Ginostra

Last updated
Ginostra
Ginostra FilmPoster.jpeg
Directed by Manuel Pradal
Written by Manuel Pradal
Produced by Jean Francois Fonlupt
Starring Harvey Keitel
Andie MacDowell
Mattia de Martino
Cinematography Maurizio Calvesi
Edited by Valérie Deseine
Music by Carlo Crivelli
Release date
  • 2002 (2002)
Running time
135 minutes
Country France
Language English
Box office$177.098 [1]

Ginostra is 2002 crime fiction film written and directed by Manuel Pradal, starring Harvey Keitel (Matt Benson), Andie MacDowell (Jessie). The story is about an FBI officer (Harvey Keitel) investigating the murder of a would-be informant, attempts to contact the only person who knows the truth behind the killings - the dead man's eleven-year-old son.

Contents

Plot

As the film opens, we learn that Benson, a New Yorker, has been entrusted with protecting the 11-year-old boy. The style of the film is intentionally ambiguous, and details about only obtained through the dialogue between the main characters, in many cases, in a way that only makes sense once later scenes are viewed. The boy, as is revealed later, is with Benson because his father had appealed for protection from the authorities in return for his testimony against a local mobster, Manzella. The title of the film refers to the location of the main characters, who live on an island that is remote enough from the mainland that fresh water must be shipped in. Also on the island is a mysterious convent of nuns who make a living producing what appears to be wine and food seasonings, mainly using the local plants. The convent is located high in the mountains, and takes its heat from the active volcano on the island.

Benson finds that his efforts to get the child to talk to him about the murder of his father, who was to be under protection at the time that he was killed (the plot does not reveal when the killing took place) are frustrated by the boy's strong desire to exact his own revenge. From the actions of Manzella and others, it becomes apparent that the boy was either present when his father was killed, or knows details relevant to the murder. Much of the story revolves around a cat-and-mouse style chase between Manzella and the boy. All the while, Benson must deal with the local police, who have themselves been infiltrated by Manzella's organization (this, we learn, was how the boy's father was betrayed).

Romantic tension in the story is provided by Andie MacDowell's character, Jessie. She has come to stay on the island with Benson, and their young daughter. Because of the secretive nature of the case, however, there is very little that Benson can reveal to Jessie about their reason for being in Italy, and this begins to place a strain on their marriage. Jessie regards the boy as her own, and attempts to find things to occupy his time while her husband and the local police are investigating Manzella. About midway through the story, we learn from the local detective, Giovanni Gigli, that the authorities are powerless to arrest Manzella, because he has the sympathy of those in the community of Naples, and it would be too dangerous to simply arrive in daylight with a warrant.

Cast

Production

Filming for Ginostra took place in Italy during December 2000. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andie MacDowell</span> American actress and model (born 1958)

Rosalie Anderson MacDowell is an American actress and former fashion model. MacDowell is known for her starring film roles in romantic comedies and dramas. She has modeled for Calvin Klein and has been a spokeswoman for L'Oréal since 1986.

<i>Green Card</i> (film) 1990 film by Peter Weir

Green Card is a 1990 American romantic comedy film written, produced, and directed by Peter Weir and starring Gérard Depardieu and Andie MacDowell. The screenplay focuses on an American woman who enters into a marriage of convenience with a Frenchman so he can obtain a green card and remain in the United States. Depardieu won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. The film won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

<i>Sex, Lies, and Videotape</i> 1989 film by Steven Soderbergh

Sex, Lies, and Videotape is a 1989 American independent drama film written and directed by Steven Soderbergh. The plot tells the story of a troubled man who videotapes women discussing their sexuality and fantasies, and its impact on the relationships of a troubled married couple and the wife's younger sister.

<i>Bad Lieutenant</i> 1992 crime-drama film directed by Abel Ferrara

Bad Lieutenant is a 1992 American crime film directed by Abel Ferrara. The film stars Harvey Keitel as the title character "bad lieutenant" as well as Victor Argo and Paul Calderón. The screenplay was co-written by Ferrara with actress-model Zoë Lund, both of whom appear in the film in minor roles. The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival.

<i>Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes</i> 1984 film by Hugh Hudson

Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes is a 1984 adventure film directed by Hugh Hudson based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel Tarzan of the Apes (1912). Christopher Lambert stars as Tarzan and Andie MacDowell as Jane; the cast also includes Ralph Richardson, Ian Holm, James Fox, Cheryl Campbell, and Ian Charleson.

<i>Saturn 3</i> 1980 British science fiction film by Stanley Donen

Saturn 3 is a 1980 British science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Donen, and starring Farrah Fawcett, Kirk Douglas and Harvey Keitel. The screenplay was written by Martin Amis, from a story by John Barry. Though a British production, made by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment and shot at Shepperton Studios, the film has an American cast and director.

<i>Mother Joan of the Angels</i> 1961 Polish film

Mother Joan of the Angels is a 1961 Polish horror art film on demonic possession, directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz, based on a novella of the same title by Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz, loosely based on the 17th century Loudun possessions. The film won the Special Jury Prize at the 1961 Cannes Film Festival.

