The earth is shaking
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The earth is shaking |
| Original title | La terra trema |
| Country of production | Italy |
| original language |
Italian Sicilian |
| Publishing year | 1948 |
| length | 165 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Luchino Visconti |
| script |
Antonio Pietrangeli Luchino Visconti |
| production |
Salvo d'Angelo Renato Silvestri |
| music | Willy Ferrero |
| camera | Aldo Graziati |
| cut | Mario Serandrei |
| occupation | |
| |
The earth quakes (original title: La terra trema ) is a film by Luchino Visconti , shot in Sicily in 1948 . It is one of the most important films of Italian neorealism and is based on the novel I Malavoglia by Giovanni Verga . The subject of the film is the hard life of fishermen in a small Sicilian village in the post-war period.
action
The villagers have lived from fishing for generations. When the young fisherman Ntoni Valastro realizes how they are all betrayed and exploited by the fishmongers, his displeasure grows more and more and if there is an argument, he and his friends throw the dealers and their “wrong” scales into the water. The traders forego a trial because they rely on the work of the fishermen, and Ntoni becomes aware of his own power and strength.
He secretly takes out a mortgage on his parents' house, buys a boat and starts fishing for his own account. First of all, it asserts itself successfully and profitably. But soon he and his family find themselves in even greater poverty and dependency than before, because a violent storm destroys his boat. Ntoni has to bow again to the dictates and harassment of the traders.
script
Visconti planned the film as the first part of a trilogy entitled “The earth quakes”. The film about the fishermen was to be followed by two more films about the situation of the sulfur workers and the farmers in Sicily.
Although Visconti pledged parts of his private property in order to carry out the planned property, he failed because of the financing and was only able to realize the first part.
Filming
The black and white film was shot in Aci Trezza , the small fishing port of Aci Castello near Catania . Visconti worked exclusively with amateur actors from the area. The dialogues in Sicilian are commented in the film by a narrator in Italian . Francesco Rosi and Franco Zeffirelli worked as assistant directors .
Reviews
Lexicon of International Films described the film as a “masterpiece” that was “a socially engaged and humanly gripping masterpiece of neorealism”. “For the first time in Italian cinema”, “a fictional film allows the language of its characters to be perceived directly, unaffected and unfiltered - an unparalleled documentary authenticity.”
35 millimeter text on international film art: “Visconti describes the struggle of Sicilian fishermen against exploitation with great sensitivity and psychological urgency. The film shows itself to be much more designed than the Rossellinis or de Sicas, which theoretically seems to contradict the realistic basic idea of Italian neorealism. But in fact, he finds a polished expression here that does not detract from its effect. "
Awards
In 1948 Visconti's film was nominated for the Golden Lion (then: Lion of San Marco) at the Venice International Film Festival .
Web links
- The earth trembles at the Internet Movie Database (English)
- More information and reviews
Individual evidence
- ↑ The earth trembles. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .