Films in English in Florence, January 13 – 19, 2022

A scene from King Richard starring Will Smith, photo courtesy of the Cinema Odeon

During the last half of January, the Odeon features three diverse films. The House of Gucci continues its run with the story of the famous Gucci family and tragedy of the murder of Maurizio Gucci. Next an American saga in which Richard Williams and wife Oracene push their daughters Venus and Serena against all odds to reach the top levels of the tennis world in King Richard—A Winning Family. A satirical social commentary based on a world-ending tragedy, Don’t Look Up, reveals the superficial culture of modern-day life. All films will be screened in the original English with Italian subtitles.

Thursday, January 13 & Saturday, January 15 (9 pm), Friday, January 14 & Wednesday, January 19 (6 pm) and Sunday, January 16 (8:30 pm):

KING RICHARD

In this inspiring film, Will Smith portrays the true story of Richard Williams, a father driven to raise his daughters to tennis stardom. Williams, originally a sharecropper from Louisiana, moves his family to Compton, a notorious crime-ridden neighborhood in east Lost Angeles. Despite no experience in tennis, he reads books and watches videos and his daughters Venus and Serena, with perseverance, commitment and fighting against discrimination, achieve all-time tennis greatness. Groomed for a tennis career from the age of three, first Venus, the older sister, achieves success on the court and then Serena takes over the tennis world winning 23 Grand Slam titles. Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green with Oscar award winning cinematographer Robert Elswit, Will Smith won the Golden Globe for Best Actor and has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor.

Friday, January 14 (9 pm):

DON’T LOOK UP

Astronomy graduate student (Jennifer Lawrence) and her professor (Leonardo DiCaprio) discover a comet the size of Mt. Everest that is entering the solar system orbit and on a collision course with planet earth. They attempt to warn officials and the population by meeting with the President (Meryl Streep) and going on popular talk show The Daily Rip with hosts (Cate Blanchett and Tyler Perry) but remain frustrated. With six months until the predicted crash between Earth and the comet, people seem too preoccupied with their phones, social media and pop culture to prepare for the global threat. Director Adam McKay previously directed other social satires including “The Big Short” and “Vice.”

Thursday, January 13 & Saturday, January 15 (6 pm) and Sunday January 16 (3 pm):

HOUSE OF GUCCI

The chaotic lives of the famous Gucci family and subsequent murder of the grandson of Gucci founder, Florentine Guccio Gucci, is vividly directed by Ridley Scott. Adam Driver plays Maurizio Gucci, who suffers an untimely death by assassination. His wife Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga) is tried and convicted for hiring her husband’s death. Filmed in Rome, Milan, Lake Como and Courmayeur, House of Gucci features an all-star cast of Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, Salma Hayek and Jared Leto.  (rita kungel)