<i>Copkiller</i> 1983 Italian crime thriller film by Roberto Faenza

Copkiller (Italian: Copkiller (L'assassino dei poliziotti)), also released as Corrupt, Corrupt Lieutenant, and The Order of Death, is a 1983 Italian crime thriller film directed by Roberto Faenza and starring Harvey Keitel and John Lydon, the lead singer for the bands Sex Pistols and Public Image Ltd. It is based on Hugh Fleetwood's 1977 novel The Order of Death, with a screenplay by Fleetwood, Faenza and Ennio de Concini. The music was composed by Ennio Morricone. The plot follows a psychological cat-and-mouse game between a corrupt police officer (Keitel) and a disturbed young man (Lydon) against the backdrop of murders committed by a serial killer who is targeting police officers.

<i>The Decameron</i> (film) 1971 film by Pier Paolo Pasolini

The Decameron is a 1971 anthology film written and directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini, based on the 14th-century allegory by Giovanni Boccaccio. It is the first film of Pasolini's Trilogy of Life, the others being The Canterbury Tales and Arabian Nights. Each film was an adaptation of a different piece of classical literature focusing on ribald and often irreligious themes. The tales contain abundant nudity, sex, slapstick and scatological humour.

<i>Shadrach</i> (film) 1998 American film

Shadrach is a 1998 American film directed by Susanna Styron, based on a short story by her father William Styron, about a former slave's struggle to be buried where he chooses.

<i>Unstrung Heroes</i> 1995 American film

Unstrung Heroes is a 1995 American comedy-drama film directed by Diane Keaton and starring Andie MacDowell, John Turturro, Michael Richards, and Maury Chaykin. The screenplay by Richard LaGravenese is based on the memoir of the same name by journalist Franz Lidz.

<i>Ride Beyond Vengeance</i> 1966 film by Bernard McEveety

Ride Beyond Vengeance is a 1966 American Western film starring Chuck Connors.

<i>Demonia</i> (film) 1989 film directed by Lucio Fulci

Demonia is a 1990 Italian horror film co-written and directed by Lucio Fulci.

<i>Ruby Cairo</i> 1992 film by Graeme Clifford

Ruby Cairo, also known as Deception, is a 1992 drama thriller film directed by Graeme Clifford. It stars Andie MacDowell, Liam Neeson and Viggo Mortensen. One scene features Aleister Crowley's The Book of the Law.

<i>Mighty Fine</i> 2012 film by Debbie Goodstein-Rosenfeld

Mighty Fine is a 2012 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Debbie Goodstein-Rosenfeld, starring Chazz Palminteri, Andie MacDowell, Jodelle Ferland, and Rainey Qualley. It was given a limited theatrical release in the United States on May 25, 2012, by Adopt Films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Nun of Monza</span> Italian nun

Sister Virginia Maria was an Italian nun. She gave birth to two children fathered by a local aristocrat, and had connived in the murder of another nun to cover up the affair. This took place in Monza, in northern Italy, at the beginning of the 17th century. Following this scandal she became widely known as the Nun of Monza. Her life inspired one of the characters in Alessandro Manzoni's novel The Betrothed, which has also been dramatized several times. Mario Mazzucchelli's book The Nun of Monza (1963) presents a nonfictional account of Sister Viriginia's life, drawing upon historical records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Certosa di Pontignano</span> Monastery in Pontignano, Italy

The Certosa di Pontignano, also known as the Certosa di San Pietro, is a Carthusian monastery and church in the neighborhood of Pontignano, within the town limits of Castelnuovo Berardenga, a few kilometers north of the city of Siena, in the region of Tuscany, Italy. The monastic complex, after the expulsion of the monks in 1810, passed through various hands, until it was acquired in 1959 by the University of Siena, and used for academic meetings, conventions, and also hotel and restaurant for events such as weddings and celebrations.

<i>As Good as Dead</i> (2010 film) 2010 American film

As Good as Dead is a 2010 American crime thriller film directed by Jonathan Mossek and starring Andie MacDowell, Cary Elwes, Frank Whaley and Matt Dallas. It is Mossek's directorial debut.

<i>Dashing in December</i> 2020 film directed by Jake Helgren

Dashing in December is an American romantic holiday drama film directed by Jake Helgren. The film stars Peter Porte, Juan Pablo Di Pace, Andie MacDowell, Caroline Harris, Carlos Sanz, and Katherine Bailess.

<i>Red Right Hand</i> (film) 2024 film by Ian and Eshom Nelms

Red Right Hand is a 2024 American action thriller film directed by Ian Nelms and Eshom Nelms and starring Orlando Bloom and Andie MacDowell.

References

  1. ↑ https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0208491/?ref_=bo_se_r_1 [ bare URL ]
  2. ↑ "Filmbriefs". Chicago Tribune (Newspapers.com). December 15, 2000.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.