On September 20, the last great diva of Italian cinema, Sophia Loren, will blow out 92 candles on her cake, surrounded by the affection of her loved ones and all those who have certainly not forgotten her immense contribution to cinema. And it could only be a true Neapolitan, the renowned critic, professor, essayist, and writer Marcello Garofalo, who has already authored fundamental books on Sergio Leone and Bernardo Bertolucci, with whom he has been very close, to dedicate to her the best possible tribute with a keepsake volume, which we choose among the many dedicated to the actress.
Introduced by two forewords (by Erri De Luca and the president of the Campania Film Commission Titta Fiore) with a postface that revisits a 1959 text by Giuseppe Marotta, the volume, simply titled Sophia Loren, was published by Dario Cimorelli Editore and produced by the Film Commission Regione Campania in collaboration with Solares Fondazione delle Arti and realized with the contribution of the Campania region. The edition is bilingual (Italian and English) and comprises a full 480 pages, with 560 beautiful photos in black and white and in color, printed in high resolution. But what really matters is Garofalo’s gaze on a career that few can match, from early appearances as an extra in 1950 to 2020, analyzed with great expertise and highlighting not only the most celebrated roles of Sophia Loren, such as her artistic partnerships with Vittorio De Sica and Marcello Mastroianni, but also the construction of an image never marred, the attention to ethical and existential themes, the unconventional choices and the lesser-known characters, with the great and rare ability to never betray her origins, even as she became an international diva. Whatever Loren you love, rest assured that in this splendid volume you will find her and discover something you did not know, no matter how passionate you may be. Do not be discouraged by the price (€42.75 on Amazon), more than adequate for a work of this scope, which is not a simple book to flaunt as a showpiece for guests placed on a coffee table, but a publication that cannot be missing from the library of a cinephile worthy of this name.
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