Martin Eden is a sprawling, enthralling, narrative that sweeps though Italy in the 20th Century. Martin 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 as the story follows Martin’s psychological and moral growth from youth to adulthood. Adapted from a 1909 novel by Jack London. 2019, Italy, 129 minutes, in Italian with English subtitles. LAST DAY OF STREAMING IS THURSDAY, JANUARY 28.
Best Actor, Venice Film Festival
TICKETS ON SALE HERE.
VIEW a recorded Zoom discussion with Gerald McCarthy, poet, two-time visiting artist at the American Academy in Rome, and professor of English at St. Thomas Aquinas College where he programmed an Italian film series, speaking with writer/filmmaker Juliana Roth, whose article on Martin Eden in Nyack News and Views is quoted above. VIEW THE DISCUSSION HERE.
#1 film of 2020 – Dargis, NY Times
#1 – Gray, SLANT
#1 – Ebiri, Vulture / New York Magazine
#2 – Garcia, AV Club
#4 – Scott, NY Times
#5 – Chang, LA Times
#5 – International Film, IndieWire
#7 – Performance, IndieWire
#8 – Director, IndieWire
#8 – Hertz, Boston Globe
#9 – Fear, Rolling Stone
#9 – Poll of 231 critics by IndieWire
One of Barack Obama’s favorite films of 2020
Gotham Awards, Best International Film nominee
“Critic’s Pick! Audacious and thrilling. An ingenious adaptation of the Jack London novel. pure cinema.”
– Manohla Dargis, The New York Times
“A movie that arrives like a bolt out of the blue, bursting with ideas, not unlike its hero.”
– J. Hoberman, The New York Review of Books
“Vibrant and passionate. A dazzling showcase for Luca Marinelli. It’s as if the whole 20th century had been distilled, or scrambled, into an eternal, mercurial now.” – Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times
“A collage of shifting surfaces… lusty with political intent.” – Anthony Lane, The New Yorker
“Old-school cinematic soul food – a sweepingly stylish and smart Italian coming-of-age drama that feels as if it could have been made 60 years ago, during the heyday of Visconti.” – Ty Burr, Boston Globe
“A masterpiece… see it any way you can.” – Bilge Ebiri, Vulture
“Everything I love in movies. An absolute blast.” – A.O. Scott, The New York Times.
“One of the most epic-feeling Italian movies in years, a throwback to ’70s-era big-canvas statements. Lead actor Luca Marinelli, rousing in every scene, comes within hailing distance of the young Robert De Niro.” – Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out New York
“A kaleidoscopic historical fantasia that seems possessed by the ghosts of Italian cinema.” – Imogen Sara Smith, Film Comment
“A spectacular performance. Marinelli is a force of nature in every scene and doesn’t play Eden so much as inhabit him.”
– Boyd van Hoeij, The Hollywood Reporter
“This could be the international break-out of the season.” – Jordan Raup, The Film Stage
