Oscars: Italy Nominates 'The Great Beauty' for Foreign Language Category

Oscars: Italy Nominates 'The Great Beauty' for Foreign Language Category - The Hollywood Reporter

ROME – Paolo Sorrentino’s Cannes Palme d’Or-nominated drama La grande bellezza (The Great Beauty) was named Wednesday as Italy’s official candidate for the foreign language Oscar race.  The Hollywood Reporter critic Deborah Young praised the film, calling it “an amusing update on Italian society at the end of a cycle” that recalled the “magical atmosphere” of FedericoFellini’s Roma and La Dolce Vita.The film, which explores Rome’s decay through the eyes of an aging writer played by acclaimed Italian actor Toni Servillo (a veteran of five Sorrentino films), is one of the most decorated films in Italy so far this year: it took home five awards from Italy’s Nastri d’Argento (Silver Ribbon) honors and the best cinematography prize at the Globi d’Oro, Italy’s Golden Globes.  The 43-year-old Sorrentino has emerged as one of Italy’s most respected directors over the last dozen years, with five of his seven feature films screening in competition in Cannes (two of them won the Cannes jury prize). He has also personally won four David di Donatello honors and four Nastri d’Argento prizes. But this is the first time one of his films has been selected as Italy’s official Oscar candidate.