Reviews on movie Mediterraneo (4)

For the first time ' I took a bite' not on the title (by the way, the Russian translation does not correspond to the original - 'Mediterranean' rather than 'Mediterranean Sea'); not on the specified genre, but on its ' Oscar-winning' Barely looked to the end, amazed at what this unremarkable filmmaker admired the American Academy (and before them he robbed a prestigious award in his own, in Italy) - there are no outstanding acting successes, no intriguing plot, no fascinating music - nothing, in fact, there is nothing that could seem to excite the saturated masters of Hollywood! And now, after a quarter of a century, I, interested in the artistic reflection of the history of the WWII outside our country, accidentally stumble upon this picture again, even forgetting its content. Oh, ba na! Yes, for the uncomplicated content begins to slowly, but persistently appear globally exciting theme - Man and War.
So, in June 41, a bunch of foreign soldiers are landed for observation on a small Greek island of the Aegean Sea somewhere in the vicinity of Turkish Antalya. And, forgotten by their command, the Italians vegetated there for three years. Somewhere in continental Europe and in North America. Africa is blazing monstrous battles, many armed and unarmed people are dying, and here the serene sun and gentle sea, an unburdened watch and peaceful aborigines. And if the explosions - it's one of the servicemen jamming explosive fish for food, and if the shots - it's because of internal soldiers' showdowns. By mistake, weapons are lost, state uniforms are dilapidated, and in the end the brave department headed by a lieutenant and a sergeant turns into a company of rags, in appearance indistinguishable from the local residents, to that they are connected with friendly and even love ties. Yes, these soldiers are not rabid fascists, as, indeed, they were the majority in the mobilized contingents of countries ' Axis ' This is the fault of the bloodthirsty politicians and military leaders of these countries, who freely disposed of the lives of their own and foreign peoples.

The film managed to unobtrusively but convincingly show how much war abhors the nature of man, called to build, not destroy, to give birth to his own kind, not to kill them. Of course, the cinematography of war can be condemned in different ways: for example, as in the "Pacific" & #39; - showing naturalistically all its abomination and cruelty. And it turns out, and as in 'Mediterranean' - at a far distance from the flaming fronts. And the goal is one: not to mix the concepts ' take ' and ' protect ', ' impose ' and ' negotiate ', ' rob ' and ' trade ' Therefore, heroic pathos about the war for me akin to militaristic.

Sometimes a good movie is remembered by us with some bright distinctive visual images, a unique sharply isolated style, a word, an artistic decision, what we could later call the mood of this particular film. This picture is on the opposite pole from the canonical films-noir – where never in the time of the show of the story has not seen the light of day – where all the space and all the scenes are flooded with sun. Perhaps the filmmaker could not have otherwise portrayed Greece, the birthplace of philosophy, democracy, and seedless olives. Or maybe he needed these forces of nature, the symbol of joy and health, in order to confront them more vividly with all the insignificance, rudeness and meaninglessness of the war in general and these first formidable and later demoralized soldiers. Maybe all this together and something else.
In the first half, the director paints the war, perfectly conveying the materiality and naturalness of the Italian conquerors, their life and the course of garrison service away from the mother country. At a certain point, it seems that he pulled a familiar anti-war charmer about hardship, about the absurd, about murder from nothing to do, Norman Mailer comes to mind with his “Naked and the Dead”. But Salvatores is turning the other way. And easily begins to show Greece itself, the island itself and suddenly the locals appeared. Everywhere the sun, all shades of blue sea water, blue sky, beige cliffs. In the second half of the film, you can already understand that there will be no war in this blessed land. It's like he wasn't made for her. Both Greeks and Italians are for the Mediterranean, for them this environment is natural and the refrain of the whole film suggests that there is no difference between all the inhabitants of the Mediterranean (aside from Greece and Italy, another sultry country emerges).

