This film will inevitably be compared to Wim Wenders' & Ry Cooder's 'Buena Vista Social Club,' and that's a good thing (and perhaps a not-so-good thing). The comparison gets to the heart of the matter like bright staccato phrase, pointing the reader to an awakening of an older (and sleeping) musical tradition, one influenced by numerous other traditions. The not-so-good? Some viewers will remember the fuzzy focus and the hand-held chaos of parts of BVSC, the parts that made some people sea-sick. Worry not - 'Passione' is a film that benefited from much more planning than Cooder & Wenders had time for, so there will be no nausea in the aisles.
Using the many-faced city of Naples as a whole other character, John Turturro shows his love of the many styles of music found there with sweeping vistas and color-drenched intimate closeups of dancers and lovers and people on the street.
The audience is introduced to the sons of Naples' original recorder of music, who captured sounds around the turn of the 19th century on wax cylinders. Along the way through an almost-aimless dance in the cobbled streets of Napoli, we learn of the many influences benefiting old Neapolitan music - African, Spanish, French, and even jazz. It will be all you can do to keep yourself from leaping out of your seat to dance...
I can't wait for this to come out on DVD - what a blast it was to see it opening night at CineQuest this year!
