Il Postino Flashcards
Year of release and director + other films? (Director - 4 syllables (2/2 - M….. notPitt car) ) ……l ……d)
Language? Summary?
Il Postino
1995
Michael Radford (1984 / White Mischief)
Italian
How does the film show the repressed creativity of the postman?
Il Postino
“One moment in the book stood out. In the 1970s, Neruda had asked the fisherman to send him tape recordings of his house at Isla Negra. I saw that it could be built up as an expression of the postman’s desire to do something creative. For me, that was the key.”
Micheal Radford
Who played the lead and how were they?
Il Postino
Massimo Troisi
“He collapsed on the set on the third day. He was in a terrible state. He could only film for about an hour a day, so we had to work our way around it. I just shot him in closeup. Whenever there was a wide shot, we used a double. In lots of scenes, he arrives on a bicycle, but that’s not him. Every dialogue sequence was done sitting down. I made him sit on a sound stage in Cinecittà and speak his entire dialogue just in case he didn’t make it.”
What did I feel about the ending?
Il Postino
The ending parallels the moment Mario interferes with the sale of fish - urging the wealthy politician not to ask for a discount; he simply walks away. Despite good intentions, the powerful will triumph. Mario dies because Pablo’s good intentions raise his awareness so he steps into a more dangerous domain (politics). Perhaps his life was improved by the meeting - he has a beautiful wife and found a voice. And yet, his son is fatherless and there is no indication their village or way of life can improve. Poverty and betrayal remain and political violence is close.
What did I feel about the female characters?
Il Postino
Interesting how peripheral female characters are - objects of beauty, easily seduced by ‘metaphor’. His mother-in-law is initially dominating, but ultimately goes along with everything and is easily exploited.
