Il Vento Fa Il Suo Giro

Il Vento Fa Il Suo Giro

Nestled in the Italian Alps, the historic and native language, Occitan, has persevered against time and the threats of modernity. It is said that languages are in a constant state of evolution with the exception of those languages that become static. If one looks at the rich literary history and spoken popularity of Occitan, it becomes evident why the Occitan descendants today feel impelled to do whatever necessary to protect their language and way of life. The factors that contribute to the survival of a linguistic minority like Occitan can be truly analyzed once one looks beyond the language as a basic form of communication. A language like Occitan has greater odds of surviving when its people protect its best interest. Language is indicative of a culture: it embraces specific values, ways of life, and most importantly, a sense of community. Exemplary of the cultural ties to language is the film Il Vento Fa Il Suo Giro. It is a film about language; however, in order to appreciate the artistic and provocative qualities of the film, one needs to separate the notion of grammar and syntax from the concept of language and instead, concentrate on its speakers.

The film tells the story of the quiet and desolate mountain town, Chersogno, inhabited by a small population of Occitan descendents. Protective of their language and culture, the villagers are reluctant to share their way of life with newcomers, with the exception of the summer tourists that flock to the town once a year to marvel at the serenity and beauty of the Piedmont region. The locals of Chersogno are taken by surprise when a mysterious Frenchman stumbles upon the village during the solitary months of winter. Enticed by the town’s seclusion and its vast landscape, shepherd Philippe Heraud, believes he has found the ideal spot to bring his family and herd of goats to continue his artesian cheese making. After inquiring about a home to rent, Philippe must await the communal decision of the Chersogno townspeople to determine if he and his family will be welcomed into the intimate yet selective community. While the ‘sindaco’, or town mayor, encourages the townspeople to embrace the newcomer’s arrival, many are still skeptical. Reluctantly, the villagers agree to allow the Frenchman and his family to settle in their village with the hope that Philippe’s pastoral practices will attract tourism to their dying town. Despite the initial kindness of the Chersogno people, Philippe learns quickly that tolerance is not synonymous with acceptance.

A Sense of Community

Before the arrival of the Heraud family, the people of Chersogno come together in an amazing act of solidarity to perform a ‘rueido’. A tradition dating back to the Second World War, a ‘rueido’ is when a community comes together to help out one individual for the good of others. While the men work to collectively restore the house that has been rented to Philippe, the women come together to prepare homemade pasta and other local cuisine in anticipation of the Heraud’s arrival. Their preparations are a collaborative effort, but what unites the Chersogni in the rueido is language. Not only do we see the men and women speaking Occitan while working, but the Occitan language prevails during all community affairs. From political discourse regarding the town’s future to the rueido to festivals, the Occitan language serves as a familiar and intimate means of communication. The sense of community seen in the film must also be considered in terms of its negative connotations. When Emma, one of the town’s eldest members, has an altercation with Philippe, she distorts the details of the story to the town, and paints a violent picture of Philippe. Not knowing the facts of the story, many townspeople come together to support Emma because their allegiance is to one of their own kind. A group of undisclosed villagers even go so far as slaughtering two of Philipp’s goats. Another example of a negative sense of community can be seen when many of the locals unite in making false claims to the local health department about Philipp’s supposed unsanitary living and working conditions. Despite Philippe’s persistence and positive attitude, the multitude of conflicts between the village and his family eventually force him away.