There are many characters in this story, each of whom has their own time on the screen. Someone has a big and rich history (including a change in marital status), someone is frankly small, caricature (write letters to his wife and strives home “by plane, train, car”), and between these frames all other fates. The resulting unhurried epic tale of conquered soldiers in the end puts at the forefront of the sea and the sun, the Mediterranean sea and never covered with clouds scorching southern sun. Largely because of this, it is extremely difficult to attribute the film to any of the well-known genres, not comedy, since there are not many truly funny moments and they are not of an important plot-forming nature; not a military action movie, since there are no overcomes and trials familiar from military films here, there is no rapid, kaleidoscopic development of events; not drama, since there are no irreparable losses, sorrows and great happiness, no one experiences his misfortunes so much that one can remember this most venerable genre, but in the finale everything returns to the starting point. We can say that this is a kind of genre alloy, and, like many alloys, it has increased characteristics compared to pure constituent elements.

The victory of this picture in the fight for a foreign-language Oscar in 1991 was a complete surprise for many. Especially since the rivals of this Italian tape were, firstly, a very strong Chinese film “Light the Red Lantern” by Zhang Yimou, and, secondly, “Elementary School” by the Czech Jan Sverak, who in five years will still win this statuette, but with the tape “Kolya”. “Oscar” for “Mediterranean” looks strange, as the film is not distinguished by significant artistic merit.

But let such a choice remain entirely on the conscience of American academics, whose decisions in the nomination “foreign-language film” during the 1990s almost invariably caused bewildered reactions from observers. And, nevertheless, the statuette went to Italy, much contributing to the rise of noticeably shaken prestige of Italian cinema. But to an even greater extent, this success accompanied the promotion of the picture itself, which subsequently made a good international box office.
Little-known director Gabriele Salvatores presented to the audience a cute romantic comedy with an obvious anti-war pathos. In 1941, several soldiers of the Duce army arrive on a Greek island in the Aegean Sea, where they are detained for three years. However, they do not waste time and instead of vigilant military service indulge in all the joys of life. Far from their homeland and war, they find on a small piece of land in the Mediterranean not even an idyll, but a real paradise.
Everyday football battles with local boys are replaced by trips to a prostitute, feasts, fishing, painting and the opportunity to carefree day and night philosophize on a variety of topics. That is why, when the British arrive on the island just before the end of the war, not all Italian soldiers dare to leave. And those who do go to their homeland “to build a new life, using the great opportunities that appeared after the fall of fascism”, one after another return to a small island lost in the Aegean Sea.

This movie begins with a mistake. Mediterraneo is not the Mediterranean Sea. It is something more: water, land, people, atmosphere. In Russian, this is the Mediterranean.

In general, the appearance of this film on our screen is associated with many, if not errors, then accidents. To begin with, he never appeared on the big screen in Russia. At least I don't know anything about the official rental. It's been shown a couple of times on TV, but it's always been driven somewhere around midnight. Salvatores himself, an Italian filmmaker with a Spanish surname, has never shot anything like this before or since. I think if he had been told that his work would be Oscar-winning, he would have been very surprised. It's as if it wasn't an accident.

Another mistake is the annotation that accompanies the picture here. (Incidentally, there is no legal copy in Russia either.) After that, there is no desire to look. I think most people have done that... You can retell the film, but you do not need to - only spoil the intrigue. There is. Some people may think that the beginning is a little long. Maybe. Anyone who watches the movie to the end will have to watch it. More than once!
And if in a nutshell: this is a film about the fact that in harsh conditions the hero may not be a textured athlete, but a modest and without physical advantages, but a strong person. This painting is imbued with a genuine Italian spirit. As well as universally human. War or political correctness has nothing to do with it. In Italy, this film is almost popular. He's loved in Greece. If you want to know why, look.

This film ends with a mistake: "dedicated to everyone who runs," says a male voice behind the scenes. This book has nothing to do with the author’s plan.

PS: Dedicated to fugitives!