Italian comedic director Risi subject of Retrospective at the MoMA

Dino Risi (1916–2008) is considered one of the fathers of Italian comedy. Born 100 years ago on December 23, he is the subject of a major retrospective in his honor at the Museum of Modern Art in collaboration with Istituto Luce-Cinecittà, Rome (December 14 until January 6, 2017).

At his best, Risi was a caricaturist in the vein of Honoré Daumier, using exaggerated grotesqueries to sweeten the bitterness of his social satire. His films are populated by a rogue’s gallery of shamelessly loveable commedia all’Italiana types in the inimitable guises of some of the era’s greatest actors: Alberto Sordi, Vittorio Gassman, Nino Manfredi, Ugo Tognazzi, and Sophia Loren.

Almost all of Risi’s major films are to be run during the retrospective, some of them recently restored: The Easy Life (1962), Belle ma povere (1957), The Widower (1959), and Scent of a Woman (1974). Also included are Love and Larceny (1960), March on Rome (1962), The Thursday (1966), and In the Name of the Italian People (1971). The retrospective also displays his important documentary work,with the screening of eight short Neorealist portraits of Lombardic and Neapolitan street life and culture between 1946 and 1950. One of his more provocative films, Il sorpasso (1962) breaks with the comedic form with its lack of a happy ending.

Chiefly centered on the newfound prosperity of his countrymen, his films hint at Italy’s boastful sense of confidence as a result of the flourishing economy following World War II. Populated by grotesque and farcical overtones, he lampoons politicians, playboys and priests of his time, helping to establish a unique comedic style. All films are in 35mm, from Italy, directed by Dino Risi, and in Italian with English subtitles, unless otherwise noted.

                        -Francesca Procopio