Conflict

Throughout the film, disharmony and conflict play a major role in the storyline. At times, these conflicts are justified while at other times, they’re invented to create disharmony. Interestingly, conflict is mainly limited to interactions between Philip’s family and the townspeople. Although we see disagreement at political meetings or contrary attitudes concerning the best interest of the town, there is almost a utopian quality about the town and its people. It is only when they feel threatened by the presence of “the foreigner” that true conflict arises. If we take into account the various conflicts throughout the film, the first true conflict concerns boundaries. When Emma is concerned that Philippe’s herd is grazing on her land she reprimands him (in Occitan) for not having control over his animals. What seems to be a petty trifle over where Philippe’s goats are allowed to graze is actually a metaphor for the invisible boundaries created by its villagers designed to keep people out. Initially, there are the goats that cross the invisible lines of physical property, but ultimately during a succession of other conflicts, it is “the foreigner” that crosses boundaries and invades the villagers’ space. By the end of the film, we learn that the space which Philippe and his family invade is actually the space of a foreign culture; a culture set in its ways and unwilling to open its door to the possibilities of change.

The Title

I think it is important to end with a comment or two regarding the title of the film since it is mentioned at the opening and ending scenes. Il Vento Fa Il Suo Giro, or “The Wind Blows Around” can undisputedly be interpreted in many different ways. When I think of wind’s capability and capacity, I’m reminded of turbulence, commotion, and unease; however, once the wind stops blowing, calmness is restored. Like life, there are periods of chaos and confusion like there are periods of tranquility and serenity. There is always a balance. While in the film, the Heraud family blows in and as a result, the people of Chersogno collectively experience the metaphorical damage of a windy storm, the wind eventually softens and the village returns temporarily to a peaceful state. In order for the villagers of Chersogno to maintain a peaceful state, they must learn to live side by side with the “foreigner” or risk a constant state of upheaval and chaos; A state of upheaval that would ultimately contradict the peace and beauty of their surroundings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6w6415d0BQ

http://ilventofailsuogio.com/

Lamerica

Lamerica (1994) is one of the best films directed by Gianni Amelio. It pictures the situation of Albania in the period after the downfall of communism when chaos turned into conflicts. Not also it shows the poverty and how people would handle it, but also and mainly it depicts the way Italy uses Albania for economical gain. Between 1985 when Enver Hoxha died and 1991 when Ramiz Alia was in throne, the economy fell drastically. Students went to strike, and dropped the Famous Enver Hoxha's monument in Tirana. Because people were starving to death, there was no way out but to immigrate to a better place like Italy. Students also broke into the Italian Embassy to get political asylum, and many Albanians departed by boat. Also during these times as it was shown in the movie, Gino (Enrico Lo Verso) and Fiore (Michele Placido) take advantage of this, as they plan to purchase a shoe factory with the assistance of an unscrupulous government official. They tried to set up a fraudulent corporation that will allow them to squeeze a fortune out of Albania's economic chaos. Michele on the other hand, one of the Italian man that deserted the army in the 1940’s, becomes the pawn in a scheme concocted by the two Italian businessmen, as Gino and Fiore think that he is Albanian.

Michele a.k.a. Spiro, a political figure of fascism in Albania.

Gino and Fiore, two businessmen that wanted to sell shoes in Albania, wanted to find a stooge for the company. They chose Spiro Tozaj. In reality his name was Michele Tallarico. He represents the life that the Italian veterans in Albania had after World War II. He was in prison for the past 50 years, and after the downfall of communism he was released. His mind though was stuck in the Fascist era. While Michele travels with Gino, he sees ‘Enver Hoxha’ written in a mountain, but he actually thinks he sees ‘Duce Mussolini’, the Italian dictator back in the day.
Gianni Amelio with this could represent that these two dictators could be the same or totally different. This could be ironic, as Enver Hoxha was against Mussolini. He did not let anyone in Albania listen or speak Italian. Before Enver Hoxha, the Italian was the second language, but during communism only the Albanian language was allowed. He also thinks that he still has a family that left back home to come to Albania in the 30’s. Also at the end, while Gino and Michele were travelling by ship, Michele thinks that he is travelling to America. He was tired, but he wanted to be awake when he was going to land at New York. As New York and “Lamerica” were for Michele, so was Italy for the Albanians the land of opportunity.

Gino, an Italian businessman that became the actual immigrant, (clandestino).

As Gino was trying to find and take Michele with him, he lost everything. He lost his car, as some Albanian kids stole his car’s tires. Also he lost his passport and documents when at the end he was arrested for trespassing on a private area. It is ironic, as Gino was shown as a person that hated the Albanians, but in the end became one. The police in jail told him that no one had a passport in Albania, so he was not going to be exceptional.





The end of the movie, the reach towards ‘Lamerica’, Italy.

Gianni Amelio at the end shows how emotional and dramatic is the experience by boat. He takes extreme close-up camera shots. By showing the facial features, you can see the emotions that these people have while leaving their country. It makes the end of the movie exceptionally realistic and beautiful. As Gino became one of the immigrants on the boat, you could see him being sad. His facial expression was different from the other people in the boat. As he became the unexceptional one, it made him one of the poor Albanian people in the boat. The other immigrants’ facial expressions were different on the other hand. They were happy, as they were going to see the land of opportunity, Italy.


This movie for me was an experience of my past. I was five years old when this when on, but it kept going till 1997, and after 1991 Albanian people have embarked on those ships to reach the new world. As we knew Italian by television, it was easier for Albanians to live in Italy. At the movie though, you could also see that Albanian people thought that Italy was going to be as great as on the Italian television. They would see “Non è la Rai“ or “OK il Prezzo è Giusto” and think that living in Italy was the best thing. My family and I on the other hand had to find a better way of living. We had the chance to fill out an application and win the lottery for legal documents to live in the United States of America.

Links and videos to be interested in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnHuaSwKO1Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bmqqbKBxb8

http://www.ecn.org/reds/etnica/migranti/migranti0101albania.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamerica

Nuovomondo

Nuovomondo (2006) is a film directed by Emanuele Crialese. Crialese has done a wonderful job with this film in representing the journey of a family immigrating from their small village in Sicily to the United States of America. He starts the film with two men holding rocks in their mouth. This opening scene is characterized by silence and mystery. The theme is composed of the mountains that the characters are climbing and also their dirty clothes along with them walking beare feet. The two characters, Salvatore Mancuso (Vincenzo Amato ) and his son walk up the mountain with the rocks in their mouth to pay as a token to the holy place.

This is where Salvatore asks whether he should leave Sicily or stay. He is then shown pictures from his younger child showing money growing on trees, gigantic carrots and chicken that are ten times bigger than normal, and takes this as a sign from above to depart for the new world. This is an important aspect of the film as it develops and initiates an imaginative world that these people are about to depart into. The imagination of the new world from Salvatore’s prospective will be leading the film and will open the doors to the viewers imagination as to what these immigrants belief of their new world is. This will the skeleton of the film, which will keep the viewers to continue thinking of how the story will continue even after it has been watched. When leaving their village, Salvatore brings with him his mother Fortunata (Aurora Quattrocchi) who is the village doctor and has certain which powers which uses against curses, his two sons and two other women who are to be married in America.

The Boat Trip

Upon arrival at the shipyard, Salvatore and his family go through the standard procedure of getting the documentation ready to depart. While waiting, a mysterious English woman appears and acts as if she travels with them. Her name is Lucy (Charlotte Gainsbourg ) and although she has nothing to do with the Mancuso family, Salvatore is enchanted by her beauty and therefore acts as if she really is part of the family. She plays a big role throughout the film in Salvatore’s imagination of being his wife and partner upon arrival to the new world. Her classy dressing and behaviour also catches the attention of all the women on the ship, to whom she becomes as an ideal female from a stylish prospective. Lucy becomes a symbol in the film, for the characters she assumes the transition that allows them to witness what the new world will hold for them, whereas the viewer gains knowledge of the reason why the immigration is occurring and what the rest of the characters aspired to be.

