VITO AND THE OTHERS a film by Antonio Capuano

The narrative structure of Capuano’s film Vito e gli altri is reflective of the disjunction of the subjects within their existential and social space. The children populating this film are constantly depicted as peripheral not only to conventional institutions such as the family, school, etc. but also to elements that possibly most accurately define their existence. For example, television is overwhelmingly present in this film and the distance between the children’s lives and behaviour could not be more different from TV’s depictions of idealized childhood steeped in consumerism. Yet that is the normative representation that the children are most drawn toward. Contrast the children in this film to those in classic neorealist films such as ROME, OPEN CITY or Bruno in BICYCLE THIEVES...they come closer to the ones we come to know in PAISA`... the adults in Vito don't fare too well. They are cast in quite awful roles as preoccupied by nothing but power (over children) and guided themselves by a feverish sort of consumerism that is isolating and empty even more than we might imagine. There are no role models for the children at all, and education comes to carry negative connotations that are related to imposition, competition and the inability to teach without violence.

Some Notes on CIAO, PROFESSORE a film by Lina Wertmuller

To read this film in its proper context one must first of all consider the book of essays “Io speriamo che me la cavo” from which it was drawn.
Finally, this allegorical tale of a still divided nation, appears to be rather cynical and pessimistic about the possibility of ever approaching a homogeneous national culture and function for its citizens.

Ciao functions as a greeting of both meeting and farewell. As such it could also be read in the film for its final use when the teacher is transferred back to his Northern Italian town. I do not want to diminish the positive aspects of the situation that the film represents; it is hard to summarize however as to which is the greater impact, that of the teacher on the children or of the children on the teacher. We may even regard this as a balance learning experience. One slight difference is however that the children’s learning experience does not appear to improve the position in any way. The teacher’s gain is that he may now feel quite satisfied with himself for having experienced and tolerated the Southern Question. Aside from that, he returns North and out of reach for his short visit to have been that significant.

One of the first instances of crossed signals in the teacher/student communication is the reading of the earring. Coming from a supposedly more progressive and less conservative North, it would make sense that the teacher should have known about men wearing earrings and as a result not have been so surprised. Another term of distance is the surprise at the working life of children. The film plays it for its cutsey effect; it’s so cute to see t he little girl washing dishes and telling the teacher that she is the one t hat runs the household and “please turn off the milk and pour it in the baby bottle.”

While indeed child labour should be discouraged, it is also true that some families would not be able to subsist were it not for the work of the children. And, if there is an element of cuteness in the little girl homemaker, the reality is that her statement is far from a joke and she is not playing house. She runs the house and cares for the other children. It is here that the imposition of school butts heads with the realities of life. School for some of these children represents a luxury that they can ill afford, and the invasion of their social space by this outsider who has a very focused belief regarding what the life of children should be is indicative of a blind application of a moral ground and a set of beliefs that is foreign to the immediate situation. The imposition of the teacher’s system of beliefs can only cause an irritated rebellion by the children, one that they nevertheless give in to even if slightly, for play is of course more delightful than play. Yet, where the teacher might succeed in altering their life styles, he will ultimately fail since there is no support system provided for those who stop working in order to go to school. What will replace their work as a way of making a living and keeping food on the table? This is not the teacher’s problem as we see since he returns home at the end of the film.

Another disturbing representation is that of the young woman employed by the teacher’s landlords. Her image as a vuloptuous young nubile woman heightens the sense of abuse and manipulation suffered by these children. It is implied, with a glance, with a word here and there, that she may provide either the landlord or the teacher with pleasures more than just household services. Her image is so close to that stereotype of neapolitan woman so well portrayed by Sophia Loren in the 50s and repeated in Il Postino more recently. It is an image that reduces mediterranean feminine strength and beauty to nothing more than the vuloptuousness of a body to be desired, but without any real attribute beyond that. What this tends to do is to transform the whole of mediterranean culture into an empty shell of shallow appearance and little substance.

Una giornata particolare

A very special film about a very special day. As Hitler arrives in Rome to meet with Mussolini, a defeated housewife and an ex-radio announcer who is being removed to internal exile for being homosexual (and thereby unsuitable to represent the voice of Fascist masculinity) come together for a few hours that will change their lives. Ettore Scola casts Matroianni and Loren against character and delves into the narrow spaces of day to day life under Fascism. The actors, the architecture, the apparently simple structure of the film, and the incisive use of sound to emphasize the oppressive omnipresence of Fascism go to make this film a classic. Scola's film brings History and history face to face both to testify about a past moment of Italian hisotry and to suggest that contemporary viewers consider how we might allow Power to insinuate itself into, and control, our lives. Unfortunately, even though a restored version was re-released in 2005, and the film was the subject of a conference and a book, it remains hard to find on VHS or DVD. What is around is of poor quality and usually dubbed. There seems to be no version in Italian with English subtitles. I found a DVD of good quality in Italy, in Italian with Greek subtitles. While it is unfortunate that most versions are English dubbed, I believe that it is the actors themselves dubbing their own voices.

Special Day's director, Ettore Scola, much like De Sica before him, isolates what might be considered to be insignificant, mundane moments and lives to make his point in this film. Comment on how Scola represents Fascism as an ideology that insinuates itself into everyday lives, even ones removed from its main events. And, reflect on how the staging of A Special Day contrasts History to story (or "history from below"). Two pages due on Tuesday May 23rd.