Padre Padrone
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Padre padrone | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | Paolo Taviani Vittorio Taviani |
| Produced by | Giuliani G. De Negri |
| Written by | Story: Gavino Ledda Screenplay: Paolo Taviani Vittorio Taviani |
| Starring | Omero Antonutti |
| Music by | Egisto Macchi |
| Cinematography | Mario Masini |
| Editing by | Roberto Perpignani |
| Distributed by | Radiotelevisione Italiana Cinema 5 Distributing (USA) Artificial Eye (UK) |
| Release date(s) | June 1977 (Berlinale) December 23, 1977 (New York Film Festival) |
| Running time | 114 minutes |
| Country | Italy |
| Language | Italian Sardinian Latin |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Padre padrone (English: Father and Master) (1977) is an Italian film directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani. The Taviani's used both professional, and non-professional actors from the Sardinian countryside.[1]
The drama was originally filmed by the Taviani brothers for Italian television, yet won the 1977 Palme d'Or prize at the Cannes Film Festival.[2]
The film depicts a Sardinian shepherd who is terrorized by his domineering father, and tries to escape by educating himself. He eventually becomes a celebrated linguist. The drama is based on an autobiographical book by Gavino Ledda with the same title.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The film opens at a Sardinian elementary school where six-year old Gavino (Saverio Marconi) is attending. His tyrannical peasant father (Omero Antonutti) barges in and announces to the teacher and all to hear that Gavino must leave school and tend the family's sheep. Under his father's watchful eyes and cruel and sadist demeanor, he tends a herd of sheep for fourteen years in the Sardinian mountains. There he begins to discover things for himself and begins to rebel against his father.
Gavino is rescued from his family -- and his isolated lifestyle -- when he's called for military service. During his time with the army he learns about electronics, the Italian language, classical music, and yearns for a university education.
When he returns home he declares to his father that he will attend university. His father is against his plan and tells him he'll trow him out of the family home. They have a nasty fight, but, he eventually attends university and emerges as a brilliant student and becomes a linguist, ironically specializing in the Sardinian dialect.
The film ends in documentary fashion as Gavino Ledda (the writer of autobiography) tells why he wrote his book what Sardinian children may expect as inhabitants of a rural area tied to the land.
[edit] Cast
- Omero Antonutti as Father
- Saverio Marconi as Gavino
- Marcella Michelangeli as Mother
- Fabrizio Forte as Young Gavino
- Nanni Moretti as Cesare
- Gavino Ledda as Himself
[edit] Critical reception
Janet Maslin, film critic for The New York Times, 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."[3]
The staff at Variety magazine also lauded the film and wrote, "Around the initiation of a seven-year-old boy into the lonely life of sheep herder until his triumphant rift at the age of 20 with a remarkably overbearing father-patriarch (Omero Antonutti), the Taviani brothers have for the most part succeeded in adapting a miniature epic...In a long final part, accenting the boy's iron will to learn right up to a high school diploma, the final showdown between patriarch and rebel son is perhaps a more consequent narrative."[4]
[edit] Awards
Wins
- Berlin International Film Festival: Interfilm Grand Prix, Paolo Taviani, Vittorio Taviani; 1977.
- Cannes Film Festival: FIPRESCI Prize Competition, Paolo Taviani and Vittorio Taviani; Golden Palm, Paolo Taviani and Vittorio Taviani; 1977.
- David di Donatello Awards, Italy: Special David, Paolo Taviani and Vittorio Taviani; 1978.
- Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists: Silver Ribbon, Best Director (Regista del Miglior Film Italiano), Vittorio Taviani and Paolo Taviani; Best New Actor (Migliore Attore Esordiente), Saverio Marconi; 1978.
Nominations
- British Academy of Film and Television Arts: BAFTA Film Award, Best Newcomer, Saverio Marconi; 1978.
[edit] References
- ^ Padre padrone at the Internet Movie Database.
- ^ Curran, Daniel, ed. Foreign Films, film review and analysis of Padre Padrone, page 135, 1989. Evanston, Illinois: Cinebooks. ISBN 0-933997-22-1.
- ^ Maslin, Janet. The New York Times, film review, "Man's Inhumanity to Son," December 24, 1977. Last accessed: December 31, 2007.
- ^ Variety. Film review, December 24, 1977. Last accessed: December 31, 2007.
[edit] External links
- Padre padrone at the Internet Movie Database
- Padre padrone at Allmovie
- Padre padrone at Camera Journal
- Padre padrone at Consiglio (Italian)
- Padre padrone at Cannes Film Festival (French)
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Taxi Driver |
Palme d'Or 1977 |
Succeeded by The Tree of Wooden Clogs |
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