The long journey begins on the boat as everyone sees it leaving the coast of Sicily. Everybody is nervous, sad, and worried simultaneously since they leave everything they have and know, to go into a world that they have only heard about. Throughout the boat trip the viewer sees compassion between everyone on the boat as if they are a big family going towards the same goal instead of separate people following their personal journey. This unity among the third class poverty is interrupted by an upper class travelling to America and Miss Lucy. The dissonance of the upper class travellers appears in many cases towards an interest in Miss Lucy, who has attracted everyone’s attention due to her beauty and tactful dressing. Due to the same reason she catches attention she becomes dislikes by most of the women and men in the third class. A group of men keep on trying to bribe her by telling her that they will find her a husband, apparently in return for sexual favours. Many rumours spread throughout the boat about this English woman who is travelling alone, but this does not stop the way Salvatore feels about her, which in an instance, when he hears the other men speak of Lucy becomes protective of her as if she really is travelling with his family. Throughout the trip Lucy starts to become interested in Salvatore instead of the other men who keep bribing her, and she begins to flirt with him. Shortly upon arrival to Ellis Island Lucy asks Salvatore to marry her. Salvatore immediately replies to her by saying that he would be honoured, but she tells him that she does not want to marry him because she loves him. Lucy only wants to marry him so she can get into United States but he tells her that he would marry her anyway and replies to her statement saying that love takes time to grow on people. Lucy creates for the immigrants the idea of perfect from an appearance point of view and simultaneously she breaks their perfect marriage, rules and cultural standard ideologies which many of the Italian immigrants have grown up with and live by. Since she does this right before getting off the ship, the viewer gets the hint that the new world might not be as perfect as everyone believes and the culture that one came with will start an immediate “mutation”.

The New World

When arriving in Ellis Island, there is a fog, which clouds any opportunity for anyone to see what will come ahead of them. When everyone comes off shore, they are separated and put into different groups. The authorities start differentiating them based on their intelligence, knowledge and usefulness that each separate individual has. The differentiation is used to see whether they are good enough to enter and live in the United States, since the authorities believe that intelligence is spread through genetics. Whoever does not pass the test is sent back to the old country, while the people who are deemed “worth it” or needed remain in America. Throughout these tests, Lucy reveals her identity as an English woman, and is threatened by the authorities who tell her that it is very uncommon for a single English woman to travel with Italians. Salvatore’s younger son who is deaf and mute also is threatened to be deported because of his handicap which the Ellis Island authorities feel that he might somehow transmit. While being tested by the customs, none of the immigrants get to see the new world except in an instance when Salvatore climbs himself up a window and sees enormous, unfamiliar buildings. Despite him looking outside the window the viewer does not get to see anything, and this is another trick that Crialese uses to leave space to the imagination of whoever is watching the film. Most likely this is because any immigrant that watches it, will be able to relate their own personal experience and feel all the emotions represented in Nuovomondo. Salvatore finally obtains permission to marry Lucy, but he is faced with the problem that authorities want to deport his mother and his son. As he is told this news, Fortunata takes her grandson’s curse of being deaf and lets him tell his father that she wants to go back home since she does not find America a world where she belongs in.

The End

The film ends with an imaginary sequence that Salvatore has throughout the entire trip about being with Lucy and his family in a river of milk. It is accompanied with the rest of the people that came along for the trip, which once again shows the unity towards the same dream and goal. There are no scenes representing the new world these people travelled for and Crialese uses this as a closing scene to allow the film to proceed in each individual’s mind as they would like to portray it. This way of ending the film is extremely artistic since it leaves it open to each viewer’s imagination even after the film is over.

Extra Sources:

Nuovomondo Review:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0465188/

Biography of Emanuele Crialese:

http://www.mymovies.it/biografia/?r=17372

Per un pugno di dollari

Landscape
The landscape is a key convention of any western and Leone makes good use of it, almost as if it itself were a character. The film begins establishing both the landscape and the protagonist, the Man with no Name. The camera looks down at the ground, showing rocks and dirt both harsh and dry. The land has little to no vegetation, which suggests that there is little to no love or nutriment to be found out in the wilderness, and that life, like the terrain, is rough. This is soon to be reinforced as Jesus, Marisol’s son, is pitifully shot at by Rojo’s cruel goons. In the first scene alone, both The Man with no Name and Jesus are shown to be a part of the landscape. The boy is dressed in all white, blending into the walls of the two houses he is caught between.

