Il Tetto – The Roof (Vittorio De Sica – 1956)
Published
Five years after his masterpiece, Miracolo a Milano – Miracle in Milan (1951), director Vittorio De Sica with screenwriter Cesare Zavattini, return to a familiar neorealist theme – social troubles of a young couple, played by unprofessional actors, facing a housing problem during Italy’s economic boom.
The film opens with footage of construction workers at a building site working hard, which reminded me of similar labor themes director Ermanno Olmi dealt with early in his career.
The story tells the hardships of a newlywed couple finding a house; they are rejected from their overcrowded parents’ home, check a noisy, yet overpriced apartment by the railroad, and finally, resort to their last solution. Summing up the help of his construction workers, Natale, Luisa’s husband, find an empty lot by a railroad and overnight build a small cabin, leveraging a rule that if a dwelling has a door and a roof, the dweller cannot be evicted.
Beyond the ironic narrative – a construction worker who builds modern high-rise homes for others is struggling to find a home for himself – the film opens a wide visual angle that illustrates the immense force of Italy’s economic boom with construction sites everywhere. Yet, not all profited from it.
I liked the heartwarming soundtrack of Alessandro Cicognini that tightly hugs the narrative as the protagonists face one conflict after another, but still leaves room for hope. Cicognini’s music style is described as late-romantic and was characterized by immediacy and catchiness.
Celebrating cafePellicola.com’s 10-year anniversary I figured this film has many of the attributes of Italian cinema that caught my fascination – a great example of Italian visual storytelling craftsmanship that still excites, moves and engages all senses.
