Some films demand the big screen for their images, and one cannot deny the pleasures of seeing excerpts from the likes of Sergio Leone’s westerns, The Mission, and The Untouchables writ large. But it’s the act of hearing Ennio Morricone’s music at length through a cinema sound system that makes Ennio a truly essential filmgoing experience.

Blessedly filmed shortly before Morricone’s passing in 2020 by Cinema Paradiso director Guiseppe Tornatore, Ennio captures the composer of 500 film scores in fine fettle, composing, conducting and guiding us through ninety years of life, from growing up the son of a musician (and classmate of Leone) through music school, the record industry, and—oh,yes—his film scores. Morricone’s stubborn, idiosyncratic approach shines through in anecdotes from a bevy of collaborators including Bernardo Bertolucci, the Taviani Brothers, Oliver Stone and, naturally, Tornatore himself.

View the full NZIFF 2023 programme at nziff.co.nz.