SYNOPSIS:
This is an Italian adaptation of The Sea Gull by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov.
A young writer is trapped between his awful actress mother (Laura Betti) and the knowledge that he has only a mediocre talent as a playwright and almost no force of character. After the young man in this story suffers the loss of his mistress to his self-satisfied novelist stepfather, his self-respect is so shattered that he commits suicide.
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This Ecological Fairy Tale, with live actors and talking animals tells the story of a colonel (Paolo Villaggio) who is entrusted with a large estate of woodlands until his schoolboy nephew comes of age. Disregarding local tradition and the practice of his esteemed deceased brother, the military man decides to selectively cut the old growth timber. He is confronted with the protestations of the tree spirits (Giulio Brogi) and the local townsfolk, to no avail. Over their objection he releases the unpredictable wind from the cave to which it has been confined, and even wishes for the early demise of his nephew so he can own the woods outright. But he comes to value human contact more, starts to come to terms with most of the spirits, and reverses some plots to get rid of his nephew. A bit like a live action Hayan Miyazaki tale such as Princess Mononoke, but not so violent.Read More »
Quote:
This symbolic film underscores the struggles between a group of visionaries versus the Establishment while wondering about the survival of humankind. A group of young men manage to escape a volcano eruption on their small island. Seeking a new life, they stop at an island between their destroyed island and the mainland. This island is run by Renno, the community leader who offers the men help and a boat to continue their journey. The group conspires to panic the islanders with fear of another volcano eruption in order to take over the abandoned island. Renno has the men jailed for creating a disturbance, but after their terms are served, the men betray Renno by killing off the male population and escaping with the surviving women. The two apparently go off to pursue their utopian ideals where there is one woman for every two men.Read More »