Telemarketing, Italian style

Today I received a telemarketing call. From memory, and translated:

* Hi, I'm calling from [some education services organization], and we're offering language courses in everything from English, to Spanish to French, as well as Italian for foreigners. Would you be interested?

* No, thanks, I'm not interested.

* Is there anyone in the household who may be?

* No, I live alone.

* OK, thanks, have a good day.

Yup, that's it. No insisting, no hassle, no hard sell. Usually, it goes even more quickly than that:

* Buon giorno, blah blah blah blah.

* Sorry, not interested.

* OK, buona giornata.

Isn't it wonderful? It's almost civilized!

I had a similar experience (i.e. no hard sell) applying for my first bank account almost 2 years ago. But that will have to wait for another post....

Poetry

The Asian film festival continues. Last night I saw "The Island Of Rebirth", a Kazakh film, by Rustam Abdrashev. A mix of Russian and Iranian filmic sensibilities, it was pure poetry.

Sand, sepia, and splashes of color. The sea, once alive with fish, now dead, all salt. Dog fights, boys fighting, boyish pranks, love. Poetry, communism, betrayal. It's all there, and more. If you get a chance, go see this film!

On the way there, it was a cool autumn evening. I got a quick slice, and discovered a new "locale": bookstore, bar, lounge. Where? Right next to an old church for booksellers: Santa Barbara dei Librai, sandwiched between residential buildings. Click here for a view (it's the church on the left). The photo doesn't quite capture the appeal of this little piazza, but there you go.

After the film, the streets and stones were wet from rain. But it had stopped, and the night was a little less cool.

Jazz

The other day I claimed that Rome is the most beautiful city in the world. This is what most Romans will tell you, anyway. I haven't been to every city in the world, of course, but I can confidently agree that, yes, Rome is the most beautiful city in the world.

It would take more than a blog post to explain why. Let this be Exhibit A.

The "Casa del Jazz" is a music venue created by the mayor (click here for an explanation in English), located near the Porta Ardeatina (Ardeatine Gate). On Sunday I went to see the Adam Kohler/John Abercrombie quartet. Great great stuff that I won't even try to describe. (You caught me, I'm not good a writing about music...)

And what awaits us after the show? A wonderful walk along an old Roman wall, right outside the Casa del Jazz (to see the walls in daylight, click here).

What does jazz have to do with old Roman walls? Well, nothing I suppose, aside from beauty, but it's just this type of contrast, this every-where-you-go-there's-beauty feeling, this every-where-you-turn-a-different-era-is-represented, that makes Rome a place of magic. But it's open, not closed in, so there's no Stendahl syndrome to be afraid of.

Or maybe we can say that Rome is like Jazz because it improvises on the past without destroying it, evoking soul and beauty.

No dubbing, please

And then the magic of Rome strikes again.

Aside from the season being beautiful beyond belief (it's as if the Sun refuses to allow the Clouds to hang around), the day after I complained about the Ozon retrospective featuring dubbed films, I discovered the Asian Film Festival: new films from China, India, Kazakhstan (no not Borat!), Iran, Japan, etc. All of them subtitled, and all of them for a cost of 3 Euros.

Last night I saw "A Few Kilos of Dates for a Funeral", a new film by a young Iranian director (Saman Salour) who was also present at the screening. He's no Kiarostami, or even Panahi (who is?), but he's got potential.

A black & white meditation on loneliness, the film is closer to poetry than to prose. A postman on a bike who everyday asks for an "upgrade" to a scooter. An undertaker who looks for bodies buried in the snow. Two men at an out-of-the-way filling station, one who writes love letters to a woman who doesn't read them, the other who talks to a corpse buried in a car, under snow. And the snow, the blinding snow under the relentless sun. The snow that is prayed for by the corpse-talking man...

But this is the case with most Iranian film. And the thing that seems to confound most audience members. They look for whys and hows and some sort of "normal reality". One audience member actually asked "why were there no women in the film?" Well, let's see.... maybe the director wanted to show what life is like without women? Cold, lonely, gray, and maybe even a little desperate? (Of course it could also be because it would be easier to get past the censors....)

But I shouldn't harp on that -- plenty in the audience did enjoy the film, and were glad to be able to tell this to the director in person. The audience was also given the choice to vote on the film with ballots that were handed out beforehand. I failed to read the piece of paper given to me, and so didn't vote! I place my vote now: 3 (out of 4) stars.

Tom Who?

Sorry, no star sightings.

Dub This!

Rome is the most beautiful city in the world, and I love living here. But it has its flaws. Here's one.

Just this afternoon I went to my local forno (bakery) to get some fresh bread (mmm, yummy!) There are always fliers there, for bars, clubs, theaters, etc. I saw one for Film Studio, a local "art house" cinema, advertising their Ozon film festival ("Il cinema secondo François Ozon").

I've seen most of his films, and think he is a director to follow, so I picked up the program. Not only are they showing Ozon's films, but also certain films from the 90s that have "marked" Ozon ("film degli anni '90 che 'hanno segnato' François Ozon"). These include works by Kiarostami, Ming-liang, the Dardenne brothers, and Chabrol. How could I possibly go wrong???

Easy. Every single film will be shown DUBBED INTO ITALIAN. Yes, dubbed into Italian. Of course, this is normal here in Italy (unfortunately). But for a retrospective of an important director, along with other important films? It's a shame -- no, it's a crime.

One

First post. I'm not good at this blogging thing. I don't automatically think, hmm, I think I'll post those thoughts I just had -- even ones I might consider interesting. Maybe it's not for me. But hey, why not give it a go?

I'll try to post about life in Rome, from an "American" perspective. I put American in quotes because I don't consider my perspective typical. I'm also already biased to the Italian perspective. No matter.

I'll also try to post thoughts on Why Rome is Magic. Because it is. This I truly believe.

Enjoy.