Regina De Vera
  • About / Resume
  • Portfolio
    • Acting (Reel)
    • Directing
    • Intimacy Work
    • Modelling/Hosting
    • Community Engagement
  • Coaching
    • Classes
    • FAQs
  • Press
  • Blog
  • Contact

Summer 2016 Week 2 (May 23-29, 2016)

6/13/2016

3 Comments

 

LA MAGNANI

I have been introduced to Anna Magnani by one of my voice and speech teachers during my first "Quarterly Reviews." I was encouraged to watch Anna Magnani in "The Fugitive Kind" (1960) with Marlon Brando, among other actresses. I was drawn into her work and later explored a scene from "Orpheus Descending" (the play from which the movie was based on by Tennessee Williams) for scene study class.
So when I learned that the Film at Lincoln Center was doing an Anna Magnani Film Festival "La Magnani" I was ecstatic. As a student on a budget I took advantage of their 3+ film package where you get to watch a film for $9/ticket (instead of the usual $11) if you buy three or more tickets for the festival. I saw The Golden Coach, The Passionate Thief and Bellissima.
Picture

Why I love her:

1) Bilingual
There aren't as many powerhouses of actresses with international careers who are bilingual (Magnani is Italian). To see someone move with ease from Italian to English in several films made me embrace my own bilingual nature. Both the Italian and Filipino (Tagalog) languages have crisp consonants which we tend to bite into especially in heightened states. Also, I've been navigating my way into the fact that I feel like a different person when I speak English from when I speak my native language. To see an actress move fluidly between two languages shows me that it is possible to integrate the two identities into a fluid whole.
2) Unapologetic Beauty
​I love the fact that Magnani is not a "classical beauty." She has lines on her face, imperfect teeth, voluptuous, not that tall - a refreshing break from our beloved waifs, our blonde bombshells, or brazilian supermodels - and yet, she is considered one of the greatest actresses of Italian cinema (and she has a movie with Marlon Brando). The experience of watching Magnani goes beyond watching a great actress employ great technique. Watching Magnani is watching a full blooded human being onscreen, a beast even at times. She has played characters in which three men fall in love with her at the same time and why not? What made me think that human beings could fall in love with only one type of beauty?
3) Comedy/Tragedy
The first movie I saw Magnani was in "The Fugitive Kind" so I immediately identified her as a dramatic actress. But when I saw her in "The Golden Coach" and "The Passionate Thief" I was thrilled to know she was also so funny. I don't think an actress has made me laugh as much as Magnani has in a film before. Often when I would watch a "romantic comedy" I would not really laugh. I would only be "amused." The guy chases after the girl, encounters some problems, the girl is being really cute. With Magnani, I laugh because the stakes are real, the experience honest, the obstacles palpable.
3 Comments
Rolando Inocencio
6/14/2016 05:51:56 am

The Golden Couch lang ata napanood ko sa mga pelikula ni Anna Magnani. Ito yung naka-harlequinade costume siya, di ba? Tagal na kasi. Mga early 80s pa nung may listahan ako ng mga pelikulang dapat mapanood para maituring na cineste, Naks!

Gumanap din siya sa pelikula ng Rose Tattoo na base sa dula ni Tennessee Williams. Sinulat ni Williams ang dula para sa kanya pero mahina pa ang Inglis ni Magnani kaya umayaw.

Sa Pilipinas, gumanap na si Baby Barredo para sa nasabing dula para sa Repertory Philippines. Si Ernie Garcia ang lalaking bida.

Reply
Regina De Vera link
6/14/2016 10:25:31 pm

Hi Kuya Roli!
Totoong gumanap nga siya sa The Rose Tattoo at isa iyon sa mga pelikula na nasa La Magnani Festival. Ngunit ang budget ko ay kasya lang sa 3 pelikula at dahil napanood ko na siya sa isang Tennessee Williams na dulang ginawang pelikula (The Fugitive Kind from "Orpheus Descending") eh iba na lang ang pinili ko. Gusto ko nga ipa-frame ang dalawang souvenir program ko na may picture niya para may inspirasyon ako sa kuwarto ko :)

Reply
Rolando T. Inocencio
6/20/2016 07:09:38 am

Kung gusto mo si Anna Magnani, magugustuhan mo rin siguro si Giulietta Masina, yung asawa at musa ni Federico Fellini...

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Regina De Vera

    I am a Filipino actress alternating between New York and Manila. I received my acting training at The Juilliard School. Take a look around!


    Picture
    @msreginadevera

    Picture

    Archives

    May 2022
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015

    Categories

    All
    Classes
    Cooking
    Domesticity
    #Group48
    Orientation
    Photoshoots
    Poetry

Picture
Copyright © 2023 Regina De Vera. All Rights Reserved.
  • About / Resume
  • Portfolio
    • Acting (Reel)
    • Directing
    • Intimacy Work
    • Modelling/Hosting
    • Community Engagement
  • Coaching
    • Classes
    • FAQs
  • Press
  • Blog
  • Contact