing too much of a mannerist game, recalling the cinema of other authors (Terrence Malick, already in the first images) and demonstrating that his hand is still rather immature.

The form is at times very striking, so much so that it succeeds in making up for a rather weak content, but it is not enough to hide the limitations of an operation that, with the exception of a few elegant aesthetic choices, risks being forgotten rather quickly.