The Man with no Name is shown in close-up, against a backdrop of brown mountains, his brown face under his brown hat and above his brownish poncho. This could be an effort to suggest a few things. One thing being that both MWNN and Jesus are in their natural surroundings. The MWNN is a wanderer and presumably does a lot of traveling through the desert, it is only natural he would become a part of the landscape.

Jesus, on the other hand, stands out against the brown of the desert, but blends in with the houses, possibly to suggest that he is not suited for the life outside of the house, at least, not yet. In white, he represents innocence and because he matches the house, he represents family and roots. The MWNN has neither.

The landscape is usually shown to be vastly immense and overwhelming, dehumanizing in WS and LS. In these kinds of shots, it is made most important, reducing humans into small, indistinguishable figures. This may cause confusion over which faction we are observing, or at least realize that, on such a grand scale, they all look the same.

While the Rojos and the Baxters have their shootout in the desert, near the graveyard, the men all become part of the landscape as they are obscured in darkness and become faceless. But even in the landscape, there are idyllic images to be found, including a shot through a window that shows a trail of soldiers on horseback among two bushy trees and a two leveled white and blue sky. This shot is both simple and stunning.

Landscape of the Face – CloseUps
Perhaps as to counter the dehumanization of the immense and unavoidable landscape, Leone utilizes a TON of close-ups. In the initial shootout between the Man with no Name and the Baxter thugs, shots are at a distance, WS or MS, but as the tension begins to mount, close-ups become much more frequent. First, there is a MCU on one of the Baxter thugs, the one who stands alone. Then, there is a CU of another thug, as he begins to look worried. Then, there is a CU of the Man with no Name. He looks up with determination in his fierce eyes, a crease between his eyebrows, and his grimacing squint. He talks through the grit of his teeth, still clamped on his cigar, this thin lips moving quick and furious. There is another CU back to thug#1, who is static, but clearly feels the imminent danger. There is another CU to thug#2, who was grinning, but now his smile is shown to falter. Then, there are the onlookers. There is a CU of the coffin-maker, looking worried, and another of Silvanito, who is terribly fretful. Cut back to the Man with no Name, cut to thug#1, who just spits, back to the Man with no Name. His eyes drift down and then back up. Then, this chain is broken by two shots that show the thugs at a distance and then subsequently drawing their pistols, but then there is a CU of the Man with no Name shooting, and then a WS of the men falling. The sequence ends with a CU of the coffin-maker smiling. Close-ups not only provide the characters with a face, but also allow the audience to see what the other characters cannot from their distance. The audience is allowed into the character’s private world and able to study their face and read into their emotions. These close-ups provide visual character development in the absence of dialogue to where even characters with limited screen time are shown to be three-dimensional.

Ramon’s Perspective
Ramon is the only character who the audience actually shares a point of view with. First, in his introduction, he guns down soldiers and we, the audience, are allowed to look down the barrel of his gun with him. This alternates between the CUs of his sweaty, rugged face as he sadistically smiles.

Later, the audience shares Ramon’s perspective as he dies. The camera “woozes” and sways into the bright white light of the sun, spinning and swirling until he falls over defeated. This is a curious element, why are we allowed to see and possibly sympathize with the villain, but not the supposed hero? Perhaps if we could see through his eyes, his hero mystique would be ruined. Or, maybe, it would have killed chances of a sequel.

