Peter del Monte
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French existentialism and the crisis of values provide the foundation for the cinema of
Peter Del Monte (1943).
Irene Irene (1975) tells the story of a magistrate whose life has passed monotonously and impeccably for years and years, and who is suddenly abandoned by his wife; this event triggers a crisis that deepens when the woman dies and, at her funeral, he finds himself utterly alone; he dies on a random train: throughout all that time he has done nothing but collect evidence of his own guilt, try himself, and condemn himself.
Piso Pisello/ Sweet Pea (1981) is a surreal fairy tale for children: A Milanese boy is visited by a seductive American fairy who spends a night with him; nine months later, the fairy takes him to see the fruit of their love, who lives with her in America for a while; however, when she can no longer keep him due to work commitments, the boy-father finds himself in trouble with his parents. They then leave home, and during their journey they encounter caricatures and metaphors of an alternative metropolis: a misanthrope living in the sewers, a mobster, a chicken thief. The boy, with the help of a group of peers, builds a funfair, but a speculator burns it down; the speculator receives just punishment, and the rebuilt funfair is entrusted to the great-grandfather; the boy-father returns home with his son because school starts again: in front of a billboard with a large, fleshy mouth, the two stop in astonishment, not knowing what to say. Another process of identification with the dead forms the basis of the surrealistic road movie Invitation au Voyage (1982), the bizarre, hallucinatory tale of incest between two twins, narrated in flashback by the young man during a car trip across France with his sisters body locked in a double bass case; after encounters and adventures, the young man burns the beloved body and wears her clothes. Piccoli Fuochi/ Little Flames (1985) is a comic fairy tale: A neglected child invents three playmates (a king, an alien, a dragon) and plays with fire; he falls in love with the babysitter as if she were a fairy and ends up setting fire to his boyfriends house. Then his mother decides to devote more time to him and gives him a little brother. The entire story is told from his perspective and becomes a tale of magic and dreams. Julia and Julia (1987): Kathleen Turners fiancé dies in a car accident on the wedding day; years later, she returns home and finds her husband and even a child, who have always lived with her. Once she has adjusted to this new reality, she discovers that her husband neglects her and she has a lover: she is shocked, having always wanted to remain pure and having dreamed so much of having a family that she cannot believe she is the one betraying. She has now integrated into this life when she returns to her other life, where she is widowed, and so on, descending into madness. Julia and Julia (1987) was the first feature film in history to be shot using High-Definition video (Sonys HDVS system). At the time, there were no digital projectors, so the film had to be transferred back onto 35mm celluloid to be shown in theaters. Later films include: Etoile (1989), Tracce di Vita Amorosa/ Traces of an Amorous Life (1990), Compagna di Viaggio/ Traveling Companion (1996), La Ballata dei Lavavetri/ The Ballad of the Windshield Washers (1998), the family drama Controvento (2000), etc.
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