In Mario Martone's 2022 movie, based on Ermanno Rea's 2016 novel, 'nostalgia' is not a bittersweet reflection on the past but an obsessive need to return to the Naples of the main character's youth. We talk about the contrast with 'Gomorah', another movie involving the Camorah discussed earlier in the series, and the excellent award winning performances, particularly Pierfrancesco Favino as Felice and Aurora Quattrocchi who plays his elderly and infirm mother. The effective and unusual (in terms of presentation) use of flashback gets a mention and the central importance of the old district of Sanità where is is shot. We also talk about the music, a play list rather than score, featuring particularly the long established German electronic band Tangerine dream.

Participants:

Russ Kilbourn, Professor of Literature and Film, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario (Canada) http://rjakilbourn.com/

Ken Barrett, UK based visual artist, writer, podcaster and short film producer http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

The film: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14034614/

Ermano Rea:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ermanno_Rea

Tangerine dream:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangerine_Dream

Theme music: Tarantella composed by Stephen Brown.

Portrait print by KB.

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In this episode we discuss the 1978 film - ‘L'albero degli zoccoli’, 'The tree of wooden clogs', directed, scripted, shot and edited by Ermano Olmi. We talk about the four stories that make up the film, the way in which Olmi slowly evokes the lives of his protagonists, all local people rather than professional actors ,and the extraordinary performances he gets from them. Russ talk about the links that have been made to this film and the neorealist cinema of the late '40s and early '50s including underlying political messages and ths subtle why these are handled here. We discuss key characters, scenes and story arcs, the look of the film and the high regard in which it is held, inlcuding by the Italian Ministry of Culture who include it in their list of 100 films that ''changed the collective memory of the country'. A great watch, and it can be seen for free - see the link below.

Participants:

Russ Kilbourn, Professor of Literature and Film, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario (Canada) http://rjakilbourn.com/

Ken Barrett, UK based visual artist, writer, podcaster and short film producer http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

The film: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077138/

Watch for free on the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/the-tree-of-wooden-clogs-1978

Theme music: Tarantella composed by Stephen Brown.

Portrait print by KB.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we discuss the 2024 multi-award winning film 'Vermiglio' written and directed by Maura Delpero, set in Trentino and based on interviews and her own family history. We discuss the casting, of many untrained local children and adults alongside experienced professional actors, the extraordinary colour palate, inspired in part by paintings by nineteenth century artist Giovanni Segantini and the unusual mix of very familiar music (such as Vivaldi's Four Seasons) with a more spare modernist score by Matteo Franceschini. A great contemorary classic worth seeing at the cinema if you can.

Participants:

Russ Kilbourn, Professor of Literature and Film, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario (Canada) http://rjakilbourn.com/

Ken Barrett, UK based visual artist, writer, podcaster and short film producer http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

The film: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermiglio_(film)

Conversation between Maura Delpero and Alice Rohrwacher:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZsno5SSiJc

Giovanni Segantini paintings: https://www.artrenewal.org/artists/giovanni-segantini/5713

The version of Four Seasons we discuss: https://open.spotify.com/track/0VQMAup2VdeQWLCvM14Uz2?si=71fed2d1b56d443e

Theme music: Tarantella composed by Stephen Brown.

Portrait print by KB.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.