Without being pushy, and
without saying much of anything, this film stands out as a
magnificent achievement in directing and acting. Few films will ever
stand out in your imagination as much as this one does, with such a
wonderful story, though sad, but so very strong that it just hits
you like the wind. This, unlike most films, is really, in the
Godard'ian sense, a "poetic" film, rather than a film
about a story that happens to have some poetry in it.
It is the story of a poet
that has been exiled in his original country, Chile, and he has been
given asylum in Italy. But Italy's political situation is not clear,
and Pablo Neruda, was often accused of being a communist, rather
than a poet that lived his words. So he is given a place, out in the
middle of nowhere, where there is no media, and very little brouhaha
for him to attract any attention. Authorities often hope that the
writer kinda fades away, but leaves behind some of the writing.
And in this old, run down
place, that still has no running water, no jobs for anyone except
fishing, takes to its famous person, through a young man that has
been hired by the local post office just so that he can bike up the
mountain to deliver the mail to the poet. And there, in time, they
become friends, or at least, as far as the postman is concerned a
valuable friend.
As the story develops, the
postman finally gets a chance to meet someone he is in love with,
Beatrice. And the story really starts. The postman, becomes a bit of
a poet himself, although his words are not exactly as good metaphors
as the poet's own work. It works anyway, despite the mother's
agitated concerns that the words are obscene. She takes the words to
the local priest, who declares it a poem, but does not say much
else. He is convinced that communists eat babies and hate religion.
Even when he sees the poet in his own church... the scene is slipped
by rather quickly... nice touch.
The postman and the girl
finally marry. And the poet gets his exile revoked in Chile and he
is off to his homeland.
>From here on, the story
takes on really different proportions. While the poet is here the
words and the metaphors help enliven the place. As soon as he is
gone, the local politicians take over with lies. One promises to
build up the water system, and starts the program until the day he
gets elected, at which point the construction stops. He doesn't need
the vote anymore. He is in. It's a good thing, because the poet
would have definitely said something if he had seen this.
And in the end, we find that
the postman, who has not received any letters from the poet, creates
a "live" poem for Pablo Neruda. It involves many of the
wonderful sounds that the place has, that one can hear at any time,
from the wind, to the waves, to the fishing nets.
One day, Pablo returns with
his wife. The postman died. The wife was left with a boy named
Pablito after the poet, and a tape of the "live" poem that
the postman. The postman had remarked many times that he is not
famous and that there was no reason for the poet to remember him.
But he has made a larger impression on everyone else. It seems that
the postman fainted and dies at the demonstration that would have
been his crowing success. What has become a "communist"
party, mainly a direct opposition to the corrupt officials, like the
one that promised something and then stopped it when he got elected,
is having a celebration, and they intend to have the poet's work
read by the postman, who has become a bit of a well known man.
Unfortunately, the politicians do not like
"anti-government" activities, and they unleash the police
on the crowd and the postman is one of the victims.
Few films have the beauty,
the desire, the care, to create such a strong story and bring it to
the forefront. And the two people that make it work are Massimo
Troisi as the postman, and Philippe Noiret as the poet. Even the
lines are read so beautifully that when we hear at the end of the
video tape an ad for a few actors doing the poetry, only one (
Wesley Snipes ) comes off as good as the film's rendition of the
lines of Neruda's work.
It is a treat to see
something like this, and that Massimo Troisi was even nominated for
an Oscar for this role, is an incredible compliment to the
director's vision, and his work with the two lead actors. One wishes
that there were more.... and hopes for more, and the ending just
leaves you in tears.
But few films show you what
the power and beauty of words can be. It doesn't matter that anyone
can tell you about anything in this film. The true story is the
words, and how they live. The film just floats on the words. It may
be considered a "bit talky" but it is never boring, and
never out of context, or away from the real point it needs to make.
But one can easily see, that this film has nothing to do with
communist at all... it's about poetry, and those who embrace the
poetic muse for the love of the words and the purity of feeling.
This film is second to none
in this department. Excellent work all around.
From All-reviews.com
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