jotix100 John Turturro's "Passione", shown recently at New York's Film Forum, is a loving tribute to a city that is evidently dear to this talented man. He decided to share his boundless love for a place that is beautiful, as well as chaotic, with us the lucky viewers that sat in the darkness enjoying the music that has come from Naples.It is almost impossible to conceive a Naples without song. The director sets out to make sure his audience does not forget it. As the opening credits begin to roll, we hear one of the great Mina, an Italian popular singer, even when she is not identified with the city, to set the tone for what will follow.We hear Misia, a Portuguese singer, paying tribute to love in a haunting song standing alone in one of the plazas. Then there is Genaro Cosmo Parlato given his rendition of "Maruzzella", a woman he cannot have. There is a great sequence in which three singers Peppe Barra, M'Barka Ben Taleb and Max Casella do a few verse of "Tamurrieta Nera".Perhaps no other song like "Malafemmena" is more emblematic of Naples. Massimo Ranieri, an idol in his homeland, does a wonderful interpretation of the song. Others seen in the film include performers of the caliber of James Senese, a saxophonist of mixed race living in the city, Raiz, Pietra Montecorvino, Lina Sastri, and Angela Luce, just to name a few.Mr. Turturro takes us on a tour throughout the city telling us about the diversity in a rich culture that is untypical of Italy, as a whole. Marco Pontecorvo, the excellent cinematographer does an extraordinary job following the director as he explores out of the way places where there is always music in the air.

dhakim-1 This film will inevitably be compared to Wim Wenders' & Ry Cooder's 'Buena Vista Social Club,' and that's a good thing (and perhaps a not-so-good thing). The comparison gets to the heart of the matter like bright staccato phrase, pointing the reader to an awakening of an older (and sleeping) musical tradition, one influenced by numerous other traditions. The not-so-good? Some viewers will remember the fuzzy focus and the hand-held chaos of parts of BVSC, the parts that made some people sea-sick. Worry not - 'Passione' is a film that benefited from much more planning than Cooder & Wenders had time for, so there will be no nausea in the aisles.Using the many-faced city of Naples as a whole other character, John Turturro shows his love of the many styles of music found there with sweeping vistas and color-drenched intimate closeups of dancers and lovers and people on the street.The audience is introduced to the sons of Naples' original recorder of music, who captured sounds around the turn of the 19th century on wax cylinders. Along the way through an almost-aimless dance in the cobbled streets of Napoli, we learn of the many influences benefiting old Neapolitan music - African, Spanish, French, and even jazz. It will be all you can do to keep yourself from leaping out of your seat to dance...I can't wait for this to come out on DVD - what a blast it was to see it opening night at CineQuest this year!