Verão Violento

Valerio Zurlini (1926 - 1982) was essentialy forgotten when in the 2000's his films were again brought under the attention of the public by way of DVD releases and retrospectives. Although Zurlini may not be an Fellini or Visconti, his films are still worth seeinig.

"Violent summer" is situated in the summer of 1943. The war is going badly for Fascist Italy but, unlike the population in Germany in "Nachts, wenn der Teufel kam" (1957, Robert Siodmak), Carlo (Jean Louis Trintignant) and his friends are still living the "dolce vita". They are in the Northern of Italy while the allied forces are invading the South. They are, so to speak, dancing on the edge of the volcano.

The violence in "Violent summer" is restricted to the last 10 minutes of the film. The rest of the time the film is rather slow, with beautiful cinematography.

"Violent summer" has two themes. In the first place it is about a rich boy (Carlo) who is using the influence of his dad to avoid military conscription. In this way it is similar to "The cranes are flying" (1957, Mikhail Kalatozov). In "The cranes ..." the boy is presented as a disgrace and compared to the real heroes in this patriotic war. In "Violent summer" the behavior of Carlo is partly overshadowed by the second theme of impossible love. Carlo gets a relationship with war widow Roberta (Eleonora Rossi Drago). This relationship is condemned by friends and relatives on both sides. On the side of Carlo there is a jalous girl friend. The family of Roberta is of the opinion she should honor the memory of her deceased husband. In fact they try to make this 30 year old woman a prisoner of this memory.

In the ambiguous end it is unclear which theme is dominant.

Valerio Zurlini was first known for his melodramas ("la ragazza con la valigla" and "cronaca familiare" but his towering achievement was his final effort "il deserto dei Tartari" a brilliant adaptation of Dino Buzatti's masterpiece (hence not a melodrama).

"Estate Violenta" is a moderately successful film:the umpteenth story of a young and attractive widow and a younger (not so younger by the way,Trintignant was actually about five years younger than Rossi-Drago)lad ,during the Fascist years .The boy has a lot of fun with his mates :thanks to his father who provides him protection he has avoided the draft.He spends his time ,with a spoiled youth sunbathing and partying but history is about to catch him up.Rossi-Drago portrays a woman who stifles in her bourgeois atmosphere.

Excellent performances by the two leads.Gorgeous brunette Jacqueline Sassard is also featured as Trintignant's girlfriend (she would team up again with Trintignant in Chabrol's "les biches"(1967); nothing was heard from her since).Best scene:bombing of the railway station,Zurlini works wonders when he describes people's panic.

Zurlini's Violent Summer is unlike anything else I have seen, even though I have seen nearly all of his films. The photography and the casting is near perfection with a script that is tight and unpredictable. I guess there are other stories involving frowned upon love between an older woman and a young man but they are nothing like this. The devil is in the detail in the way the film gives a sense of reality and of immense sensual beauty.

A great film from a great talent.

Why not make a drama that really brings home how it does affect ordinary people ... or a whole town/village. In this case it is the second world war ... I have to admit, I do not know how I would have reacted if I were one of those characters in the movie. Although I am quite certain they are not just characters but either based on real people or close to what people felt and did back then.

If that sounds like a slow paced drama/movie you are up to watch ... well go ahead and do it. Everyone else might have issues with it and how it tells its story. It's a what if ... and what would you do ... and while it may have aged, it still is poignant and apt ... and full of emotion.

This love story set in a seaside town during Mussolini's Italy's last gasp has a lot of atmosphere and beautiful b/w cinematography, but the smoldering love story between the young J-L Trintignant and the initially reluctant older (30!) widow (the hauntingly beautiful Eleanora Rossi Drago--and why isn't she famous?)is convincing and memorable. See it if you can!