In other words,this film is a surreal ride.
The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.
View MoreTrue to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.
View MoreIt's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...
View MoreWhen you have several hundred films in your queue, sometimes you forget just why it is there. I am not familiar with the work of Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, and I don't recognize any of the stars. I haven't even seen Chiara Caselli before. She gives us a glimpse of her beauty late in the film, but I am told there are better films to see her.So, did I just make a mistake and now regret it? No, the film was a beautiful fantasy drama that told how money can come to be looked upon as a curse. Even knowing that, the curse lives on in the children. Once you touch gold, you cannot let go.It was a nice film, with brilliant cinematography, and not a waste of time.
View MoreThe Taviani brothers have a definite place in the history of Italian cinema. They were highly regarded in the 70s and 80s, but lately their creative power and success seems to have diminished. 'Fiorile' is one of the later films, and the rust begins to be visible. It is a romantic story, spread over almost two hundred years and several generations, a story of love, lust, money and damnation. It is well filmed, and well told, but it is too conventional, and the message - if there is any - gets lost in the multitude of the characters, none really catching the eye or due to resist in the long term memory. We are left with a film in the good European tradition, good acting, nice filming, but still not a great achievement. Worth seeing in any case. 8/10 on my personal scale.
View MoreI really enjoyed this movie, and am ever so happy I taped it at the time it ran on TV. The great thing about this movie is that it is so normal. A family driving to granny and telling the kids a story on the way. And then later how the kids are playing and weaving the story their parents told them in their play. I far prefer European films like this to the ones we get here from the states. Why, you wonder, well if this was made in Hollywood, an escaped gangster would have come along to steal the treasure and father would have taken revenge or something like that... No, the only thing that is a petty is that movies like this are not distributed main stream, but only in arty farty circles. So most movies like this will never reach main stream audience, or even will be distributed outside their originating country. I am pretty sure there are a lot of movies that are great, brilliant movies, but I will never get to see them, because of the distribution.Pieter
View MoreDriving to visit his ill father in Italian countryside, a father recalls the story of his family for his daughter and son...this unforgettable story of human greed and dishonesty and how wealth can taint the spirit is one of the most intense and moving stories i've ever come across with... juxtaposition of present and past in the same sets and the multiple roles characters play is as precious as the script and photography.... don't miss this one even if you're too busy.
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