Poetry doesn't belong to those who write it; it belongs to those who need it.
Recently, I have watched an Italian film - ‘Il Postino’ (The Postman, 1994). Just like ‘
Red Violin’, this film shows the audience how great art can influence people on an emotional level, even if that may not be understandable to the rational mind. While ‘Red Violin’ has music as the medium, ‘Il Postino’ concerns with poetry. This film from 1994 is critically acclaimed and has received a number of Academy Award nominations at the major categories – rare for a foreign language film – and the impressive music in the film has led to an Oscar for Best Original Dramatic Score. It is important to note that Massimo Troisi, who starred as the protagonist and unfortunately passed away after the production of the film, has an underrated and Oscar-worthy performance. That is even more impressive when one learns that Troisi also co-directed and wrote this film, and that signified the brilliance and passion offered by this cinematic artist.
Your smile spreads like a butterfly.
The story concerned Mario, a fisherman from a small island in Italy, and his attempt to attract a local beauty through the use of poetry. When Pablo Neruda (who is a real life Chilean poet, and the story in the film is fictional) arrived in Mario's island due to political exile; Mario, who has become a temporary postman, served as the poet's personal courier. Through delivering letters to Pablo by hand, Mario befriended the great poet. Mario was attracted to Beatrice, a beautiful young lady, and started to ask Pablo for advice about writing poems to the girl to express his admiration. While this provocative act did not impress Beatrice's aunt, the young lady reacted favorably. The pair was eventually married, and Pablo returned to Chile after the political situation was more stabilized. What would come of Mario and Beatrice, and would Mario ever hear from Pablo again?
Your laugh is a sudden silvery wave.
When I look at 'Il Postino', I cannot stop thinking of another film from Italy, 'Life is Beautiful' (1998). Both films are very similar because they have a rather light-hearted tone, yet they do not distance themselves from the political context of the era they are portraying. It seems to me that both films are about how individuals can be destroyed by the political situations they find themselves in. Though the endings are rather dark for both films, I feel that they are realistic endings that people can easily identify with. I suppose the greatness of these films stem from their concerns about humanity, and both films have a sentimentality for which I feel is acceptable and also very genuine.
When you explain poetry, it becomes banal. Better than any explanation is the experience of feelings that poetry can reveal to a nature open enough to understand it.
Poetry, just like music, can directly access the sublime. While they are both formalized, poetry and music can often enter unknown territories beyond the realm of reason. This is a testament to the human imaginations and in these cases the intimate and subjective feelings become more important. Though Mario was portrayed as a character who has not received much education, he still had a clear mind for the appreciation of poetry. He was also creative enough to come up with a personal way to offer a souvenir to Pablo, that really treasured the poet's fruitful memories of the small island he has briefly lived in. Indeed, many filmmakers compare film to poetry rather than novel or even drama, and they have adopted a poetic approach to cinema. Filmmakers like Bertolucci and Tarkovsky were very committed to offer a poetic feel to their work, even if their films did have coherent narratives. Films like '
The Conformist' become something of a visual poem, and the members of audience will engage with the cinematic images more than the dialogues or the narrative itself. After all, it is often the mysterious and intuitive aspect offered by art that makes life such a fascinating experience.
by Ed Law
Film Analysis
