THE INNER CAGE/ARIAFERMA (Federico di Costanzo 2021)

The director has a way with confining spaces and slow burns and this, his best yet, focuses on a nearly empty prison in Sardinia where a few remaining prisoners and a whole company of retained guards to mind them find a common humanity in new circumstances. No violence, no breakout: all genre expectations defied. Outstanding acting led by Toni Servillo and Silvio Orlando. I was impressed by the painterly, charoscuro cinematography and the periodically astonishing sound effects - an a cappella choir; orchestral clapping.

In the June 9-15, 2022 FLC-Cinecitta series Open Roads: New Italian Cinema at the Walter Reade Theater, Lincoln Center.

Sunday, June 12 at 8:15pm
Monday, June 13 at 3:30pm