Sexy Moms + One Uncontrollable Kid = Mommy, a film with Canadian Karaoke and Violence. Sounds like a game of Cards Against Humanity right!? A smart-phone like aspect ratio takes headlines in this one in a beautifully shot film about a single mother trying to raise her unpredictably violent son.
Here’s your chance to introduce yourself to Italian neorealist film. Umberto D. is one of the standout films of the neorealist genre. You’ll meet the elderly Umberto, a man who has been forced into poverty by his government and landlady. It’s a must watch for all film fans.
You can watch the film here on YouTube if your Italian is up to scratch. Otherwise you can rent it here for the price of a coffee.
Why Watch Umberto D?
For the perfect introduction to Italian Neorealism
To see how bad poverty was in post-war Italy
It’s emotional – it’ll get you angry, sentimental, hopeless, and hopeful
It’s actually De Sica’s favourite film (above Bicycle Thieves)
The Breakdown
Umberto D starts with a protest in one of Rome’s city squares. An organized group of elderly men are all demanding a raise in their pensions. One of these men is Umberto D. Ferrari, a retired government worker.
Unfortunately for Umberto, life isn’t going too well. Even though he worked all of his life for the government, he can’t afford to live on the pension they’ve given him. As a result, his unsympathetic landlady is kicking him out.
Despite this, Umberto is always well-dressed in a suit, tie, and hat. He manages to keep his smart dress throughout the film. It’s almost a symbol of his dignity. The only time he thinks about begging is when he removes his hat and gives it to his pet dog Flike to beg on behalf of him. It’s the only short moment in which he relinquishes his dignity and asks for help.
Umberto is not the only one that needs help. You’ll notice some beggars asking for money. But there’s also the landlady’s maid, one of the only friends of Umberto. There’s one iconic scene which focuses on her, pretty much the only scene that isn’t focused on Umberto. In the scene she walks from one end of the landlady’s kitchen to the window to watch a cat wandering over the neighbours roofs. Whilst it may not sound that significant, the scene emphasises the maid’s lack of freedom. Whilst the cat can freely roam the roofs of Rome, she is confined to the landlady’s kitchen. She cannot afford to live by herself or go to school and ultimately she will share the same fate as Umberto later in life. It shows that, unless there’s change, poverty will continue to exist.
Conclusion
De Sica claimed that Umberto D. was his favourite film that he made. In addition, it’s probably one of the best examples of Italian Neo-realism. It’s full of emotion, and quickly gets you to sympathise with Umberto. It’s a must watch if you’re into foreign film.
If you want to get to know more classic Italian films, I’d recommend checking out Divorce: Italian Style for a comedy that inspired Martin Scorsese, and La Dolce Vita from maestro Federico Fellini. For more Neorealist film check out the following:
If you’re looking for an African film which avoids the stereotypes of focusing on war, poverty, or aids, this film is for you. Akasha is one of the fresh new African films leading the Afro-Bubblegum style; films which portray a fun, frivolous, and fierce Africa. It’s not the Africa portrayed in the media.
Fausto isn’t like the usual films you’re used to. There’s no main characters and there’s no narrative that you can follow. Instead, Fausto is a collection of mysterious stories and images; some might fill you with wonder and others might just drift through you. It’s all in the name of searching for something bigger than ourselves – nature, the universe, magic.
Vai is a collection of eight short films made by 9 women which takes place across seven different countries (Fiji, Tonga, Solomon Islands, New Zealand, Kuki Airani, Samoa, and Niue). The titular character, Vai, is played by eight different indigenous women aging from 6 to 80.
Another interesting thing to note before watching is that ‘Vai’ translates as ‘water’ in each of the countries named above. Water is an integral part of the story. It surrounds each of the islands, which isolates each community, making traveling between islands harder. It’s ability to provide food is threatened as companies infringe on and overfish in traditional fishing waters. Drinking water is also rare and hoarded by the privileged. Most importantly, it gives life, both spiritually (as in the final short) and physically.
“We sweat and cry salt water, so we know that the ocean is really in our blood”
Teresia Teaiwa
A Common Indigenous Experience
Vai’s journey is played by 8 different indigenous actresses across 7 different countries and 8 different ages. In the first short, Vai is a 6 year old girl in Fiji, and the film progresses until the final short shows her as an 80 year old woman in Aeotara (New Zealand). By shooting Vai’s journey with different actresses across different countries, Vai creates a common indigenous Pacific Islander experience.
One common theme is the cycle of leaving and returning. In the first three shorts, Vai lives without her mother or father, as they’ve been forced to travel to New Zealand to try and provide for their family. In the fourth, Vai has already left Samoa and is studying in New Zealand. The final four films feature an older Vai that has returned to home. She returns and has to relearn the traditional ways she has forgotten. Whilst she regains her community, her younger relatives leave their homes just as she did, repeating the cycle of coming and going.
(Insert analogy comparing the coming and going of the people and tradition to the coming and going of the sea tides).
A Life Well Lived
The Pacific Islander experience may be new to some viewers, however, the experience of life is much more universal. It’s scope reminded me a little bit of Linklater’s Boyhood, except here the scope is much larger. Instead of focusing on a child from 8 years old to 18, Vai follows a woman across a whole lifetime. In doing so it encapsulates the entire experience of life in 90 minutes. When you’re watching Vai as an 80 year old, the memories of the shorts of Vai as a 6 and 13 year old are still clear in your head which allows us to enter Vai’s old age with a greater understanding of where she came from. These are memories that we often lose touch of once we hit adulthood in our own lives. Showing it all in one film lets us see life repeating itself and allows us to better empathize with Vai as an older woman.
Or, if you’re looking for more films which follow a single character across different ages, I’d strongly recommend checking out Boyhood and Moonlight. They’re two great U.S. films about growing up.
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