Leopardi (2014)

The passionate drama Il giovane favoloso (2014) finally gives us what we’ve all been clamoring for—a cinematic look at the life of Italian poet Giacomo Leopardi. Who? Elio Germano stars as the multi-linguist poet, giving life to the noble-born scribe as he meanders about, educating himself in the rich library his father has accumulated. With his education and youthful spirit, Elio yearns to travel and head out on a journey of intellectual enlightenment, a desire that doesn’t sit well with his parents. So Elio does what most every young person does when his/her parents say no—he begins to write poetry that focuses on the inherent unhappiness of the human condition. Eventually Elio leaves his town of Recanati and travels to Rome and Florence, experiencing the sadness of unrequited love and the frustration of failure. Along the way, we get a darkly lit eyeful of full frontal from Michele Riondino as he climbs out of the bathtub. He’s so sexy that we could write a poem about him!