Pai Patrão

Padre Pardone, the master piece of theTaviani brothers tells the story of the coming of age of a young illiterate shepherd who's confronted to the tyranny of his father and the inevitable rebellion that happens when the child becomes a man. This movie which tells the true story of the writer Gavino Ledda gives an universal vibe. The relation between father and son is based on love, authority and violence. More then just a family portrait, Padre Padrone is about society. Not just the modern italian society, but each society at each time. This story is about changes and conflict between generation and mentalities. The movie has some really powerful scene like the one when the fathers cry with his son in his arms. The score is composed mainly of sardinian musics, The sardinian score is heartbreaking, just like the movie is....

Based on the true story of author Gavino Ledda, we follow his life growing up on a Sicilian farm where he is subjected to the brutal realism of his father. It all begins when he is taken out of school at a very young age because dad (Omero Antonutti) needs him to tend the sheep and keep them safe from snakes, wolves and bandits! He's barely two foot tall at this stage. This is the template for much of the rest of his childhood as his education is sacrificed to keep them fed and housed. Reaching his adulthood he finds himself manoeuvred into joining the military by his father - a responsibility that rather backfires on the older man as Gavino (now Saverio Marconi) proves not only that he is quite capable of learning - not just the basics of reading and arithmetic, but of understanding the complexities of electrical engineering and radio operation. He decides to return to Sicily after his time in the army, but much more on his own terms and to study at university. Naturally, his disappointed father has other ideas - but can these two men reconcile and Gavino learn to (or want to) forgive his father? Initially, it's really quite easy to loathe the paternal character. Save for one tiny semblance of affection (after a beating) he shows no emotional connection to his son at all. As the film progresses though, it becomes slightly easier to understand that this man comes from a long line of people with little hope, living an hand-to-mouth existence with no education and little belief in opportunity. Is it despite him or partly because of him that Gavino has such an independent spirit? Marconi delivers strongly here and both he and Antonutti sustain the degree of familial tension as both realise that change is inevitable. Change and ageing. I like the indefinite nature of the conclusion - it's all a work in process and one I found quite compelling to watch.

This is the true story of Gavino Ledda,a Sardinian shepherd,who though illiterate until he was twenty,is now a doctor in glottology.His father takes Gavino out of school when the boy is six year old;he has no choice:education is a privilege of rich people and Gavino has to be shepherd.Taken out of school,he spends most of his adolescene up the mountains looking after his father's sheep and living an isolated life.Gavino tries to leave from Sardegna,but the father does not give him the written consent that he needs.In the meantime the father sells the cattle,sends his daughter to be servant,and his sons to work.Later,it suits his father to have Gavino join the army and learn a trade;so he becomes also the teacher of Gavino in order to make him get the diploma of elementary school and thus be sent as a volunteer to the army.While in the army,after some years Gavino gets the diploma from the high school and decides that he wants to go on to university.He returns home,when his father once more makes him a shepherd,but Gavino is determined to return to the mainland...Based on the autobiographical novel by Ledda,PADRE PADRONE brought Taviani Brothers the international fame.

The life of an Italian peasant who was forced out of school by his father so as to be a shepherd in the remote country side. The loneliness and the father's brutality has an effect on the boy who grows up to be a late learner in reading and writing. This new knowledge he uses as a weapon against the everlasting battle with his tyrant father. The first half drags on but the second half all comes together.

I saw this movie more than 20 years ago, but I have never forgotten it. There is no need for me to repeat what others have said about the plot. Let me just say that the film's use of natural sound is astounding. An illiterate boy is isolated from other people, so he develops a unique understanding of the world's noises. I appreciated the film's critique of paternalism, but even more, I was profoundly moved by the story of a peasant boy who manages to overcome his isolation and fear of his father and learn to read and then to study linguistics.

I am going to buy a copy of this movie for my grandson who is studying film at a university. Despite the fact that he is a young and urban American, I think he will appreciate the humor, the innovative techniques and the themes of this remarkable film.