The true story of the life of Gavino Ledda, the son of a Sardinian shepherd, and how he managed to escape his harsh, almost barbaric existence by slowly educating himself, despite violent opposition from his brutal father.
Janet Maslin praised the film and wrote, "Padre Padrone is stirringly affirmative. It's also a bit simple: The patriarchal behavior of Gavino's father is so readily accepted as an unfathomable given constant that the film never offers much insight into the man or the culture that fostered him. Intriguingly aberrant behavior is chalked up to tradition, and thus robbed of some of its ferocity. But the film is vivid and very moving, coarse but seldom blunt, and filled with raw landscapes that underscore the naturalness and inevitability of the father-son rituals it depicts." Maslin may not be all too familiar with the tradition. If she was, she would appreciate why it needs no explanation. I don't know Sardinia specifically, but I know Sicily, and this behavior would just be expected. There is no deeper psychology behind it. What makes this film interesting is not that a young man overcomes his father (many do that), but that he became a Sardinian linguist... because seriously, who does that? I was not even aware they had their own language.
Janet Maslin praised the film and wrote, "Padre Padrone is stirringly affirmative. It's also a bit simple: The patriarchal behavior of Gavino's father is so readily accepted as an unfathomable given constant that the film never offers much insight into the man or the culture that fostered him. Intriguingly aberrant behavior is chalked up to tradition, and thus robbed of some of its ferocity. But the film is vivid and very moving, coarse but seldom blunt, and filled with raw landscapes that underscore the naturalness and inevitability of the father-son rituals it depicts." Maslin may not be all too familiar with the tradition. If she was, she would appreciate why it needs no explanation. I don't know Sardinia specifically, but I know Sicily, and this behavior would just be expected. There is no deeper psychology behind it. What makes this film interesting is not that a young man overcomes his father (many do that), but that he became a Sardinian linguist... because seriously, who does that? I was not even aware they had their own language.