Il Postino
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Movie Reviews of Il Postino
Movie Review: Massimo Troisi's swan song.
Summary: 5 Stars
Another inspiring italian movie that describes in a simple, yet profound way basic things of life such as love, friendship, poetry, and the magnifisent, unique mediterranean landscape.
The making of this movie was Massimo Troisi's dream and upon realizing this dream he died just a few hours later; I am sure with a sence of accomplishment and satisfaction.
The humor in the movie is very sublte. Right at the beginning of the movie Massimo Troisi, a man of few words, is having a monologue. This is because he talks about his alergy for the sea water to his father, who is a man of no words. He lives on an island where the 99% of the population are fishermen and he is allergic to sea water, this is funny.
One of the best momments of the movie is when Philippe Noiret asks Massimo Troisi to describe his island and he says: "Beatrice Russo", the girl he is in love with. But at the end of the movie he records what his island is: the sound of the waves at the shore, the cry of his baby, the sound of the birds, the sound of the wind through the bushes. This is really what life is and these are the things that unfortunately escape our notice.
The resemblence of Philippe Noiret with Pablo Neruda is incredible. The extras of the dvd are great and they really gave me the desire to visit Chile and of course they made me nostalgic of the unique mediterranean region.
Do not expect to see any special effects in the movie. But look for the simple things of life that can make you rich and can make you become a poet. After reading some reviews that give only one star to this movie I am afraid to recommend it in case it ends up with the wrong people. I would recommend it to people that enjoyed "La vita e bella", "The big blue" and the "Cinema il Paradiso" (See my reviews for these movies as well).
Movie Review: Seven seas in the seventh heaven
Summary: 5 Stars
A man comes across a few crossroads in his life. These crossroads sometimes comes in the form of influential people who change the way he perceives the world. Il Postino documents the transformation of an Italian postman in a little Italian village. The influence is no less than a Pablo Neruda, one of the most romantic poets who ever walk the face of earth.The first thing that the postman picks up from his only client is obviously the penchant for the romantics. The two slowly become friends and the postman requests the master to teach him poetry. His inital motive is to use it to woo a local beauty who works in a bar he frequents. The strategy works and the two end up getting married. Neruda takes a leave to go back to his homeland Chile, after his banishment has been lifted by the Chilean government.
The film could easily end here and the film will still be highly memorable. However, it is what comes next that pushes the film to the next level. The postman grows weary of his destitute surroundings, and influenced by Neruda's Marxist views, he begins to lean towards the left wing. Like reading great poetry, the postman initially falls in love with the words and imageries. Then the words begin to sink in and the importance of the words felt. Instead of falling into the realm of predictable romantic genre, the director, Michael Bradford shapes this into a mimicry of poetry which works successfully.
Many factors help make this possible. The stunning cinematography appeals to the sense of sight and a great score accompanies an excellent script. Taken together, these elements give a birth to a film that one can all too easily dub a masterpiece. Whether it is one is open to arguments, however, I believe that many would agree that it is a special movie that would stay in many hearts for a long time to come.
Movie Review: Human and Poetic
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of the best films I ever saw and I realize that I am adding nothing original when I call it a poem of a film. If this film were music it would be a Chopin Nocturne or an Impromptu by Schubert. Not dazzling, not too difficult form a technical standpoint yet very profound, melancholy, disturbing, stirring, and emotionally stimulating. The film is based on the novel by Antonio Skarmeta - a Chilean and student of Neruda. in the novel the setting is an island not far from Santiago, where Neruda is temporarily confined. Other than the change in setting - which in the film is the island of Procida 3 naut. miles from Naples - the film respects Skarmeta's story. I had read the book prior to seeing the film in its original Spanish and I was amazed by the translation of the story in film. the Neapolitan dialect, or neapolitan inflected italian, of the film even sounds like Spanish. naturally as a fan of Troisi and a Neapoliatn I think Massimo Troisi as the postman was the best possible choice. In life he was generous, charming, humorous but always showed that slight melancholy that indicated his depth. Noiret as Neruda is also well cast. To add to the visual beauty of the sorroundings the excellent soundtrack of tango like music was very apt and flowed effortlessly with the reading of neruda's poems. the story istelf is fictional and lossely based on Neruda's real life events though displaced in time. Neruda did in fact become Chilean ambassador to France and was a strong supporter of Allende; moreover, Neruda always had leftist sympathies and was often in trouble with his government, which led to a number of exiles or 'trips' outside his country. Those who enjoyed Cinema Paradiso, Kolya, Mediterraneo and countless other films that can be described as piano pieces by Chopin or Schubert will love Il Postino.Movie Review: Magnifico!
Summary: 5 Stars
I had recalled "Il Postino" making a bit of a splash at the Academy Awards about a dozen years ago. It certainly got more mention at that awards ceremony than most foreign language films before or after. I knew it had something to do with Pablo Neruda, the great Chilean poet and, of course, a postman. I couldn't understand the Italian title since I presumed that it took place on a Chilean island. All that and more unravelled before me last night as I found out for myself why "Il Postino" was so talked about 12 years ago. This is a beautiful movie that says so much on so many levels. It is the story of a simple man who finds the courage to seak out his own greatness. It is the story of a great man who finds the humility to seakout his own simplicity. It is a movie full of life, laughter, sadness and humanity.
"Il Postino" generally comes across as a light comedy but we eventually are confronted with an opposite emotion. I was sorry, initially, that the movie switched gears the way it did until I realized that the force of its' impact would only have been diluted any other way. The acting in "Il Postino" is superb all around with top kudos going to the title character, the actor who plays Neruda, and Beatrice's mother. The converations between these first two alone were worth the price of the DVD. This is a movie I will keep and watch many more times.
Movie Review: A Film That Will Make You Want To Write Metafore
Summary: 5 Stars
The other day I had to watch this movie for my Italian class. The movie was fabulous. In the beginning of the film I felt bad for Mario (brilliantly acted by Massimo Troisi), he just seemed so awkward, and because he didn't like fishing, it seemed like he was a failure to his father and the rest of the village. This begins to change when Mario becomes a postman, delivering mail to the Chilean love poet Pablo Neruda. Mario and Neruda develop a great friendship + Mario becomes more confident and falls in love. I had heard very good things about this movie, but watching it was a fabulous experience + it was better than I expected.Today in Italian, we watched an interview with the director and the TV special about Neruda that are included on the DVD. I didn't know, while watching the film, that the star Massimo Troisi was dying during filming. Learning that he was holding on to life just to complete this film, made it all the more special and sad. I also learned that the actor who played Neruda (Philippe Noiret) acted in French and was later dubbed into Italian. I thought that was a really interesting fact.
All in all this is a great film. It will make you cry. It will make you want to read Neruda's poetry, and even more so, it will make you want to write poetry of your own.