jvila-cha

I found "Vermiglio" a very beautiful, unusual and yet highly relevant movie. This is cinema at its best. The acting is excellent and the narrative is very well constructed, highly touching and superbly conducted. This is one of the best movies I saw in recent years. I found the language extremely beautiful and the photography just amazing. The story of the family is highly plausible and the references to the social reality of the Trentino during and after the Great War appear truthful and deserves to be looked at as an experiment in social analysis. The respect with which the religious dimension is treated deserves my highest praise. In other words, besides being poetic and truly beautiful, «Vermiglio» brings us back to a world that is about to disappear in Europe. As non-Italian, I am now ready to visit the real Vermiglio and once being there reflect on the effects of this wonderful movie. It deserves to be seen by anyone that loves real cinema, that searches for the understanding of the human condition and, most importantly, does not abdicate of the aesthetic dimension of life in the world of today. The music is excellent and the sound of the «Miserere» sounded in a moment of deep sorrow in the family was deeply touching for me. I congratulate all those who participated and contributed to this beautiful work of art.

I was waiting for the opportunity to see Woody Allen again. I am happy I did. «Coup de chance» is very much in line with what we are used to have from W. Allen, and yet there is something new, namely, the way the film underlines the conflict between self-control and the power of chance, between honesty and the drive for control, between intelligence and the demands of the heart.

Woody Allen is a very skilled filmmaker, and yet you can see signs of repetitiveness. TO me, this was not a disturbance, but rather a confirmation of the Allen cinematographic stile. «Coup de chance» is very well constructed and the end is amazingly surprising. The way the movie ends is a lesson in itself. I enjoyed the movie and highly recommend it to others. I am more interested in the substance of the work than in its entertainment value. Either way, the viewer will not be deluded. Yet, the viewer is requested to further think once the movie is over. Like this, I would like to see more from Woody Allen. I hope I will!

The movie goes back to the story of «Commandante» Salvatore Todaro, obviously a name of reference in the history of the Italian navy. The story moves from La Spezia, in Italy, to the Island of Santa Maria, in the Azores (Portugal) in the second half of 1940, during WWII. Indeed, the span of the narrative goes from the mediterranean to the Atlantic across the Strait of Gibraltar on board of an Italian submarine. But the real story is another, much deeper. In my opinion, this is a movie about humanity and leadership, about command and obedience, about reason and self-sacrifice, and morality, especially in times of war. There are the laws of war and those of the sea; but, most importantly, there also are the Laws of Humanity. In a subtle way, I could see in the movie the laws of God too. Indeed, this is a movie that shows what a leader can be and, most importantly, how the Laws of Humanity might prevail, even in times of conflict and war.

The movie is quintessentially Italian. This is certainly reflected in the immense list of delicious foods that the movie transforms in an interesting kind of cultural refrain. Particularly noteworthy is the question that that the apparent «enemy» puts to Comandante Salvatore Todaro in Portuguese territorial waters in October of 1940: Why did you save us? «Perché siamo Italiani», was the answer. In my personal assessment: the movie is wonderful; indeed, at times truly moving! Watching this movie confirms the idea that we might once again be back to manifestations of great cinema in Italy.