Martin Eden: A Virtual Speed Cinema Presentation

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Martin Eden
Directed by Pietro Marcello

Streaming begins Friday, October 16

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“An absolute blast . . . Includes documentary footage, wealthy decadence, left-wing politics, angry speeches (in Italian!), beautiful women, square-jawed men, quotations from Baudelaire and the heroic deployment on manual typewriters, hand-rolled cigarettes, ascots, and Volvo sedans. Everything I love in movies, more or less.”—A.O. Scott, New York Times

Adapted from a 1909 novel by Jack London yet set in a provocatively unspecified moment in Italy’s history, Martin Eden is a passionate and enthralling narrative fresco in the tradition of the great Italian classics.

Martin (played by the marvelously committed Luca Marinelli) is a self-taught proletarian with artistic aspirations who hopes that his dreams of becoming a writer will help him rise above his station and marry a wealthy young university student (Jessica Cressy). The dissatisfactions of working-class toil and bourgeois success lead to political awakening and destructive anxiety in this enveloping, superbly mounted literary adaption.

Lead actor Marinelli won the Best Actor prize at the 2019 Venice Film Festival. 2019, Italy, in Italian with English subtitles, 129 minutes. Recommended for 16+.