A Fistful of Dollars at Rotten Tomatoes:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fistful_of_dollars/

A Fistful of Dollars at Clint Eastwood’s tribute website:
http://www.clinteastwood.net/filmography/fistful/

Per un Pugno di Dollari

A Fistful of Dollars (Per un Pugno di Dollari) is a film directed by Sergio Leone in 1964. This film is part of a trilogy including For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. During the time when the film came out, there were lots of other westerns being made in Italy. Although many "spaghetti" westerns were made before A Fistfull of Dollars, this film is the one most will remember and refer to.

The film starts off with a man (Clint Eastwood) riding into a small town to get some water. From there we can see that there is conflict going on in this town. There was a fight and a shootout going on. This will not be the only time where there is conflict and shootouts. From there the man meets Juan De Dios. Juan says that the people are either rich or dead. This idea is also repeated by the innkeeper. Death and money play a large role in the film. Money is very inportant in that town and is gained only through killing. In that town there are not a lot of people because people are getting killed a lot. There are even feuding families (the Rojos and the Baxters). Some of the locals do not like the man but the innkeeper starts talking to him. The innkeeper talks about the town and the feuding families. Later on the man asks the innkeeper some questions. He asks about what was in the carriage that came into town one day, "Who is Marisol?" and "Who is Ramon?". He does not get an answer but the innkeeper tells him that it is best not to know who Ramon is or see him.

In the scenes where the man meets Ramon, a long take is used and the camera follows Ramon's movements. This shows the importance of Ramon and the meeting of the two men. Ramon is seen as someone who is important but also to be feared. Low angle shots are sometimes used to show importance. Through these low angle shots, it will show them as important and authoritative. Soon the man talks to both families which results on more feuding. He even takes Marisol and her family to the border so they can be free. This is not good since Marisol was captured before and is now the mas freed her. Ramon learns of this and has the man beaten up really badly. But that does not stop the man. At the final shootout, the man takes down Ramon thus ending the feud. The town is now safe.

As mentioned before, A Fistful of Dollars is considered one of the most popular westerns. Even though over 400 "spaghetti" westerns were made between 1962 and 1976 in Ialy, this film is probably the most popular and recognized. This film was also the film that brought Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwod into stardom.

http://http//www.fistful-of-leone.com/films.html,this has information on Sergio Leone and his work
http://http//www.wildeast.net/spaghettiwestern.htm this talks about the spaghetti western genre
http://www.clinteastwood.net/this has information about Clint Eastwwod and his work

Mafioso

Alberto Lattuada - Mafioso (1962)

Alberto Lattuada did something quite different when directing “Mafioso” (1962). By the title of this film, one may think it is full of action, suspense, and crime, but contrary to popular belief, this film is full of hidden humor. It may sound like an oxymoron, but in this dark comedy Lattuada does a one of a kind job of addressing this taboo subject (in 1962). He exposes the darkness of the mafia, capturing everything from the responsibilities to the perks, all he while incorporating humor and comic relief. “Nino” Badalamenti is a hardworking and meticulous FIAT factory supervisor living in Milan. After years of ignoring his vacation time, and having just earned his yearly bonus, he decides to take his wife, Marta and his two daughters, Cinzia and Caterina, to his hometown Calamo, Sicily. Being a proper, civilized Milanese, Marta isn’t very thrilled to be “watching Italy fade away” as they approach the island on the ferry.

