ANIELLO ARENA

MARTIN EDEN (2021)
Starring Luca Marinelli, Jessica Cressy, Vincenzo Nemolato, Marco Leonardi, Elisabetta Valgoi, Pietro Ragusa, Carlo Cecchi, Aniello Arena, Chiara Francini and Rinat Khismatouline. Directed by Pietro Marcello.

Thirty-something sailor Martin Eden is inspired to remake himself as a novelist, following a chance encounter with the sophisticated, wealthy Elena. She immediately becomes not only the object of his passionate affections, but also the symbol of the status Martin aspires to achieve. Pursuing his newfound social and literary obsessions, Martin abandons his friends and working-class roots without hesitation, but eventually undergoes a political awakening that triggers yet another change.

REVIEWS Martin Eden - A frustratingly dull portrait of an artist as a young man

DOGMAN (2019)
Starring Marcello Fonte, Edoardo Pesce, Nunzia Schiano, Adamo Dionisi, Francesco Acquaroli, Alida Baldari Calabria, Gianluca Gobbi, Laura Pizzirani, Giancarlo Porcacchia and Aniello Arena. Directed by Matteo Garrone.

In a dilapidated Neapolitan suburb, the pint-sized, mild-mannered Marcello runs the dog-grooming business of the film’s title, caring for the neighbourhood pooches, and raising his young daughter, Alida, for whom he’d do anything to spoil. But he’s domineered by one of his customers, Simone, a petty criminal and former boxer who throws his substantial bulk around this tight-knit community at every opportunity. Marcello soon becomes swept up in a criminal plan he wants nothing to do with...

REVIEWS Dogman - Italian crime drama with a sardonic bite