Cannes (In Competition): Grand Prix, Prize of the Ecumenical Jury, New York, Queer Lisboa (Educação & Cidadania)

Synopsis

With its mix of wartime hardship, comedic interludes, and Italian magic realism, the film was named the Best Film by the prestigious National Society of Film Critics (1982).

Drawing inspiration from their own experiences in Nazi-occupied Italy, the Taviani brothers (Paolo and Vittorio), this touching tale of wartime survival is told as a bedtime story by a loving mother drawing on memories of her childhood fleeing her Tuscan village during World War II.

American liberation is promised within days, but the Nazis have rigged village houses with mines, so the residents of San Martino flee to the countryside, where encounters with fascists are common and deadly. --Umbrella Entertainment




Cast: Leila Amodeo, Omero Antonutti, Beatrice Bardelli, Sauro Baschieri, Margarita Lozano, Claudio Bigagli, Miriam Guidelli, Massimo Bonetti, Enrica Maria Modugno

Cannes (In Competition): Grand Prix, Prize of the Ecumenical Jury, New York, Queer Lisboa (Educação & Cidadania)

The Night of the Shooting Stars (more accurately titled ‘Night of the Feast of St Lawrence’) takes place during World War II and involves various villagers from the Tuscan region of Italy who leave their village in the middle of the night to not only avoid the bombing of their homes but to try and find the American soldiers whom they believe are on their way to save Italy.

The film, directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, is told in flashback by a woman who at the time was a six-year-old girl named Cecilia. She is a whimsical child who is unaware of the dangers and – like some kids – seems to be having the time of her life running away from home with the adults; until things get serious.

The film deals with the failures, triumphs, and personal foibles of the villagers as they travel across the countyside hiding from the Fascists. And it is easy to associate with them because each of the characters are presented as real people trying to survive in difficult times. And too the longer they travel the more that they become the same; after a while it doesn’t matter who is rich or who is poor.

The film’s primary focus is that of fratricide and the unbelievable way that Italian fascists killed their own people. And at times the film becomes compelling and violent like a wheat field massacre (Chapter 13) that has peasants fighting soldiers - showing us the despairing depths that men can stoop to during times of war.

The Night of the Shooting Stars was made in 1982 but has echoes of the Italian neorealist movement of the 1950’s especially it its seeming use of non-professional actors and a down-to-earth visual style. But it is also leavened with a tough romantic edge and awkward comedic moments.

The one minor criticism I have with the film is that at times it has some clumsy scenes and some of the actors earnestly overact. At times too, perhaps because of the small budget, the film has an ersatz feel. But its overall theme of the complex humanism of citizens on the run during wartime is effective. (Matt Langdon)