This film is part of Rentals
Happy as Lazzaro
Alice Rohrwacher follows The Wonders with a delightfully singular, time and genre-bending rumination on the fate of innocence when faced with corruption and greed.
Director: Alice Rohrwacher
Overview
Lazzaro is a beautiful peasant whose sweet nature finds people mistaking him for simple-minded – happily doing the bidding of anyone in his local village. An insular community, the village is ruled over by the Cruella-esque Marchesa who hasn’t let on that sharecropping is no longer legal. Set apart from the world by a bridge that no one can be bothered to fix, life here looks like it is unfolding a century ago, save for the odd Walkman and 1990s-era dance music. Lazzaro finds an unlikely friend in the Marchesa’s petulant, bleach-blonde son Tancredi, who convinces his hapless ally to help him stage his fake kidnapping to steal the ransom from his loathed mother. But their plans are soon derailed.
Working again with Hélène Louvart and shooting on lustrous 16mm, Rohrwacher concocts a trippy brew of Italian class struggle, folk tales, biblical allegory, pop culture references and a rich vein in cinema history. (There are echoes of Pasolini, Jarman and Fellini in terms of theme and the film’s anarchic style.) Rohrwacher deservedly shared the Best Screenplay award at Cannes for this kaleidoscopic work; like any gem, hold it up to the light and you’ll see something different each time.
infrequent moderate violence, languageRelated
Typist Artist Pirate King Typist Artist Pirate King
Drama 2022 106 mins Director: Carol Morley
Monica Dolan and Kelly Macdonald star in Carol Morley's darkly humorous portrait of a forgotten artist.
Eismayer Eismayer
Drama 2022 87 mins Director: David Wagner
Drill sergeant Eismayer has a reputation as the toughest training officer in the Austrian military, but when he starts to fall in love with a new recruit, his closeted existence is shaken to the core.
Punch Punch
Drama 2022 99 mins Director: Welby Ings
New Zealand filmmaker Welby Ings’ powerful film is a beautifully shot and moving story about finding queer love and identity in the face of overwhelming odds.
The Great Escaper The Great Escaper
Drama 2023 96 mins Director: Oliver Parker
Michael Caine and the late Glenda Jackson deliver superb performances in this heart-warming story of a war veteran’s escape from his care home to join the 70th anniversary of the D-day landings in Normandy.
Paris Memories Paris Memories
Drama 2022 105 mins Director: Alice Winocour
Alice Winocour’s drama finds Virginie Efira’s survivor of a terrorist attack coming to terms with the long-term impact of trauma.
Brother Brother
Drama 2022 120 mins Director: Clement Virgo
Clement Virgo’s film is a stunning portrait of wounded masculinity.
The Rider The Rider
Drama 2017 103 mins Director: Chloé Zhao
Chloé Zhao's luminous and enthralling study of a young South Dakotan cowboy’s struggle following a rodeo injury.
The Nightingale The Nightingale
Period drama 2018 136 mins Director: Jennifer Kent
A young Irish convict enlists the help of an Aboriginal tracker in her quest for vengeance, in this ferociously powerful revenge drama from Jennifer Kent (The Babadook).
Long Day's Journey Into Night Long Day's Journey Into Night
Drama 2018 138 mins Director: Bi Gan
Bi Gan's ‘destroyed film noir' is a dazzling dive into an immersive dreamscape.
Saint Maud Saint Maud
Drama 2019 81 mins Director: Rose Glass
A mysterious nurse becomes dangerously obsessed with saving the soul of her dying patient in director Rose Glass’ divine debut.
Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
Drama 2021 121 mins Director: Ryusuke Hamaguchi
A triptych of charming romantic mishaps from Ryusuke Hamaguchi, director of the Oscar and Bafta-nominated Drive My Car.
Drive My Car Drive My Car
Drama 2021 179 mins Director: Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Inspired by Haruki Murakami’s short story, Ryūsuke Hamaguchi takes us on an unpredictable and self-revelatory journey in this serene yet riveting Oscar-winning drama.
Futura Futura
Documentary 2021 108 mins Director: Pietro Marcello, Francesco Munzi and Alice Rohrwacher
A documentary about the future, through the eyes of Italy’s youth – collectively written and directed by Pietro Marcello (Martin Eden), Francesco Munzi (Black Souls) and Alice Rohrwacher (Happy as Lazzaro).
The Wonders The Wonders
Drama 2014 111 mins Director: Alice Rohrwacher
An enchanting, otherworldly coming-of-age drama about a teenage girl who enters her unwilling family into a TV talent show.
Typist Artist Pirate King Typist Artist Pirate King
Drama 2022 106 mins Director: Carol Morley
Monica Dolan and Kelly Macdonald star in Carol Morley's darkly humorous portrait of a forgotten artist.
20 Days in Mariupol 20 Days in Mariupol
Documentary 2023 94 mins Director: Mstyslav Chernov
Vivid and harrowing account of life under siege, Ukrainian journalists try to fulfil their mission to capture what later become defining images of the atrocities of the 2022 Russian invasion.
Eismayer Eismayer
Drama 2022 87 mins Director: David Wagner
Drill sergeant Eismayer has a reputation as the toughest training officer in the Austrian military, but when he starts to fall in love with a new recruit, his closeted existence is shaken to the core.
Is There Anybody Out There? Is There Anybody Out There?
Documentary 2023 87 mins Director: Ella Glendining
Highlighting the importance of being seen, Ella Glendining invites us on a personal journey as she sets out to find others with the same rare disability as herself.
His Lordship His Lordship
Comedy 1932 73 mins Director: Michael Powell
A plumber discovers to his horror that he is, in fact, a hereditary Lord in Michael Powell's riotous satirical musical.
The Fire Raisers The Fire Raisers
Crime 1934 78 mins Director: Michael Powell
Michael Powell’s atmospheric thriller about an insurance man in over his head with a gang of arsonists.