It’s part of the trio short movies proposed by Per Fiducia, the project already described in the review of Il Premio.
This is an intense shot on reality. When we say the eloquence of silence. He makes the silence speak. Slowly, sweetly, deeply. Black and white, and we are already into a poem. Every single shot is a portrait of truth. It’s amazing the power of these images. We don’t need to speak to be understood if who is watching us can read a little deeper. Sorrentino can really drill through the soul of his characters.
A strong message towards the truth. A kind of, just be yourself. But also a message of being close to others, because anything in life is related to others. The match, with your companions, and the team work. And no matter who they are, young, old, father, friends, they are your team players. You have to trust all of them.
Very interesting the choice of a rugby match, an unusual sport in Italy, that gives the sense of team, of fighting together, where the compact strength of the group is very important.
A masculine message if you want, a message for men. However with no macho input at all. Instead an invitation maybe to reconsider the natural meaning of being a man, from the basic.
The location. A field in the suburbs of a big town. Where we think a strong message of hope is even more needed. And where the ground for simple values could be uncertain as well as more natural at the same time.
The characters. A simple working class family, very sweet and very true. There is this strong tight shred that links the whole thing. The grandma, the father, the mother, the son. What a cute picture. The family, an important value to support and to pursue for mutual benefits of all its components. Family as the first strong starting point for building a good sense of trust towards yourself, the others and the future. It’s a lovely movie, intense and rich. And artistically wonderful.
Buona visione.
Posted by Laura Bianconcini on 04.27.2009 at 12:50 am// Tagged: Documentary, Drama, Italian Cinema, Modern Italian Cinema, Political, Romance, Short //
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This short film is part of “Per Fiducia” (”Through Trust”), an ambitious project that unites three award-winning directors Ermanno Olmi, Gabriele Salvatores, and Paolo Sorrentino in cooperation with Intessa Sanpaolo – to answer a simple, yet timely question:
Can movies, as mirrors to reality, change it and give hope, especially in dark moments?
The answer is resounding yes, but “Per Fiducia” (”Through Trust”), a spirit-lifting project that with its three films wants to show the positive values that animates and drives Italy today.
When you think of all the myriad of phenomena we take for granted such as legal contracts, airport baggage checks, surveillance cameras, keys, borders and so on – these are all elements that were invented as a result of a slight “bug” in the human brain that sometimes takes over: the need to “game” the system at the expense of others.
And since most people got hit too many times, the issue of trust has become a well-regarded currency you share with just a few people you absolutely know and have established relationships with. Your best friend asks you can you lend me your car this evening I have an important date? Sure thing! Coming from a stranger – no way!
Maral Kinran and Stefania Berselli in a moment of uncertainty
In this film, director Ermanno Olmi returns to a familiar environment he has already explored in Tickets (Ermanno Olmi, Abbas Kiarostami, Ken Loach – 2005) – the train. The film tells the story of 3 teenagers that ride the train after winning first prize in a science technology contest for a smart, yet fashionable bracelet designed for kids with diabetes.
The contest is over, the temporary rush of winning was great, but what next? The prototype still needs money in order to turn it into a real product. Matteo (Matteo Bessone) ponders deeply this question. His partners, Stefania (Stefania Berselli) and Maral (Maral Kinran) reflect on this as well, as their faces are reflected in the window, superimposed over the moving landscape. Where are we headed? What’s in store for us when we get there?
Trains have been used in many films to portray life line itself. We’re all passengers who share the same train for just a short while. The movement forward indicates the passing time towards an unknown future, where the stations may signify milestones or opportunities along the way.
The chance encounter of the teenagers with the important professor (Maurizio Marchetti), on the train, initially plays out the common distrusts we come across when facing with sudden requests from complete strangers.
In this case, I liked the utter silence that came out from the professor’s collaborator (Marco Constantini). This is Olmi’s at his best. The person who speaks (professor) and shapes the reality is minor to the facial expressions of those that surround him, in this case the collaborator – that processes the verbal exchange and without saying a word, projects an utter distrust. Less is so much more.
