Human Capital

(Il capitale umano)

In select theaters
January 14^th 2015

111 minutes

Italian

Italy

HUMAN CAPITAL begins at the end, as a cyclist is run off the road by a careening SUV the night before Christmas Eve. As details emerge of the events leading up to the accident, the lives of the well-to-do Bernaschi family, privileged and detached, will intertwine with the Ossolas, struggling to keep their comfortable middle-class life, in ways neither could have expected. Dino Ossola (Fabrizio Bentivoglio), in dire financial straits, anticipates the birth of twins with his second wife (Valeria Golino). Meanwhile, Dino's teenage daughter's relationship with hedge-fund manager Giovanni Bernaschi's playboy son complicates an already tricky social dance of status, money and ambition. Paolo Virzi's taut character study deconstructs the typical linear narrative, observing transformative events from each character's perspective. The result is a nuanced account of desire, greed and the value of human life in an age of rampant capitalism and financial manipulation.

starring...

Fabrizio Bentivoglio

Dino Ossola

Valeria Bruni Tedeschi

Carla Bernaschi

Matilde Gioli

Serena Ossola

Guglielmo Pinelli

Massimiliano Bernaschi

Fabrizio Gifuni

Giovanni Bernaschi

Gigio Alberti

Giampi

Valeria Golino

Roberta

Giovanni Anzaldo

Luca Ambrosini

Director

Paolo Virzì

Writen By

Paolo Virzi, Francesco Bruni, Francesco Piccolo

Produced By

Marco Cohen, Benedetto Habib

Music

Carlo Virzì

Cinematography

Jérôme Alméras, Simon Beaufils

Film Editing

Cecilia Zanuso

Set Decoration

Monica Sironi

Costume Design

Bettina Pontiggia

93% on the CINEMETER

BOCA

93% - Dec 21, 2014

Timely and intelligent and clothes to die for!
Boca Raton Member

Terrific, compelling story. Loved the shots of the snow.
Boca Raton Member

An amazing portrait of the haves and have nots and the emotional chaos that is passed on to their children.
Boca Raton Member

Good movie! So far this season, 2 for 2! Better than last season.
Boca Raton Member

Loved the technique of using different points of view. Superbly paced, extremely entertaining. A young Angelina Jolie look-alike. Loved her.
Boca Raton Member

Very different and very powerful
Boca Raton Member

Clever, constantly absorbing story.
Boca Raton Member

STL

80% - Nov 23, 2014

Intricate story, well-crafted, keeps the viewer's interest and intellectual involvement.
St. Louis Member

I think this was the best movie I have seen during my tenure with the Cinema Club. Beautifully executed, very good acting, excellent script, terrific characterization.
St. Louis Member

A great deal to think about. How one decision can impact on many others. Reminded me of "Crash." What an absorbing tale.
St. Louis Member

Excellent. Combines elements of Italian opera and hard-boiled detective novel. Carla evokes Cate Blanchett's performance in Woody Allen's "Blue Jasmine." Decaying theater possibly a metaphor for Carla's "Paper Moon." Illustrates the dehumanization of "capital."

St. Louis Member

MIL

94% - Nov 23, 2014

A very well crafted film, though the story makes me anxious.
Milwaukee Member

A good commentary on class--but a bit slow.
Milwaukee Member

Directing is excellent; thought provoking and real.
Milwaukee Member

98% - Nov 16, 2014

Bravissimo!
San Francisco Member

Intricate storytelling of an intricate story of the disparity between the privileged and the rest.
San Francisco Member

I loved the storytelling structure, kind of like peeling an onion, layer by layer, each revealing more. So many despicable people! Especially the two fathers. Interesting that the most likable characters turn out to be the ones who are the perpetrators of the crime.
San Francisco Member

Very engrossing - loved the non-linear division of the film into different characters' chapters: Everyone is part of a human spreadsheet.
San Francisco Member

Great acting and editing. The film made me think about multiple generations, and how corruption is modeled by the older generation and becomes part of the fabric of the younger generations' lives. It is because of movies like this that we belong to The Cinema Club. Thank you so much.
San Francisco Member

Gorgeous visuals and musical choices. An incredible tale of of human corruption and the cascading culpability of all.
San Francisco Member

98% - Nov 16, 2014

Exceptional story and execution - flows from start to finish: great movie, great story, great acting.
Greater New Haven Member

This was a powerful film that was able, remarkably, to capture the complex interrelationships among several levels of Italian society: the truly rich, the strivers, the working class.

Greater New Haven Member

I would say this movie was about the color of money, but it has a steely quality that's more gray than green. Perhaps three pieces of silver, left on an Italian marble counter, with Sinatra playing in the background.
Greater New Haven Member

99% - Nov 16, 2014

I loved the chapter structure. It was a very effective way to tell the story.
Washington, DC Member

Was I the ONLY ONE who thought Dino was cute and Italian, and not a buffoon? This was lost on me and now I am questioning my upbringing. PS - I am Italian and I thought he was perfectly normal. And did I mention cute?
Washington, DC Member

Well done thriller. Almost like Groundhog Day - the way the acting repeated itself - but with different points of view. Characters were shallow - but maybe that was the directors point.
Washington, DC Member

Great meditation on the worth/price of different lives and relationships. I think it's sad how happy it ends, and it's hard to get more ironic than that.
Washington, DC Member

An interesting study on class, privilege and entertainment. PS - perhaps Serena left the computer on for her father to find? Calculated.
Washington, DC Member

One of the best films I can recall. Beautifully motivated and convincingly realized. Acting, pacing and storytelling were sophisticated and compelling. It struck a deep chord with me regarding the interplay of greed, deception, longing, insecurity and the human drive for connection and acceptance that "justifies" pretense.
Washington, DC Member

BOS

88% - Nov 16, 2014

Unpredictable throughout, Wonderful character development-suspense maintained. I appreciated the various perspectives as the glue that holds the narrative together.
Boston Member

I loved the complex story development.
Boston Member

Compelling! Held my interest. Very stylish.
Boston Member

Wonderful use of CHAPTERS.
Boston Member

Fabulous Film
Great Film
I loved this film
More films like this for The Club, PLEASE.
Boston Member

ATL

97% - Nov 23, 2014

Best film of the season (so far). Valeria Bruni Tedeschi was phenomenal--drove the entire movie forward in a very personal way. Also, Matilde Gidi--what an amazing young talent! Looking forward to seeing her in more films.
Atlanta Member

Could not take my eyes off the screen- totally riveting. Best film this season so far.
Atlanta Member

Show me the money. Dino reminds me of the used car salesman in FARGO who came to a bad ending in a chipper.
Atlanta Member

It was hard for me to watch a movie where hedge fund managers come out on top. Putting this view aside, I found the manner in which this story was told to be very compelling and raised a routine storyline to a much higher level.
Atlanta Member

A scathing critique of the moral sacrifices made in the name of wealth and status.
Atlanta Member

Oh the sticky, icky messy webs we weave--wonderful performances and writing yielding a rich array of well-developed characters in a terrifically told tale.
Atlanta Member

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