Valeria Zurlini Essay, Research Paper
BAM Cinematek late chose to have the movies of Italian Director Valerio Zurlini. Zurlini isn T mentioned in many of the putative histories of Italian film, yet he is one of the most notable Italian managers of all clip. Zurlini s canon of movies were most late screened at The National Gallery of Art, in February of 2001, and have besides been screened throughout Canada, and at The Pacific Cinematheque, Lincoln Plaza Cinemas, and Walter Reade Theater within the last two old ages.
Valerio Zurlini was born in Bologna in 1926 to an flush household. Prior to directing movies, Zurlini studied both jurisprudence and art history. Zurlini said that analyzing art helped him to develop an intuitive attack to the composing of images, and that traveling to the films on a regular footing instilled in him an apprehension of cinematic beat, presumptively reinforced and deepened by his long-standing coaction with composer Mario Nascimbene ( Moller ) . Zurlini believed that art entirely could supply insight into human nature, inspiration, truth and the possibility of salvation, since art endures long after its Godhead is gone.
In relation to Italian movie history, Zurlini s movies autumn in between Rossellini, de Sica, and Zavattini s Neorealism and Bertolucci and Belloccio s Young Cinema. Neorealism came in the aftermath of the Liberation and station WWII democracy. Young Cinema, connected to the pupil rebellion, would happen some twenty old ages after Neorealsim. As the Neorealists were shooting their vision of how the universe should be, ( Moller ) Zurlini was contending with the Italian Liberation Corps from the autumn of Mussolini in 1943 until the Liberation in 1945. Unfortunately for Zurlini, his movies would fall in between these political events, and hence be slightly neglected outside of Europe.
Zurlini s organic structure of work consists of 12 short movies and eight characteristic length movies. four of his characteristic length movies, and one of his trunkss would cover with military subjects, pulling on his ain experiences with the Italian Liberation Corps. Zurlini s movies would capture the existential philosopher vision that Zurlini himself had adopted after the war. Zurlini s despairing vision of life led him to the two cardinal penetrations that inform all his work: merely as decease is a certainty, it follows that relationships can ne’er work and that love can t be kept alive- and so it is best to abandon love while expecting decease ( Moller ) .
Zurlini s eight characteristics were made between 1954 and 1976, while his trunkss were all made in the 1950 s. His first characteristic movie was the comedy The Girls of San Frediano ( Le ragazze di San Frediano ) ( 1954 ) , and was followed by seven more serious station WWII existential philosopher movies. His 2nd movie, Violent Summer ( Estate violenta ) ( 1959 ) was a authoritative coming-of-age narrative and landmark anti-Fascist movie. Following came The Girl with the Suitcase ( La ragazze con la valiglia ) ( 1960 ) , an existential philosopher love narrative that won the National Selection for Italy at the 1961 Cannes movie Festival. Zurlini s 1962 Family Diary ( Cronaca familiare ) is the 2nd his movie based on a novel by Vasco Pratolini. Diary based on the fresh Two Brothers, is about a adult male sorrowing the decease of his brother.
In 1965 Zurlini made the war movie Le Soldatesse, about a soldier transporting a group of Grecian adult females. The movie Black Jesus ( Seduto alla aua destra ) ( 1968 ) was a fictional history of the Congo Rebel leader Patrice Lumumba, and is one of Zurlini s most good known movies, because it starred American histrion Woody Strode. The 1972 movie The Professor ( La prima notte di quiete ) is the most representative of Zurlini s manner, because the movie is based on his ain desire to return to the universe of his childhood, the summers spent in Rimini, places lost in the thick of confusion, clip, and memory, ( Moller ) . Zurlini s concluding movie was the 1976 war film Desert of the Tartars ( Il deserto dei tartani ) based on the novel by Dino Buzzati.
The movie I had the chance to test at the Rose Cinemas, was Zurlini s foremost characteristic, The Girls of San Frediano. the movie was based on a narrative written by Vasco Pratolini, about a immature adult male named Bob who gets caught up in seeking to beguile relationships with excessively many adult females at the same clip. The Girls of San Frediano ( 94 proceedingss in length ) was screened in film 2, downstairs, in black and white 35mm, in Italian with English captions. The movie stars Antonio Cifarello as Andrea Sernesi, who is given the moniker Bob because of his resemblance to the histrion Robert Taylor. Bob s girlfriends are Tosca, played by Rosanna Podesta, Silvana, Played by Luciana Liberate, Mafalda, played by Giulia Robini, Bice, played by Corrine Calvet, and Gina, played by Marcella Miriani.
