Sam Mendes' 1917 and Giuseppe Bonito's Figli: Two Survival Stories in Italian Cinemas

Two Italian films released this week, Sam Mendes' 1917 and Giuseppe Bonito's Figli, both center on survival but from different angles. 1917, nominated for 10 Oscars in 2020, follows two British corporals, Schofield and Blake of the 8th Battalion, who must cross No Man's Land to deliver a letter to Colonel Mackenzie and save hundreds of soldiers from a German trap. The film uses long takes and a video-game-like progression to honor World War I soldiers and all military personnel. Mendes drew on his grandfather's stories. Figli, directed by Giuseppe Bonito from a screenplay by the late Mattia Torre, stars Valerio Mastandrea and Paola Cortellesi as Nicola and Sara, parents struggling with the prospect of a second child in contemporary Italy, where birth rates are at historic lows and precarity is the norm. The film adapts Torre's monologue "I figli ti invecchiano" and features cameos by his friends. 1917 is distributed by 01Distribution, Figli by Vision Distribution.