Miracle à Milan

This film is like an allegory of the gospel. It has such direct honesty and innocence you can not possibly believe it was made after the world war when Italy was ravaged and devastated, and was filled with a huge homeless, impoverished population. It is a monument to the best qualities of the human spirit, as well as to the endless creative resources of that land of inspiration.

Toto is a character like Doestoevisky's "Idiot", a modern Christ finding his way in a big city. He is goodness and purity fortified by love, and his acts change the people he encounters, as much as the miracle working dove. The story is told in a natural manner and simple style, yet imbued with a magic that is almost a premonition of Fellini's surrealist fantasies. It is one of the most inspiring, uplifting movies ever made.

The great Italian actor/director/writer Vittorio De Sica is probably best known for his neo-realism offerings, particularly the tear- jerking masterpiece Bicycle Thieves (1948). His next film, Miracle in Milan, begins with the title 'once upon a time...', making it clear enough that this is a step towards more fantastical fare. While still exploring themes of class divide and the humility of the poor, Miracle is pure fairytale, starting out with a baby found in a basket and climaxing with a gathering of our homeless heroes flying away on broomsticks.

The ageing Lolotta (Emma Gramatica) finds a newborn baby in her cabbage patch and adopts him, naming him Toto. When the old lady dies, the young Toto is taken to an orphanage where he grows up (to be played by Francesco Golisano) and emerges an optimistic and happy-go-lucky young man. Shortly after he discovers that other members of society don't share his chirpy outlook on life, he is robbed by a homeless man but takes pity on him, and in return Toto is shown to a shantytown on the outskirts of Milan. Fitting in immediately, Toto and his new friends discover that the land on which they dwell holds oil, and soon enough the rich fat cats descend on the outcasts.

There is little subtlety to Miracle in Milan, and De Sica is quick to stamp his own views on a society that shun the poor, portraying the rich as fat, cigar-chomping tyrants, while the poor are a collection of likable oddballs. There are many wonderful moments, such as Toto overseeing the renovation of the shantytown and the scene in which the homeless, Tati-esque, huddle together to warm up in a slim ray of sunshine peeking through the clouds. It's also on- the-nose and slightly grating, complete with obscene caricatures and some comedic scenes that simply do not work. We are left with the message of the corrupting power of wealth, and while this is a familiar topic in the realm of neo-realism, there's enough charm on show to help see past the flaws.

Perhaps the last film you would expect to come from Vittorio de Sica and Cesare Zavattini (who wrote the novel on which this film is based). It's a neorealist fantasy, kind of an oxymoron, really. An old woman finds a baby in her cabbage patch and raises him as her own son. After a few years, the baby is a young boy (named Toto) and the adoptive mother is dying. He goes to an orphanage and, when he finally turns 18, he leaves. Immediately, he finds that he has no home. Toto is optimistic, though, and won't let anything get him down. A man steals his valise, and instead of getting angry over it, Toto becomes his friend and goes and stays with him in a small shantytown. Toto takes some initiative and organizes the many homeless living in the area and they build a better shantytown. Soon, the landowner is trying to sell this plot of land, and the citizens of the shantytown have to protect themselves. After many attempts, the owner mounts a force of police to get rid of the homeless. At this point, the film becomes full-fledged fantasy (before this it was more comedic/fantastic melodrama in the style of Charlie Chaplin). This stuff is so weird and shocking that it's probably best for others to see it for themselves. It's quite amazing, and very funny. There are objections you could raise about the plot of Miracle in Milan, most certainly. Fellini and Visconti were greatly criticized when they started to stray from Neorealism. I think I read this was widely criticized at the time of its release. At this point, though, it's so enjoyable - I loved it very much. It might be my favorite of Vittorio de Sica's films, although Umberto D and The Bicycle Thieves come very, very close. 10/10.

The snobs and pseudo experts consider it "a far cry from De Sica's best" The ones suffering from a serious lack of innocence will find a problem connecting to this masterpiece. De Sica spoke in a very direct way. His Italianness doesn't have the convoluted self examination of modern Italian filmmakers, or the bitter self parody of Pietro Germi, the pungent bittersweetness of Mario Monicelli, the solemnity of Visconti or the cold observation of Antonioni. De Sica told us the stories like a father sitting at the edge of his children's bed before they went to sleep. There is no attempt to intellectualize. Miracolo A Milano and in a lesser degree Il Giudizio Universale are realistic fairy tales, or what today we call magic realism. The film is a gem from beginning to end and Toto is the sort of character that you accept with an open heart but that, naturally, requires for you to have a heart. Cinema in its purest form. Magnificent.

I just recently watched De Sica's Miracle in Milan and I must say it's a tragedy this film isn't more widely accessible. The film follows the curiously magical exploits of a grown up orphan who has just left his orphanage for the first time. His unstoppable optimism finally brings him to a shantytown outside of Milan. He helps to build the town into a thriving community, which soon comes under the fire of the property's owner. Through a miracle from the heavens, our optimistic orphan sets to help his fellow vagrants with their lives and their homes.

I'm not normally one for dopey family films, so I was very happy to enjoy this. It's not dopey, it's not sappy and it's not overly sentimental. The story is told with a gentle touch that De Sica is such a master with. The film is sweet, good-hearted and touching without ever relying on the corny or the melodramatic.

All in all, this film leaves you with a heart-warming feeling that only a poet like De Sica could give you. A sure recommendation.