Fiorile

Fiorile (1993) was co-written and co-directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani. The Taviani brothers are great directors, and their genius comes through in this unusual film. The plot starts off innocuously enough, with a young couple and their two children traveling in Italy to meet the husband's father. The family apparently live in France, and the husband has not seen his father for over ten years. The children are both under ten years old, so they don't know what to expect of their grandfather.

The father tells his children about a curse placed on their family because of an incident during the Napoleonic wars in Italy 200 years earlier. Gold is involved, and the subject of gold and the curse continues throughout the film. There's another episode in the early 20th Century, and a third during World War II.

Galatea Ranzi plays two roles--Elisabette in the Napoleonic episode, and Elisa in the early 20th Century episode. The two characters are quite different in temperament, but Ranzi is a good actor, and you believe her in both roles. (She is also very, very beautiful. You can see how a young French officer would forget his official military obligations in her presence.)

We saw this film on VHS, and it worked well on the small screen. Most of the action takes place indoors, or in small outdoor spaces, so a large screen isn't really required. This isn't a movie that you must seek out and see at all costs. However, if you can find it, it's worth watching.

The Tavianis astonished me with Kaos (1984) and The Night Sun (1990). With Fiorile they have stolen my heart.

I cannot approach the statement I have just made logically. I can't tell you why I yearn to hear my mother play Grieg's Waltz (from his Lyric Pieces) more than any great player play one of the complicated masterpieces. There is something about ingenuity and virtuosity and flawlessness that is besides the point.

Fiorile is cosmic and sweet.

Its flaws are what makes it beautiful.

The story is about a family who curse themselves down through the generations themselves by stealing treasure and causing an intolerable injustice. But the wealth of the film is in the Tavianis ability to create heightened moments, full of nostalgia for times and places you never knew.

The title of "Fiorile" refers to the month of "Floreal" (month of flowers), a month from the French Republican calender that was used in France from 1793 to 1806. The month lasted from April 20 to Mai 19.

The film "Fiorile" is about the concept of the original sin. A theft in the Napoleontic age gives the Benedetti family wealth and power, but is also responsible for the fact that they are hated and called the Maledettis (the cursed).

The scene of the theft, or more precisely the scene of the night thereafter, is one of the most beautiful of the film. Jean, a soldier from Napoleons army leaves the treasury he is supposed to guard unattended because he is making love to a local girl. Meanwhile the brother of the girl steals the treasury (no preconceived plan!). That night Jean has to stay on the village square. He will be sentenced to death unless the thief wil return the treasury under cover of the night (and with no penalty). The scene following is really memorable, with a glimpse of hope flashing up in Jean every time he hears a sound, only to be disappointed when it turns out to be an animal.

"Fiorile" is not the best film of the Taviani brothers. The reviews at the time of release were a bit disappointing. With hinsight it is however their last good movie (with the possible exception of "Caesar must die" (2012) which I didn't see). The Tuscan landscape is beautiful, the cinematography is good and the Taviani brothers are born storytellers after all.

When you have several hundred films in your queue, sometimes you forget just why it is there. I am not familiar with the work of Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, and I don't recognize any of the stars. I haven't even seen Chiara Caselli before. She gives us a glimpse of her beauty late in the film, but I am told there are better films to see her.

So, did I just make a mistake and now regret it? No, the film was a beautiful fantasy drama that told how money can come to be looked upon as a curse. Even knowing that, the curse lives on in the children. Once you touch gold, you cannot let go.

It was a nice film, with brilliant cinematography, and not a waste of time.

The Taviani brothers have a definite place in the history of Italian cinema. They were highly regarded in the 70s and 80s, but lately their creative power and success seems to have diminished. 'Fiorile' is one of the later films, and the rust begins to be visible. It is a romantic story, spread over almost two hundred years and several generations, a story of love, lust, money and damnation. It is well filmed, and well told, but it is too conventional, and the message - if there is any - gets lost in the multitude of the characters, none really catching the eye or due to resist in the long term memory. We are left with a film in the good European tradition, good acting, nice filming, but still not a great achievement. Worth seeing in any case. 8/10 on my personal scale.