Director Ermanno Olmi's ambition is colossal, and he will settle for nothing less than an epic about the whole spectrum of human existence. The film is unusual in the sense that it rarely focuses on a character or a plot. Yet Olmi threads a unity with mastery unmatched by anything else I've seen before. Also, the background score provides a nice touch. But this is where the good things end for me.
The film suffers from an abundance of religious propaganda. The scene where a terminally ill animal recovers miraculously after drinking some sort of holy water really disgusted me. Also, I felt like the film idealizes peasant life to some extent - especially the women. It seems like the only thing the women do is pray. (Of course, the director may have a point here.)
I think the lack of a dedicated cinematographer shows. The focus is off in a number of shots, exposure within a scene is not always consistent. There are interior scenes where you can see two or three overlapping shadows of the same person cast by different sources - supposed to be candles. But candles don't cast that kind of hard-edged opaque shadow. I am not sure if it's just me, but the lighting seems really amateur.
While the film is beautiful, a work of genius and is a must see for anyone interested in serious filmmaking, beware of the religious stuffs, if you are not into that kind of things.
The film suffers from an abundance of religious propaganda. The scene where a terminally ill animal recovers miraculously after drinking some sort of holy water really disgusted me. Also, I felt like the film idealizes peasant life to some extent - especially the women. It seems like the only thing the women do is pray. (Of course, the director may have a point here.)
I think the lack of a dedicated cinematographer shows. The focus is off in a number of shots, exposure within a scene is not always consistent. There are interior scenes where you can see two or three overlapping shadows of the same person cast by different sources - supposed to be candles. But candles don't cast that kind of hard-edged opaque shadow. I am not sure if it's just me, but the lighting seems really amateur.
While the film is beautiful, a work of genius and is a must see for anyone interested in serious filmmaking, beware of the religious stuffs, if you are not into that kind of things.