The film is in colour with a nice restored picture, a fine layer of grain, a 4:3 aspect ratio, the acting all feels very natural, there's lots of non professional actors here just inhabiting the lives of simple peasants in late 19th century northern Italy. The language is not actually Italian though if you understand Italian you'll be able to understand some of it without subtitles. The film features crushing poverty, this is not a warm sunny little world where peasants sit around all day evening in the evening sun, smoking and playing with straw between their teeth. Their lives are repetitive, full of a daily grind, struggling to produce their crops and without any real prospect of getting their lives improved in any way. One farmer plans to send his boy to school but it's a 4 mile walk each way. The families rent their homes from the landowner and he even gets 2/3s of the profit from the harvest. It starts very slowly, just lulling you into the rhythm of their lives. The children are sweet and have to be content with simple pleasures.
Some of the landscapes are quite beautiful in a rugged way but this is not a glamorous film. It's more about muddy fields, puddles, weather beaten old parents struggling to raise their children and earn a livelihood. Even horses often misbehave. There's some quite graphic scenes of farm animals being killed. They look very real to me. This is also a film about the seasons, our connection to the land and the births and deaths which occur. There's plenty of social commentary too, the rich landowners word never really touches with the peasants who rent his land to live on. The film finds clever ways to visually convey the gulf between them, from the physical barriers that separate them down to the clothing and the social expectations. The peasants also love their saints and religious festivals. Travelling salesman offer a rare dose of excitement and change for them but a socialist excitedly urging people to unite and embrace socialism is unable to get through to them. It's another simple but effective scene, the peasant is distracted during the speech by a coin he spots on the floor. Money and material gain will also be higher on his list of priorities than lofty ideas it seems. The film really does labour the point and lay it on thick, they live an almost medieval style existence despite it being the 1890s, still using candles for light at night and living alongside their animals in the dirt. Right at the end of the film things finally open up where a couple on their honeymoon trip take a barge to Milan. The huge city full of fashionable people finally feels odd and scary seen through their eyes. It's also a city on edge with police and soldiers on prowling the streets. You actually quite like this devout simple couple.
Some of the landscapes are quite beautiful in a rugged way but this is not a glamorous film. It's more about muddy fields, puddles, weather beaten old parents struggling to raise their children and earn a livelihood. Even horses often misbehave. There's some quite graphic scenes of farm animals being killed. They look very real to me. This is also a film about the seasons, our connection to the land and the births and deaths which occur. There's plenty of social commentary too, the rich landowners word never really touches with the peasants who rent his land to live on. The film finds clever ways to visually convey the gulf between them, from the physical barriers that separate them down to the clothing and the social expectations. The peasants also love their saints and religious festivals. Travelling salesman offer a rare dose of excitement and change for them but a socialist excitedly urging people to unite and embrace socialism is unable to get through to them. It's another simple but effective scene, the peasant is distracted during the speech by a coin he spots on the floor. Money and material gain will also be higher on his list of priorities than lofty ideas it seems. The film really does labour the point and lay it on thick, they live an almost medieval style existence despite it being the 1890s, still using candles for light at night and living alongside their animals in the dirt. Right at the end of the film things finally open up where a couple on their honeymoon trip take a barge to Milan. The huge city full of fashionable people finally feels odd and scary seen through their eyes. It's also a city on edge with police and soldiers on prowling the streets. You actually quite like this devout simple couple.