Although my Italian comprehension is terrible, I brought home a tremendous amount of pleasure from this, my first exposure to Mr. Olmi's films. The photog-cinematography was stunning. The awesome Po River was a major feature in the story. Signori Olmi and Buñuel must know each other; the film reminded me of a quote I encountered recently, "The greatest tragedy in mankind's entire history may be the hijacking of morality by religion. -Arthur C Clarke, science fiction writer (1917- )."
While the photography and scenery were wonderful, the film was about people, and the importance of people over religion; the acting was superb and heartwarming. More of a commentary on Italian cinema, than on this film, Olmi actually used *subtitles* to impart the meaning of dialog spoken in language not necessarily understandable by the average Italian; he did not *dub* out the dialect.