Stereotypes and Humor

Stereotypes are used often within this film. They depict the true rivalry between mainland Italians and islander Italians. Nino later explains that although he may live in Milan, he is “still a Sicilian”. This goes to show the audience that both sides feel the same separation from one another. Once they arrive in his hometown, Nino and his girls, whom prior to this trip have never met his mother and father, are warmly welcomed in the streets amongst a huge crowd of family. Inside Nino’s parents home and examined for the first time, Marta and the children are given odd looks. All three of them have blonde hair, fair skin and are dressed in well-kept clothing, unlike the rest of Nino’s dark haired, dark skinned and rural family members. After introductions, it’s clear that Marta feels out of place. She doesn’t realize that the urban norms she is accustomed to, such as smoking after meals or the way she speaks and carries herself, are not accepted in such a small Sicilian town where people follow old customs. After a hefty meal and post lunch entertainment by Nino, he decides it’s time to go see the Godfather, Don Vincenzo. Before leaving Milano for vacation, Nino’s boss, Dr. Zanchi, asks him to personally deliver a “very valuable gift” to the Don, on his behalf. Marta doesn’t like the idea of being around the Mafia, but Nino explains that when he was a boy he was involved with them, but it merely meant having to be a messenger boy. But now, it seems that Don Vincenzo has a “task”, and it’s apparent that he is highly considering calling upon Nino to accomplish it. During this time, Nino’s father and him are considering some land investments, although after the unusual rainfall, the landlord is now asking for much more money due to the fact that the land now has a “water supply”. A few days later after squabbling over the price of the land, Nino is called to Don Vincenzo’s room to realize that the landlord is also there and willing to give him the land for the original price. Now Nino is in undeniable debt to Don Vincenzo, and vows to repay him in any way that he can. In time, Nino will return this “friendly favor”, when his time comes to show his love, gratitude, and loyalty to the Godfather.

Marta and Sicilian Mores: Mafioso’s Light Side

While this is going on between the men, Marta is trying her best to be optimistic and fit in with her in-laws. She realizes that Rosalia, Nino’s sister, has an unfortunate overgrowth of hair on her body and has therefore developed a complex. Recently engaged to an unemployed lowlife, she’s not even allowed at the beach with her fiancé due to the fact that he feels embarrassed by her. Marta decides to take matters into her own hands and transforms Rosalia from hairy and self-conscious, into a flawless and smooth skinned woman. After revealing Rosalia’s beauty to Nino’s parents, they come to accept her and realize she truly is a good woman. Now that everything seems to be running smoothly amongst everyone, a twist arises. While in town, Nino is invited to go on a trip with his old pals. He explains that he won’t be able to attend due to the fact that he promised his wife that they would leave a few days earlier to visit her parents before returning to Milano. Once Marta hears about this hunting trip though, she changes her mind and tells Nino to go and have fun, now that she fits in with the family she isn’t having such a bad time. Nino is thrilled to go, and now even Don Liborio wants to join! At this point, the audience can somewhat sense that something just doesn’t fit. Don Liborio is being much too kind, and apparently Nino is being much too naïve. This equation just doesn’t seem to add up to happy endings. As the suspicions rise amongst the audience and the story continues to darken, Lattuada does a nice job of incorporating comedic relief.

Nino and the Mafia: the Dark Side

After few hours of sleep, Nino is awakened at two in the morning by his father who serves him a coffee, hands him his gun, and wishes him good luck with a firm hug and kiss on the cheek. He’s a little bit confused by his father’s affection, but pays no attention to why that is and leaves to meet the others. After feeling followed, Nino turns around and realizes that Don Liborio has been trailing him. He takes him to a secret area where Don Vincenzo is waiting for him inside of a car.He asks Nino if he remembers the promise he made to him, and if he was ready to do him a favor. Nino accepts, although according to the Godfather, he can say no to the task if he wants to (which we know is obviously false). He is told he will be going on a “long and short trip”, and that he has to just deliver a letter. He isn’t told where is going exactly, but after a long trip in uncomfortable positions, Nino arrives in New York to realize that he had been fooled. His job is

to kill a man that has been a traitor to them. It will be simple and quick. This is the reason, in fact, that they choose Nino to do this favor for the Godfather. His aim and preciseness make him the perfect candidate.

Same Clothes, Different Film

After successfully accomplishing his assignment by killing the man, we see him return safely to Calamo, with his hands full of game he supposedly caught while hunting. Visibly perturbed, he gets into bed with his wife, near his two children, and cries himself to sleep. The film ends in the same manner it began, with him walking through the factory, supervising the workers. Although he may be wearing the same uniform, adhering to the same responsibilities he’s always had, it’s inevitable that his life is now changed and will never go back to the way it was before. He is Nino Badalamenti, hardworking husband, father and Mafioso, per sempre.

