Il Postino (DVD)

...only review.

Il Postino (1994)
Director: Michael Radford
Stars: Philippe Noiret, Massimo Troisi, Maria Grazia Cucinotta

Not to be confused with the wholly inferior Kevin Costner vehicle with the same name (Il Postino means "The Postman" - US title), this charming Italian language film won an Academy Award for Original Music Score and was nominated for five other awards including Best Director, ...
...The film is based on an adaptation of a Spanish language novel, Ardiente Paciencia by Antonio Skarmeta and is based partly on real life events that happened to the 1971 Nobel Prize for Literature winning poet, Pablo Neruda. Neruda (1904-1973), known as el poeta del amor (the poet of love), famed for his beautiful love poetry, and was also famous for his political poetry and activism. Due to his membership of the Communist Party, he was exiled from ... more

Film only review.

Il Postino (1994)
Director: Michael Radford
Stars: Philippe Noiret, Massimo Troisi, Maria Grazia Cucinotta

Not to be confused with the wholly inferior Kevin Costner vehicle with the same name (Il Postino means "The Postman" - US title), this charming Italian language film won an Academy Award for Original Music Score and was nominated for five other awards including Best Director, Best Actor (Massimo Troisi) and Best Picture.

The film is based on an adaptation of a Spanish language novel, Ardiente Paciencia by Antonio Skarmeta and is based partly on real life events that happened to the 1971 Nobel Prize for Literature winning poet, Pablo Neruda. Neruda (1904-1973), known as el poeta del amor (the poet of love), famed for his beautiful love poetry, and was also famous for his political poetry and activism. Due to his membership of the Communist Party, he was exiled from Chile for three years from 1949-1952. It is the time that he spent in a villa on the island of Capri in Italy in 1952 that is fictionalised and focused on in this film.

The film focuses on the unlikely (in the real world, at least) friendship that is struck up between Neruda (accompanied by Matilde who was later to become his wife) and Mario Ruoppolo (Massimo Troisi), the hapless son of a fisherman on a poverty-stricken island, who is employed to deliver Neruda's (Philippe Noiret) mail to him personally at his villa. There is something for everyone in this film - romance, politics, drama, comedy, but overall there is poetry and magic. It is this magic and the wonderful performance by the two leads that makes the relationship credible and the story a warm and affectionate tribute to a great poet and the power of words to move people and lift them beyond their dull lives.

The screenplay moves the novel to 1950s Italy where Don Pablo has just arrived and is hospitably received by the impoverished locals. Mario, whose father is a fisherman has no plans to follow him into the traditional trade of the island and only dreams of leaving, a plan which is more of a dream than a reality. He can see no beauty in anything around him except in Beatrice Russo (Cucinotta), the niece of a local innkeeper; however, she feels that she is too good for him. Slowly, the relationship between the postman and the poet develops, after a cold start, and Neruda initiates Mario into his love for poetry, which he uses a tool to win Beatrice's heart. The poems, of course, are actual poems by Neruda. Eventually, Beatrice is won over and she and Mario marry, with Neruda as the best man. While Mario's main interest in poetry is to win Beatrice's heart, Neruda eventually teaches him to love the words and their power and to see the beauty in mundane items. One of the most beautiful and poetic moments in the film is when Mario decides to make a recording of the sounds of the island to remind Neruda of the island once he has left - the waves crushing against the rocks, etc. Poetry and beauty without words and vision. Absolutely gorgeous.

The political thread of the film runs throughout as well with smarmy politicians from the mainland visiting the island and making promises that never materialise to the islanders for votes. As well as discussing poetry, Neruda teaches Mario about Communism and by the time that Neruda leaves, Mario decides he is Communist too. Once he leaves, in spite of promises to stay in touch, Neruda never does. With Neruda gone, Mario settles back into his humdrum existence on the island, now as a married man and restauranteur. He believes that the poet has forgotten him but one day receives a letter from him. This perks up Mario's spirit but then he realises that it is just a letter from the poet's secretary asking him to forward some items he had left behind on the island. Mario is devastated and feels betrayed but then he decides that the poet had forgotten all about him because he is an unimportant person who has never achieved anything in his life. He decides to channel this frustration into a new poem that he writes called Canto a Pablo Neruda (Song for Pablo Neruda). Happy again, with his poetry to comfort him, his poem is well received and he is invited to perform before an audience in Naples. He takes the tape recorder along to record the audience's applause but as he is about to ascend the stage, a fight breaks out and Mario is killed in the skirmish.

Of course, he never gets to send the recording to Neruda but years later, he visits the island again and hopes to meets his postman friend. Instead, he finds his wife there with a young boy called Pablito, Mario's son. She gives him the recording and through it, Neruda comes to learn how his friend died.
This film also involved real life tragedy when one of the leads, Massimo Troisi (Mario) died very soon after filming of a heart problem.

The film triumphs with its poetic and above all is a celebration of life. Don't be put off by it being a foreign-language film; otherwise you'd be missing out on a real treat.
 

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