Weekend films

'Vermilion', a moving family drama at the time of the Second World War

Maura Delpero's film, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival, arrives in cinemas.

20 September 2024

3' min read

From its surprising success at the Venice Film Festival to its release in Italian cinemas: two weeks after winning the prestigious Grand Jury Prize at the Lido, Maura Delpero's 'Vermiglio' arrives at the cinema in the hope of convincing even those audiences who were not present in the lagoon during the festival days.

The title refers to the name of the small mountain village in which the story is set. We are in the last year of the Second World War, when the equilibrium of a family is put to the test by the arrival of a refugee soldier.

The daughter of an eccentric schoolteacher, Lucia falls in love and becomes pregnant by the newly arrived boy: the two will marry, but the young woman will soon have an unpleasant surprise that threatens to bring her and, consequently, her whole family down.

Five years after her debut with the interesting 'Maternal', Maura Delpero raises the bar by making a profound and personal film, with which she returns to investigate the theme of motherhood, treated both from a biological perspective and through a more symbolic reflection.

Just when peace is finally arriving in the world, paradoxically in the protagonist family it is as if the serenity created with hard work during those years is slowly fading away: the war thus becomes a way of reflecting on the fragility of human beings, on the weaknesses but also on the strength we are capable of in moments that are seemingly completely hopeless.

“Vermiglio” e gli altri film della settimana
Photogallery4 foto

The relationship with nature

In addition to the relationships between the various figures narrated, the relationship between the characters and nature is equally important: the passing of the seasons becomes a metaphor for the emotional state, and the staging is particularly powerful in representing this through a series of passages of extraordinary visual strength.

It is more images than words that tell the story of what the protagonists feel in this successful feature film that has photography as one of its greatest strengths, particularly the excellent play of light.

Not all sequences are necessary (a few moments in the second half are also too didactic), but the overall strength of the film is evident and the conclusion succeeds in moving in a sincere and spontaneous manner.

Excellent work by the entire cast, well directed by a director whose next projects we look forward to seeing.

Finalement

Also from the Venice Film Festival comes 'Finalement', a new film by Claude Lelouch starring Kad Merad.

The French actor plays a man who suddenly gives up (almost) everything to embark on an adventurous journey through France. Marked by many important encounters, this deeply existential journey will make him understand many things about life and himself.

"Everything that happens to us is for our own good!": a phrase, used to launch the film during the Festival, that represents a kind of slogan for this bittersweet comedy, enjoyable and capable of leaving the viewer with much food for thought.

Along the character's journey, there are fluctuating moments and some reasoning runs the risk of being superficial, but the overall design of the feature film remains incisive and even capable of shaking one's head with some interesting, brilliantly written conversations.

An excellent performance by Merad in a film that also seems to be a summation of many themes in the career of Lelouch, a great French author - born in 1937 - who over the years has given us many important titles, from 'A Man, a Woman' (1966) to 'Les Miserables' (1995), via the famous short film 'A Date' (1976).