We Are Family" (Wahlberg/Winkler), "Basketball" (Kanye West and Rakim), "Kick Push" (Weeks/Wiltshire), and "Rush Rush" (O'Neal/Dwayne Robertson). **THE NOTORIOUS BIG SEA BOSS FROM BROOKLYN** (1998) **** ( **CINEMA GUILD AWARD: FILM FESTIVAL AWARD, BEST ACTOR FOR MORGAN FREEMAN** ) This film has an extraordinary reputation. It is the story of Frank Lucas, the first African American to make a fortune in the drug trade. It tells a saga of friendship, love, betrayal, and gangster violence, and it has been hailed as the best hip-hop biopic ever made. This movie is the real deal. It deals with subjects we thought had no place in cinema: homosexuality, AIDS, police corruption, and even cannibalism. In short, _The Notorious B.I.G._ had a lot to say about life. And director F. Gary Gray's film is a masterclass in urban storytelling. Gray also co-wrote the script, and he and his cast—which includes Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Anthony Mackie, and Laurence Fishburne—have made a movie that is a real gem of cinematic craftsmanship, a film that speaks with rare clarity and purpose about the American ghetto. The screenplay by Gray and Cheo Hodari Coker (based on the book _Lucas: A Streetwise Education_ by my friend Bill Bell) is a tribute to the gangster life. Coker has researched these characters in great detail, and there is a fascinating tension between that and the story's overall narrative, because many of the incidents are as vivid as they are fictionalized. The drama of the film is the story of the relationships between Lucas (Freeman) and his associates, all of whom have something to prove and everything to lose—especially when they're confronted with the "Big Man." Lucas himself came to be known as Biggie Smalls and later Tupac Shakur. "You gettin' money, but if you ain't gonna do right, I'm not your friend." Here we have a key to the entire plot, as well as a portrait of a man's life, told in six words. Here is Lucas's philosophy, and it's absolutely true: there's no friendship in a gangster movie. His is the voice of truth, a voice that should never be lost or ignored. And it's his loss that we have to mourn. That's what makes this such a remarkable film: the message of the "Big Man" is that all good people are equal. We should always remember the fallen heroes—Lucas himself was shot dead in front of a recording studio he was in, as well as his best friend and his accountant. This wonderful film is a fitting tribute. The plot of the film shows Lucas trying to get the respect of his friends, who include a number of women (and a transvestite), and to get rid of the gangster boss who tries to make him a scapegoat for the crimes committed by the Big Man's associates. The narrative is driven by a great rock score (written by Jay-Z and the rest of the late Sean "Puffy" Combs's posse, including Teddy Riley) by Teddy Riley, a music legend in his own right. Jay-Z's role in the film—which he played in a very unconventional way—is key to the film's success. It's one thing to tell an action story and quite another to tell a story about people. The film itself is a great success because it is not pretentious, it is very natural and genuine, and it is very much in touch with the street. The film never loses sight of its fundamental message: love for the neighborhood. The film's success has given the rap community an alternative to the gangsta narrative that the media often presents, a reality that many want to see in the cinematic representation of the street. It's very brave of Gray to make the movie, but it's ultimately a rewarding experience. To understand how great _The Notorious B.I.G._ is, imagine a film that's not only based on a true story, but that also tells the story in a credible way that is not clichéd and that is as alive as reality itself. There's a scene in which Biggie Smalls, just after having fallen in love with a woman, asks her to run away with him. But the woman refuses, choosing to stay in the streets rather than leave them behind and have a good life with him. She's not in love with her neighborhood, she's only in love with its image. And that image is represented by Biggie Smalls's music. This is exactly what Jay-Z's character, Jay, says in the film: "You need your music to be your best friend." Gray wrote the music for the film, along with Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, and I was very happy to participate in this project. And it's clear that the movie will take on a different meaning to each viewer. Not only because Biggie Smalls is such a revered and admired figure, but also because of how life is lived today. In short, this film isn't about the past. This film is about the future, because it's about life, as it happens. In fact, _The Notorious B.I.G._ is about us. **L'AVVENTURA** (1960) **** ( **NINE UNITES AWARD FOR FORENSIC PATHOLOGY, ORIENTAL CINEMA AWARD** ) Dario Argento's second film, _Sisters of Blood_ , was the first horror film ever to be shot in 3-D. One week before its release, a print was found on the streets of New York that had been "converted" into 3-D by someone who had placed a sheet of cardboard over the screen, an old optical trick. As a result, a few audience members were turned away, because they had spent all the money they had in order to see the film. After a while, the matter was finally resolved, but the director Dario Argento himself was quite critical of the entire affair, blaming it on a scandalous article written by Luciano Bottalico, director of the film school in Rome. Dario's first feature, _The Five Days of Milan_ (1970), was more or less a remake of _Cannibal Holocaust_ (1972), one of the most famous Italian cannibal films of all time. The film made a splash and was seen by a variety of young audiences, some of whom went on to become celebrated directors of horror and thriller films, like Dario Argento himself, with his own unique brand of weird, often nightmarish films. _L'Avventura_ is a very Italian film in spirit. It is the story of a group of friends in Rome, all of whom meet one day on a train. First they go swimming in a hotel pool, and then they go out to lunch, after which they decide to climb the nearby mountain. They walk into a forest, where a series of strange and fantastic events occur. The viewer can't quite figure out the cause of what happens, whether it's a supernatural effect, a crime, or an accident. The point is that it's not something that makes sense, because nothing makes sense in this strange and surreal environment. In this film, there is no plot at all, no traditional narrative, only an idea of storytelling that seems to be about its own sense of absurdity. It's really very simple. Even the film's structure, or what we can see of it through the different episodes and scenes, offers no clear solutions. We don't really understand what's going on, but rather we see how things are happening to these characters, which, when you think about it, is already enough to intrigue and entertain us. And the story is still fresh even today. We needn't even compare _L'Avventura_ to American films. It really has nothing to do with American narrative tradition or the Hollywood film business. It's almost as if the viewer and the characters were in on a big secret, and for that reason they don't need to tell each other anything. This film leaves us wanting more, because, just like life, this is a film that has no ending, not even an "epilogue." This film is a celebration of the director's talents, which we all know well. We see the film as a collective work, a work of art that can be shared with everyone. We see a film that is not very expensive and can be enjoyed by everybody. There is nothing pretentious about this film, and there are no big stars in the cast, which is another way of saying that it's a movie for all of us. It's not a film about stars. It's about our lives, and our love for them. Dario Argento is one of the best European filmmakers of our time. He has proven himself as an innovative artist with a very curious and original voice that we can only compare to that of Woody Allen, who has often said that he always preferred comedies to horror films. He, like Allen, often looks at life with irony and humor, and we can say without a doubt that he is the master of