Rotten Tomatoes Review of Mafioso

Mafioso 1962 Trailer

The Bird with the Crystal Plumage

The Bird With The Crystal Plumage (1970)

The film The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970) tells the story of Sam Dalmas, an American writer in Italy preparing to return to the United States. After witnessing an attempted murder believed to be connected to a recent murder spree, Dalmas becomes involved in trying to solve the mystery of the crime, and find the murderer. In this unlikely scenario, Dalmas becomes an obsessive detective with considerable investigative skills. Inspector Morosini provides the high-technology of the day, and the usual trappings of crime-solving; computer calculations of crime evidence, the expert opinions of a psychiatrist, and an audio analysis of recordings of the suspected killer. However, while the technology provides clues, it takes a detective to solve the crime.

The local police do not find the success that Dalmas does in both investigating, and in becoming a target for the murder. Dalmas methodically investigates every possible lead, and just as he is about to return to the U.S., he investigates an artist connected to the murderer via a macbre painting. After an unfruitful investigation, he returns to his girlfriend, who has been stalked and is about to be murdered. He finds that the mind behind the killings is that of the woman who he initially rescued. This twist, while predictible, is only the surface of the film. If carefully considered, the issue of colonialism can be read into the weave of the film.

The website called “Kinoeye” has an essay by Frank Burke that identifies a theme of containment in the film as a metaphor for colonialism – (“Intimations and more of colonialism,” http://www.kinoeye.org/02/11/burke11.php). Indeed, containment is repeated a number of times; the opening where Dalmas is contained between two glass doors at the gallery, the prisoner who helps Dalmas find leads, the painter who is self-contained out in the country, and the bird with the crystal plumage within the film, who is extremely rare and contained in a cage. This sense of containment sets the stage for both physical and psychological entrapment, as well as serving as a metaphor for colonial oppression. Sam Dalmas becomes fixated with the case, which becomes it's own form of containment.

Once Sam Dalmas is obsessed with the case, he is in a way, trapped by it psychologically, even leaving his girlfriend to investigate the painter only hours before they are to fly to the United States. The theme of containment is also associated with aesthetic values. The art gallery, the painter, and the caged bird all pose contradictory values, in that as people and things representing aesthetic beauty and its creation, they are also physically entrapped within their respective environments. While Argento may not represent his Marxist political values on the surface of his film by directly representing an oppressed character, he does present a metaphor for colonial oppression, whereby things of value are appropriated or held captive by an outside force. This metaphor raises the film above that of the “whodunit?” formula, however, the film does contain classic thriller elements.

A glove found at the scene of the crime serves as a classic “Mc Guffin,” an object that provides a clue which may or may not be pertinent to the crime. Upon careful analysis, the police lab and inspector identify the glove as belonging to a left-handed male who smokes Cuban cigars. While this level of detail leads the viewer to expect a male murderer, by the end of the film, the opposite is found to be true. This red-herring technique is common for thriller cinema.
While there are a few lapses in narrative logic in The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, the film is compelling enough to sustain the viewer through the action of the film via its suspense, and this is the film’s strength. While there are obvious comparisons to Alfred Hitchcock, Argento is truly his own filmmaker who avoids the sense of Hollywood kitsch that sometimes appears in Hitchcock’s later films. Argento is indeed a film auteur, and it is unfortunate that his standing in Italian National Cinema has concealed the influence of his artistry outside of his home country.

Useful links on Dario Argento:
Kinoeye: “Intimations and more of colonialism” by Frank Burke
http://www.kinoeye.org/02/11/burke11.php

Senses of Cinema: Biography on Argento http://archive.sensesofcinema.com/contents/directors/03/argento.html

Offscreen: “Dario Argento, Maestro Auteur or Master Misogynist?”
http://www.offscreen.com/biblio/phile/essays/argento_maestro/