The Italian Cultural Institute of Montreal is taking part in a series of screenings entitled ‘Hervé Guibert and Cinema‘, which brings together certain key films that influenced the writer.
The films on show at the Cinémathèque Québécoise include:
4 December – ‘Bicycle Thieves’ by Vittorio De Sica
- Rome, after the Second World War. Antonio Ricci, who is unemployed, finds a job as a putting up posters for the municipality. However, in order to work he needs to own a bicycle and his has been pawned at the Monte di Pietà, so his wife Maria is forced to pawn the bedsheets to get it back. But on his very first day of work, his bicycle is stolen while he is trying to paste a film poster. Antonio chases the thief, but to no avail. He goes to report the theft to the police, but soon realises that they will not be able to help him with this petty and mundane act of theft.
6 December – ‘Theorem’ by Pier Paolo Pasolini
- A mysterious young man (Terence Stamp) breaks into the life of a wealthy Milanese family, made up of Paolo (Massimo Girotti), Lucia (Silvana Mangano) and their two children Pietro and Odetta. While they are gathered at the table, a telegram arrives announcing the imminent arrival of a guest. From who knows where, a handsome, kind, very reserved boy arrives. He has a deep, captivating expression. He goes on to upset the normalcy of the bourgeois habits of the luxury house surrounded by greenery, shocking all the members of the family one bye one.
The writings of Hervé Guibert left their mark on the world of French literature. One of the first writers to chronicle the AIDS years, he was also a critic, screenwriter and photographer, as well as an attentive viewer of cinema. The films on the schedule also include ‘The Wounded Man’, co-written with Patrice Chéreau, ‘Modesty and Shame’, the final work of the ill writer, and ‘Guibert cinéma’, a documentary by Anthony Doncque.
More information at iicmontreal.esteri.it