The movie opens with Bob, who is a mechanic, working at the household garage. It is in these first gap scenes that we are besides introduced to the Sernesi household and the downstairs neighbours they are feuding with. We see Gina, girl of the feuding neighbours, whispering to Bob from her window. Bob explains he c
annot see her that twenty-four hours because of the combat. Bob goes back to the store, and gets a visit from Tosca, who makes a day of the month with Bob for subsequently that eventide. That dark as Bob is on his manner to his day of the month with Tosca, he avoids Gina, by mousing out of his house. As Bob is en path to Tosca, he sees Silvana, who is a instructor at a dark school.
Bob instantly enrolls in Silvana s category that dark merely to run into her. After the category is over he sees Silvana leave with his old friend Gianfranco. Bob so remembers he has to acquire to Tosca before she is ferocious with him for standing her up, but along the manner a group of his friends call him over to look at a group of terpsichoreans practising. Bob recognizes one of the terpsichoreans as Mafalda, his old girlfriend. Bob goes to Mafalda and asks why she has left him, and Mafalda explains it is because she knows about his other girlfriends. Bob leaves Mafalda defeated, and hastes off to Tosca. As expected Tosca is upset that Bob has made her delay all dark for him, so Bob prevarications and says he was injured in an accident on his manner to see her. Tosca is pacified for the minute, and they make another day of the month for the beach the following twenty-four hours.
While at the beach Tosca and Bob have an statement, and Tosca leaves him. As Bob is on his manner back place entirely, he sees a beautiful immature adult females, Bice, acquire into a wing bender with another auto. Bice is evidently at mistake in the accident, but Bob comes to her defence, claiming that the accident was the other automobilists mistake. Bob leaves Bice his phone figure, and tells her he ll be a informant for her defence. Bob leaves and sees his friend Gianfranco, they talk about Silvana, and Bob promises his friend he will go forth her alone. Later that dark Bob goes to the dark school to state Silvana he is dropping out. Bob gives Silvana a image of a race auto driver, and marks his name to it. He tells her that his life is rushing autos, and that school is non for him.
Bob so goes to see Bice, and they begin a love matter. Bice is a manner interior decorator, and she offers him an chance to come and work for her. Bob chooses alternatively to be with Mafalda, and asks her to get married him. Bob thinks he has all his ducks in a row, but is surprised when he comes place to happen that Gina, the miss downstairs, has informed both households that they are engaged. The two households throw a gay battle party, which is interrupted by Tosca and her male parent, who accuse Bob of taking Tosca s virtuousness. The battle to Gina is called off, and Bob is relieved, because now he thinks he can still get married Mafalda. British shilling goes to Mafalda a house and is stunned to larn that Mafalda has left for Palermo with her dance company, because she found out about his battle to Gina. Desperate, Bob decides that it would be best for him to take the occupation, that Bice had offered him.
Bob tells her sister that he is go forthing with Bice in the forenoon, and that she is non to state the remainder of the household. The following forenoon as Bob is prepared to board the train with Bice, he is confronted by Silvana, and so his brother and sister. Bob s brother retarding forces Bob off the train and kicks his but all the manner back to San Frediano. In the terminal British shilling is left entirely, and as the storyteller of the movie puts it, a victim of his ain attraction.
The Girls of San Frediano was a delicious comedy, with a secret plan we ve seen before, but ne’er executed rather every bit good. It would look to me that Girls & # 8230 ; easy could hold been the inspiration for infinite tacky American movies and telecasting situation comedies, but because Valerio Zurlini is slightly of an unknown exterior of Europe, it is likely best to presume that they all had the same thought, but Zurlini pulled it off best. The Girls of San Fredaino is an first-class chance for an audience to see the great scope of endowment that Zurlini, most noted for dramatic work, was capable of.
I exhaustively enjoyed the chance to test The Girls of San Frediano in a theatre. Populating in Brooklyn, I find it much more appealing to see a movie during the workweek in Brooklyn, as opposed to a theatre in Manhattan, or at the Brooklyn Museum. BAM is conveniantly located by the Atlantic Avenue/Pacific Street train halt, which is the exchange for nine different train lines running throughout Brooklyn. I am fortunate, in that I live one train halt off from BAM or short walk down Flatbush Avenue, but for those who don t live so near there is likely at least one train line convenient to them. Besides offering the fantastic scheduling at BAM Cinematek, there is besides the chance to see first run movies, in a first category theatre, while back uping a all right establishment like BAM.
Plants Cited
Bam Rose Cinema. 1 Apr 2001. Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Film Series: The movies of Valerio Zurlini. 17 Feb 2001. The National Gallery of Art.
Moller, Olaf. Autumnal Discontentment: Valerio Zurlini, Film Comment Magazine Jul 2000.
Newman, Andy. More Than Merely a Movie House ; A magnet for Brooklyn s Young Is in Place, but Will It Work? New York Times 12 Nov 1998: 2
