Film Scouts Diaries

2002 Taormina BNL FilmFest Diaries
Cosa Mostra: Day 2

by Philipp Hoschka

Taormina, July 7, 2002 - The first of the nightly cocktail receptions at Hotel Timeo right next to the Greek theatre - looks like in the old times, this Hotel was frequented by the likes of William II Kaiser of Germany, Umberto II, Marconi, Gide, Guy de Maupassant, Liz Taylor and Richard Burton. The cocktail terrace certainly has a gorgeous view of the bay behind Taormina, and, of course, the ever-present mount Etna.

The cocktail is followed by a screening of "Bad Company" next door in the amphitheatre. This is a spy thriller starring Anthony Hopkins and Chris Rock. While Rock provides for a couple of funny scenes, the overall impression is fairly bland - a mixture of scenes that one seems to have already seen in "Mission Impossible" and Clooney's "The Peacemaker", including the monologue by the terrorist chief how the West is being pompous and ignorant towards other cultures and people. His organisation of muslim suicide terrorists is trying to blow up Manhattan's Central Station using an atom bomb - but the CIA stops them in the last minute. We know today that this only happens in movies. Overall, the movie felt pretty inappropriate in these times, and might have better been kept in the archives.

Trying to get a last drink in the bar of the Hotel Timeo turns out to be impossible, since it is closed - at 11:30 pm! - not exactly festival-friendly opening hours.

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