AT THE CINEMA - TORNERANNO I PRATI - WWI SEEN BY ERMANNO OLMI

Why this movie now? Not only to join the celebrations of  WWI 100th anniversary. At  83, one of the greatest contemporary Italian directors, Ermanno Olmi,  makes up his mind to direct a new  “useful” movie, committed and lyrical at the same time, which is a visual poem against all and any war. In “Torneranno i prati”, each frame is poetic imagery and each line is true poetry wrapped in simple, direct words. 

War is absurd and terrifying. This is something Olmi has always been convinced of, since he and his brother were made the addressees of painful war tales by their own father, a veteran from WWI, who had experienced the trenches in first person.

TIME FOR A GOOD MOVIE - THE RAILWAY MAN (2014)

It is impossible not to think of war these days. Press and TV news keep our minds and hearts in constant worry. Though I usually avoid writing or discussing breaking news or politics here on my blog , today I’m going to tell you about  this beautiful movie I have just seen, with all my heart to the news coming from the several open fighting fronts.

War is no game. War leaves a mark. Eric Lomax , like many other surviving soldiers,  lived haunted by his war memories all his life through, as if war never actually ended in his mind and his heart. The Railway Man, based on Lomax’s autobiography,  will come out in September 2014  here in Italy as “Le due vie del destino”, but it opened theatrically on New Year’s Day in the UK and , in the US,   in April 2014.  It is already available on DVD at amazon.co.uk and,  from August 12,   it will be at amazon.com too.

ADDING REALISM: ARE SOME PERIOD MOVIES TOO GORY?

Photo by Jonathan Kos-Read

(by guest blogger Ken Meyer)

Like any other entertainment genre, there is a certain following for gory horror movies. While some may not understand why the need for such detail is attractive for many, the amount of "blood" within a movie can suggest its popularity with those that enjoy the...entertainment. However, some movies were critically acclaimed by using the gore to add realism when telling a story. This is especially true when developing period specific movies that have undertones of being true. 

Gore in the War - The opening scenes to "Saving Private Ryan" demonstrated how bloody the Second World War actually was. Involving an almost artistic style to creating a realistic effect, the movie depicted parts of the war that are commonly overlooked. It was more than explosions of tanks and planes going down in the ocean. The movie provided a taste of what it would be like to be faced in similar situations through the 1940s in Europe. In this respect, the blood and displayed internal organs moved from the impact of "gore" to that of "art." However, was this gore viewed more artistically simply because it was a movie about World War II?