The soundtrack with its grand entrance-feel of trumpets keeps reminding us of new beginnings; new ideas by young generations that take place everywhere. They may be delayed here and there due to some temporary setbacks, but they will finally arrive and make their mark.
The film’s universal message is loud and clear. Despite human innate suspicion due to the above described “bug” and occasional superficiality (enter Susan Boyle case), sprinkling a bit of trust around us can go a long way for a far better world.
Try it next time, you’re faced with the instinctive urge to dismiss something as distrustful and not help.
You can view the entire film below (10:15 minutes), and with English subtitles – here:
Posted by Shlomi Ron on 04.26.2009 at 3:13 pm// Tagged: Drama, Modern Italian Cinema, Political, Romance, Short , ermanno olmi, Per Fiducia, train //
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In tune with the tough economic times these days, the film explores the impact of a job loss on a middle class family in Genoa.
I found this film very interesting, especially when viewed through the prism of The Bicycle Thief (Vittorio De Sica – 1948). Both effectively depict the rigid patriarchal family structure with its concrete male beliefs of serving as the ultimate provider no matter what and the tendency to hide problems from the spouse. In both films we see the husband seeks help from his friends first and the friction it brings when the wife finds out later.
Unlike The Bicycle Thief, where the cause for job loss is the instrument for working (i.e., bicycles), in this film it seems the male pride and stubbornness have a central role as they were the root cause for tensions between the husband (Antonio Albanese) and a new business partner with different perspectives – tensions that mushroomed into a job loss.
The film goes through the dramatic changes that affect the family as they’re spiraling down both emotionally and economically, having to leave their posh condo into a small flat, husband working as delivery guy, selling status symbols like their boat and artworks. Margherita Buy plays the wife who sacrifices her career to support the dwindling resources of the family.
From a distance of 60 years, circumstances may be different in Bicycle Thief, but human nature seems to be constant in both films. It’s all about lack of communication, dominant male ego that needs to go full circle to realize that at the end, he shouldn’t carry a bitter load alone, it’s about a couple, a family that unites to face challenges together. And from this togetherness comes hope.
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Posted by Shlomi Ron on 03.28.2009 at 9:17 am// Tagged: Drama, Modern Italian Cinema //
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Do you believe dreams can come true?
In this masterpiece, adapted from a Russian short story by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Luchino Visconti provides a resounding yes. Or at least it appears like it.
The film was shot in Cinecitta’ studio 5 where 3 years later Fellini would shoot his incredible La Dolce Vita. The choice for filming on a set to depict industrial city Livorno is not accidental; beyond economic reasons shooting mostly night scenes, the artificial set with its elaborate waterways, alleys and bridges, made to resemble Livorno’s Venice quarter – are all meant to communicate the plot’s core fiction element, a Venice-wanna be.
Such a made up settings is used to support the story of two dreamers: Mario (Marcello Mastroianni) who is wandering lonely through the nights (hence “White Nights); and bumps into Natalia (Maria Schell) that is waiting for another guy (Jean Marais) who promised her to return after one year on the bridge.
There is an excellent photography work here as most of the film is dark and contrasted with Natalia’s angel-like bright face with blond hair. Mario, emotional character, falls deeply in love with Natalia, but can she break her promise to the other guy? He is clearly an enigma with sparse details shared about his name and reasons he had to disappear.
The whole business of waiting for a guy for a year on a bridge sounds crazy to Mario who tries to win Natalia’s heart anyway. At times he almost succeeds, but the anxious call of a mother for her daughter to get back home as it’s late, after a long and pleasant evening in a dance hall – wakes up Natalia in one instance to hurry back to the bridge in case her other guy will show up.
This persistent clinging to a dream for Natalia — where the use of bridges throughout the film are made to symbolize connection between two lost worlds her present and her future with the other guy when he arrives — are at the same time bridges of hope for Mario who is a simple guy, could be any Mario, who simply wants to break his loneliness and find companionship.
