Review #519 - Baaria (2010)
THE SCOOP
Director:
Giuseppe Tornatore
Cast: Francesco Scianna, Margareth Madè, Lina Sastri
Cast: Francesco Scianna, Margareth Madè, Lina Sastri
Plot: Baaria
is Sicilian slang for Bagheria where Tornatore was born and this is an
autobiographic epic of three generations in the Sicilian village where he was
born.
Genre: Comedy / Drama
Awards: Won Best Director (Venice). Nom. for Golden Globe - Best Foreign Language Film.
Runtime: 150min
Rating: M18 for a scene of strong violence, some sexuality, and coarse language.
IN RETROSPECT (Spoilers: NO)
Giuseppe Tornatore, the
director of Cinema Paradiso (1989), one of the greatest films ever
made, has made Baaria, a
150-minute long drama that spans more than six decades in the life of the
film’s lead character, Peppino Torrenuova.
Based on memories of the Sicilian village the Italian director
was born into, Baaria is an autobiography of sorts that
documents the lives of people who have been affected by social and political
revolutions of the last century, and as seen through the eyes of the Torrenuova
family.
Shot in Italy and Tunisia in which a full set of a Sicilian
village was built from scratch, Baaria is visually captivating.
Tornatore creates a feeling of vibrant nostalgia by having most of the
scenes drenched in bright yellow as if memories of the past have been lighted
up by a powerful flashlight.
The film may be attractive to look at, but the lack of emotional
power undermines the filmmaker’s attempt to recreate Cinema Paradiso all over again. The most glaring
flaw of Baaria that limits its emotional power is its
uninspired editing.
It is ironic that even with such a long running time, the film
has inadequate character development. The editing is such that the film
is broken up into about twenty sequences of similar length and is merged
together through the fade out-fade in technique. Thus, it is like
watching a slideshow of beautiful images.
Ennio Morricone once again creates a beautiful score that is
slow and mournful. It is, however, let down by the film’s lack of
interest in connecting with the viewer. Interestingly, Baaria is a film in which the sum is more
than the parts that add up to it. The last fifteen minutes finally
reveals the scope of Tornatore’s vision for Baaria,
which until then seems like an enlarged postcard with stunning images, but
without the words that would reveal the sender’s emotions.
While he seeks to look back into the past, he also wishes to
equate a lifetime of memories to a split-second afterthought, highlighting the
fact that time passes too quickly for us to appreciate each moment on its own,
of which the medium of cinema can only suggest but not replicate.
Through some heavy symbolism and instances of magical realism,
Tornatore makes us aware of the medium at work. Baaria, for all of
its editing shortcomings, appears to transcend them by the time the end credits
roll.
Unfortunately, the parts that make up the film still linger unsatisfactorily in the mind. Baaria is Tornatore’s love letter to his hometown. It is done with lots of love, but sadly, it just doesn’t come out as such on the big screen.
Unfortunately, the parts that make up the film still linger unsatisfactorily in the mind. Baaria is Tornatore’s love letter to his hometown. It is done with lots of love, but sadly, it just doesn’t come out as such on the big screen.
GRADE: C+ (6.5/10 or 3 stars)
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