Last Friday, members of the Italian Film Club gathered in the Union Colonnade Theater to watch their first movie, “The Last Kiss.”
Started by Italian professors Dennis Martinez and Paolo Chirumbolo, the club hopes to meet as often as possible for the remainder of the semester.
Approximately 80 students in Italian classes donated $2 each to help fund the film in order to buy permission to view it, Martinez said.
The point of the club is to show new Italian films, which will help students see a more realistic picture of Italy.
“We’re trying to depict a better image than that of the stereotypical Italy,” Martinez said.
“The Last Kiss,” viewed in full Italian with English sub-titles, was about love, sex, heartbreak and adultery. The movie had several characters, who all found themselves in a binding situation.  
Rachael Ledet, an English sophomore in one of Martinez’s classes, was pleased with the movie.
“I really liked it,” she said. “It was funny, but still sincere. I liked how it followed the different relationships.”
Ledet and Marla Pierce, an architecture freshman, both said they would watch another movie with the group.
“If they decide to show more; I’d love to come,” Pierce said. “I’m interested in the different cultures.”
The movies shown by the group are open to anyone, as Pierce, who is not an Italian student, found out about the club through a friend.
Friday’s film attracted about 50 viewers, according to Martinez.
“I wanted to come because I thought it would be interesting,” she said. “I was really surprised by the movie. I saw a different perspective on life and relationships.”
The club will not always view their films in the Colonnade Theater.
“We’re going to reserve any other room where we can fit several students and have a large screen to see the movie,” Martinez said.
Another film the club hopes to view is called “Bread and Tulips;” however, other movies still remain undecided.
“We picked ‘The Last Kiss’ as our first movie because of its contemporary issues to show the students here the contemporary relationships and how they are seen through other Italians,” Martinez said.