Miracle in Milan (1951)
(Miracolo a Milano)
Country: IT
Technical: bw 101m
Director: Vittorio de Sica
Cast: Francesco Golisano, Brunella Bovo
Synopsis:
A foundling is raised by a kindly old lady, and then brought up in an orphanage. On his going out into the world he spends the night with a beggar and thus begins his mission to transform the lives of the homeless people occupying a piece of waste land, by injecting a dose of optimism and protecting them from the pradations of the developers.
Review:
Delightful fantasy, replete with absurdist comic touches to counteract the incipient sentimentality. More magic realist than neo-realist, it is nevertheless the apotheosis of the philosophy underlying neo-realism: show life as it is lived and you might make the viewer aware of the problems in society; it is up to him to ponder solutions and to act. Here the individual acts, with a bit of divine help, and when he is no longer able to act flies off to a better world. The spirit of Frank Capra is not far off, but one thinks of Roberto Benigni at times, and also of Jeunet and Caro. Excellent music - there is even a theme song!
(Miracolo a Milano)
Country: IT
Technical: bw 101m
Director: Vittorio de Sica
Cast: Francesco Golisano, Brunella Bovo
Synopsis:
A foundling is raised by a kindly old lady, and then brought up in an orphanage. On his going out into the world he spends the night with a beggar and thus begins his mission to transform the lives of the homeless people occupying a piece of waste land, by injecting a dose of optimism and protecting them from the pradations of the developers.
Review:
Delightful fantasy, replete with absurdist comic touches to counteract the incipient sentimentality. More magic realist than neo-realist, it is nevertheless the apotheosis of the philosophy underlying neo-realism: show life as it is lived and you might make the viewer aware of the problems in society; it is up to him to ponder solutions and to act. Here the individual acts, with a bit of divine help, and when he is no longer able to act flies off to a better world. The spirit of Frank Capra is not far off, but one thinks of Roberto Benigni at times, and also of Jeunet and Caro. Excellent music - there is even a theme song!
(Miracolo a Milano)
Country: IT
Technical: bw 101m
Director: Vittorio de Sica
Cast: Francesco Golisano, Brunella Bovo
Synopsis:
A foundling is raised by a kindly old lady, and then brought up in an orphanage. On his going out into the world he spends the night with a beggar and thus begins his mission to transform the lives of the homeless people occupying a piece of waste land, by injecting a dose of optimism and protecting them from the pradations of the developers.
Review:
Delightful fantasy, replete with absurdist comic touches to counteract the incipient sentimentality. More magic realist than neo-realist, it is nevertheless the apotheosis of the philosophy underlying neo-realism: show life as it is lived and you might make the viewer aware of the problems in society; it is up to him to ponder solutions and to act. Here the individual acts, with a bit of divine help, and when he is no longer able to act flies off to a better world. The spirit of Frank Capra is not far off, but one thinks of Roberto Benigni at times, and also of Jeunet and Caro. Excellent music - there is even a theme song!