Mediterraneo

I am not one for Italian movies but this was a cracker. If you have to go by the sub-titles then pay attention at the beginning when the soldiers are in the process of securing the town and they engage a chicken.....its a bit of humour that has stayed with me for years since watching it.

It is one of those feel good movies that you just don't want to end...highly recommended.

In an age where any discerning movie goer struggles to find a decent movie at a video shop because of all the crassy Hollywood type movies that are churned out, this is a must watch movie.

The outline of this film appears in other postings, so I will just add my two drachma by way of critical appraisal. In case you are in any doubt, Mediterraneo ranks in my best three ever - a magnificent film. If you never see it, part of your life will have been unlived.

Mediterraneo epitomises the difference between Hollywood and the demands of a largely US audience and the subtler approach of the European director/writer who seeks simply to express him/herself through the medium. I read two reviews in the Washington Post both of which managed to misunderstand the film completely, one going so far as to characterise the cast as "Marx Brothers". In fact, they are probably the finest ensemble of characters I have ever seen in film - a completely disparate group of individuals who nearly all manage to find spiritual (and sexual) fulfulment in the sensuality of Aegean island life.

The film is multi-layered and, the more obvious ones, such as the powerful anti-war message and the venality of post-Fascist Italy are often mentioned. But no-one has ever picked up on the phrase "una face, una race" which is repeated throughout the film. This is the nostrum that Italians and Greeks have a common Mediterranean heritage (come on Washington Post hacks - didn't the title give you a clue?) and that there is an enormous irony in the Italians - who rightly pride themselves on the antiquity of their civilisation - seeking to subdue another culture whose origins are 2000 years older.

This is underlined by the easy participation of the soldiers in both high and low Greek culture, .....the painting of the frescoes in the church (n.b. the Orthodox Church predating the Holy Roman Empire by centuries - clever eh!) and the wonderful unifying theme of football, which only a European or South American viewer could truly appreciate.

The group's ambivalent attitude to sexual mores adds to the sense of the place as essentially a home for Greco-Roman sensuality - a fact which is gloriously exposed with the later juxtaposition of our band of heroes with the starched British Royal Navy officers who arrive to remove them from the island.

I have not seen any mention in other reviews of the beautiful cadence of the Italian dialogue - as lilting as the bazouki music which accompanies much of the film.

The sense of disillusionment that takes over the film at the end is very powerful and it is no accident that Salvatore shows us the Lieutenant returning to the island on a ferry full of burnt-pink tourists.

This is a film that can only truly be appreciated if you have a feeling for, and understanding, of European culture. This is a film for grown-ups.

Mediterraneo demonstrates that though box-office grosses for European films are small (unless it is something produced explicity for a US audience, like the truly dreadful Four Weddings) our directors have managed to stay true to their craft.

If there are not enough car chases or shoot outs for you, look out for the five-star ratings in the Washington Post.

Fact 1: Only 10% of Americans possess a passport: Fact 2: None of them review for the Washington Post.

Honestly I don't know how this movie could have been translated into English or other languages, since I'm referring to the original, Italian, version of it. I never expected any American so-called critic to full understand what European, and specifically southern-European movies can be about, since we never based the quality of a movie on the amount of car chases, shooting, explosions, well polished (but fake) dialogues and so on. Our cinema is far less shiny but more down-to-Earth. The director, through the words of the character of Lt. Farina, in the very beginning of the movie starts telling a story, which could have been truly happened that way. Why? Because in Italian movies actors act like normal everyday people is. So it appears pretty credible what happened in the movie, between acts of humanity, friendship, inner struggles. Of Course there are typical elements of Italian culture throughout the plot, as the soccer matches, the highly informal language, the warm friendship, and of course to whom is totally unaware of Italian culture, these can appear as childish and pretty silly. But if you look deeply into that, if you leave all prejudices aside, you will discover a beautiful postcard which paints a wonderful small Greek island, in which Italian and Greek people (re)discover their common cultural origins. With the WW2 as background (but there are no fights at all). All in all, reading about American reviews about this movie, in which the writers looked at this movie with a smile of superiority, it reminded me about the part in which the two British sailors came to rescue the marooned soldiers, point at them with a sort of disgust and justify their feelings with: "Italians".

"Mediterraneo", which we saw during its debut run locally, has stayed fresh as when we first saw it. This small, endearing film has a lot going for it. In fact, it makes a perfect statement against WWII, or any war, for that matter, without being in one's face. The subtlety of this film stays long in the viewer's mind.

We are presented a group of Italian soldiers on a mission to set a base in a small, and apparently uninhabited island in the Aegean Sea, not too far from Italy, but millions of years away in the way it has stayed primitive enough to offer anything to these men. As soldiers, under the command of Raffaelle, these are not the typical professional soldiers. In fact, these men discover themselves and a world they didn't know existed during their time in the island.

What surprises the soldiers is not to encounter anyone living in the village facing the sea, where they disembark. It becomes clear everyone is hiding from them. When the populace discover these men are harmless they return and embrace the invaders with open arms. After all, they feel the Italians share a lot in common with them.

The men, obviously abandoned, and lacking means of transportation, get stuck in the island. In fact, they don't realize, but when the Italian aviator arrives in his one engine plane, he is amazed how many years have passed since they arrived at that remote spot.

This small film is a delight to watch. Diego Abatantuono makes a great Lorusso. Claudio Bigati, is Raffaele, the man with an artistic eye, who sees the beauty of the classical Greek design. Vanna Barba plays Vassilessa, the local whore who falls in love with the shy Farina(Giuseppe Cederna). The rest of the cast does a good job under Mr. Salvatores' direction.

Watch this film as it will delight fans of Mr. Salvatores and the Italian cinema.

An outstanding movie. The film flows like water, masterfully directed.Watching this film was enjoyable and it seems like an escape from reality.In them we can identify our desires and our feelings. Escape from the world of war. Shows how little is enough to be happy. Luzers in the war are actually winners and lucky people. People who would kill other peoples yesterday, show us real face, ordinary people with same wishes like ours. This movie proof that is not necessary to spend millions of $ to make great movie. For me personally it is a pleasure to watch this movie any time, sometime I feel that I would like to find similar place today to escape from our modern, hectic life. All in all, great movie, I wouldn't change anything.