Allonsanfàn

On the video box of Allonsafan, I noticed that someone had written in small letters, "Boreing". So, was it? On the whole, I am not the biggest fan of Italian films, and Marcello Mastrianni I always feel is his and miss. But actually, Ansofan isn't as bad a film that many people perceive it to be, although it essentially goes all over the place, the film is somewhat entertaining. Mastrianni is certainly OUT there playing a member of a criminal gang. He wants to go straight, but members of his gang keep showing up every time he's trying to go straight. He also has a son to think about! And his love life! Nevertheless, the gang members seem to follow him like a bad rash, even when he tries to kill the annoying pests. What this all is supposed to mean is rather confusing, and the ending is pretty predictable if you've been paying attention to this love/hate relationship thing Mastrionni has got going. Not entirely boring, but then again, not entirely comprehensible either.

Dreadful and pretentious film. The script is plain awful - scenes are entirely disconnected, with things happening without any logic or reason. Entire parts could be cut out because they serve absolutely no purpose (for instance, Fulvio taking his son Massimiliano to a restaurant). Many scenes pretend to have a lot of "significance" but are void of any true meaning whatsoever (for example, their sensual eating of gelato or the carnival woman "giving birth"). The various battle scenes are the quality of Monty Python skits, and monologues often reminded me of middle school productions. The Taviani brothers are enamored with setting up beautiful "tableaux", but without any true justification, these artful images just look pretentious. I have been a great admirer of Italian cinema (and indeed of most things Italian) for many years, but at times one must recognize an abysmal work for what it is.

It is my first encounter with Taviani brothers' work, my instant gut-feeling is that this surrealistic political-drama about a traitor's ill-fated fallout is perhaps blemished by the incompatibility of our generation, I reluctantly pigeonhole it to those films inevitably go astray from their glorious road along the unstoppable torrent of time!

Marcello Mastroianni this time around employs a substantially anti-hero persona opponent to his more audience-friendly role as the marquee Italian dream-lover. An abnormally bitter repugnance exudes from his character brims with all the screen time and I can sense a tint of misogyny levitating in the air with an inexplicably compelling thespian vibe. The lesser characters are all one-dimensional notwithstanding, a feral Lea Massari (from THE ADVENTURE) still could draw some attention for her very underdeveloped role.

All the sectors are somehow quirky enough to create certain discontinuity in the narrative, which could be a deliberate novelty at that time, but fails to leave sympathetic impression throughout, plus without the adequate stewing time, I might wonder it might be too hasty for audience to ruminate or even reflect the actual happening in the film, especially for a foreigner.

Of course you have to like the Taviani brothers style, something rather hard for viewers contaminated with the fast moving, predictable (even when trying hard to be unpredictable) plots of Hollywood McDonalds-style commercial movies. Taviani brothers take a bitter look at Italy of the '70's, the time when several leftist revolutionary groups, like the Brigade Rosse, the Autonomia Operaia and the Lotta Continua, chose the path of armed struggle against Italian capitalism, ending in a horrible massacre of politicians, judges, and innocent people. Just like them Fulvio, is of a wealthy, aristocratic origin and his revolutionary stance is just sentimental, not backed by real-life status. He gets easily disillusioned, but, caught in a moving sand, however he struggles to reclaim his past life he gets trapped and is swallowed in the end. It is hard to watch a film that you cannot identify with anyone, but it is worth a try.

As an Italian period film taking place in the early 1800s, we get everything we would suppose out of the viewing experience in these two hours. The filming locations are utterly gorgeous, and the production design and art direction are flush with equally beautiful detail. The hair, makeup, and especially the costume design are just as fetching and attentively realized, and even the lighting and cinematography are sights for sore eyes. The stunts and practical effects on hand look terrific, and to much the same point, the cast give firm, commendable performances to bring the drama to bear. It's a compelling if dark and somewhat grim story that brothers Paolo and Vittorio Taviani give us: the story of a bitter, disillusioned revolutionary, and those he cruelly betrays while selfishly seeking a more comfortable life. All along the way one can plainly see and feel how lovingly this was crafted, with some particular odds and ends standing out (including a brief sequence near the end), and the original score of master composer Ennio Morricone is simply a gift. By and large, 'Allonsanfàn' is excellent, and it's well worth watching no matter what one is looking for.

That doesn't mean it's perfect. While Morricone's dominant theme is a treasure - there's a reason Quentin Tarantino would notably borrow it thirty-four years later - I'm struck by how little variety there is in the music, and I can't help but wonder if said theme would be more effective if it were exercised more sparingly. In other regards I'm not so certain what it is that bugs me about the picture, but it arises somewhere between the Taviani's writing and direction. It's a marginal lack of total clarity, perhaps, in how characters are introduced or beats laid out, or maybe a slight lack of finesse: amorphousness and curious hard edges, both at once and made more pronounced by some small tidbits that feel unnecessary or indulgent. None of this is nearly so severe as to specifically detract from the feature, but truthfully I just don't find the whole to be as rich and vibrant as I supposed based on scant foreknowledge. (For the record, said foreknowledge includes two seconds-long clips removed from context, Morricone's theme, and the premise.) 'Allonsanfàn' is solid, engaging, enjoyable, and satisfying, but it's not altogether grabbing or rewarding.

Maybe I'm nitpicking, though. Far more than not we get what we want, and this is well written and well made, a testament to the skills of those involved with regards to both film-making and storytelling, not to mention acting. Scrutinize as we may, all told there's not much going wrong with this title, and to the extent that it falls short it's a matter of semantics, or personal preference, more than substance. I'd stop short of saying 'Allonsanfàn' is a must-see, but whatever your impetus for watching it's well worth checking out, and at length, maybe that's all it needs to be.