Hope on the bridge is contrasted with the dark underworld when the prostitute (Clara Calamai also played in Visconti’s Senso) lures Mario to follow her under the bridge. Yet, another two symbols clashing; the brunette prostitute as the devil versus Natalia the innocent blond – as the angel.
The use of windows open with bright light against dark buildings that suddenly close shut to complete full darkness, is also an interesting visual tactic to convey fleeting hopes. That, and the brooding mysterious soundtrack by maestro Nino Rota provides a foggy dreamlike setting where consequences are constantly looming but you can’t really tell bad or good.
The snow scene under the bridge is one of the most memorable, where the miracle nature of snowfall, serves to further support the fantasy world of the two dreamers and the sheer force in believing that tomorrow indeed will be a great day.
The film also includes insightful behind the scenes interviews with the film’s collaborators such as celebrated screenwriter Suso Cecchi d’Amico. Truly a must see!
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Posted by Shlomi Ron on 03.01.2009 at 10:50 am// Tagged: Classic Italian Cinema, Drama, Italian Cinema //
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Ever wondered what started the Oscar for Best Foregin Language Film category? It was Shoeshine, Vittorio De Sica’s fifth film that initially received a Special Academy Award in 1948 and two years later for his masterpiece The Bicycle Thief.
Shoeshine is a special film for many reasons. First, it marks the start of one of the most creative collaborations between De Sica and screenwriter Cesare Zavattini. Together they produced some of the best expressions of the Neorealism in Italian cinema with gems such as The Bicycle Thief (1948), Miracle in Milan (1951), and Umberto D (1952).
De Sica is responsible for 34 films and starred in some 150 films, that’s how he would typically finance his films. In Shoeshine, we can see a common theme in Neorealism, which is the lost of innocence, specifically of children who are thrown into a rough adult world, accentuated further here where neither support groups – the family or social systems – are available.
Like most films in the Neorealism genre right after WWII, there is an indifferent outside observer camera movement, scenes are shot in long takes on location, themes of lack of human solidarity, collapse of social system deserting the common man, and most importantly the use of non-professional actors.
The inspiration for this film came for De Sica from meeting two shoeshine boys Scimmietta (‘Little Monkey’) and Cappellone (‘Big Hat’) that represented the many kids in the streets of Rome who made their living by polishing shoes of the American soldiers, shouting Sciuscià, a Neopolitan corruption of the English word “shoeshine” used to attract soldiers. These two boys were not selected for the role as De Sica decided they were two ugly. Instead, two other street boys, Franco Interlenghi playing the mature Pasquale Maggi and Rinaldo Smordoni, playing the younger Giuseppe Filippucci – had their film career debut.
After the success of the film both boys were offered many projects, but whereas Interlenghi’s career flourished with 75 films to his credit, most notably starring in Fellini’s I Vitteloni’s (1953), Somordoni, did another 2 films and then broke away from show biz ending up as public transport worker.
The film obtains its power by clearly illustrating how fragile human relationships are where two boys’ strongest friendship is turned upside down due to vicious turn of events beyond their control. Like life truly is. In this sense, without playing the blame game De Sica shows how bad circumstances can play a huge role in the lives of people in postwar Italy. Italian cities where half destroyed, social systems where barely functioning, so who can condemn children if they opted for stealing, and prison guards for blackmailing? They’re all part of a long food chain that merely tried to survive.
Legendary film critic, Pauline Kael aptly put it:
“It is one of those rare works of art which seem to emerge from the welter of human experience without smoothing away the raw edges, or losing what most movies lose–the sense of confusion and accident in human affairs.”
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Posted by Shlomi Ron on 01.15.2009 at 11:46 am// Tagged: Classic Italian Cinema, Neorealism , children, Franco Interlenghi, Neorealism, vittorio de sica //
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