Baarìa - La porta del vento
Encyclopedia
Baarìa is a 2009 Italian film directed by Giuseppe Tornatore
. It was the opening film of the 66th Venice International Film Festival
in September 2009.
, from the 1920s to the 1980s, through the eyes of lovers Peppino (Francesco Scianna) and Mannina (Margareth Madè).
A Sicilian family depicted across three generations: from Cicco to his son Peppino to his grandson Pietro… Touching lightly upon the private lives of these characters and their families, the film evokes the loves, dreams and disappointments of an entire community in the province of Palermo
over five decades: during the Fascist period
, Cicco is a humble shepherd who, however, finds time to pursue his passion: books, epic poems, the great popular romance novels. In the days when people go hungry and during World War II, his son Peppino witnesses injustice by mafiosi
and landowners, and becomes a communist
. After the war, he encounters the woman of his life. Her family opposes the relationship because of his political ideas, but the two insist and get married, and have children.
Subplots include one about a boy running an errand, a living fly locked inside a top
, three rocks people try to hit in one throw, a man mutilating himself to avoid having to fight in the war, looting while the U.S. invades Sicily
, making clothing from an American parachute, and Peppino's daughter calling her father a fascist for not allowing her to wear a mini-skirt.
Running through the film however is the main subplot concerning the history of the Italian left especially the Communist Party
of which Peppino is a life long member. It charts his fight against injustice and eventual disillusionment in the face of corruption and compromise by his fellow politicians.
Film Festival.
The film was shot in both Bagheria
, in the province of Palermo
, Sicily
and in an old neighborhood of Tunis
, Tunisia
; the latter location used because it could better depict what Bagheria looked like in the early 20th century.
The title of the film, Baaria, is actually Sicilian slang for Bagheria where Tornatore was born.
(with Italian and English subtitles); the second dubbed in Italian
.
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in the Best Foreign Language Film category.
It was also the Italian entry for the 2010 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
but did not get the nomination.
Such a scene could not have been shot in Italy, because of laws against the unethical treatment of animals in media production. That part of the movie was filmed in Tunisia, where there are no such restrictions.
Thereafter the ENPA (National Association of Animal Protection) demanded the immediate withdrawal of all copies distributed in theatres "to avoid the exposition of minors to such disgusting and fearful images", as the film is rated for an unrestricted audience. Again according to the ENPA, although the scene was filmed in Tunisia thus bypassing the Italian law, after application to the Minister of Justice, the prosecution can still take place in Italy. In October 2009, the ENPA started an international boycott campaign against the film and an online petition asking to revoke the designation of the movie as Italian entry to the Oscars.
Responding to these critics, director Giuseppe Tornatore clarified that the location in Tunisia was not intended to bypass Italian regulations, and that the animal was not specifically killed for the film. The scene was filmed in a local slaughterhouse and the killing was one of the many that take place there every day.
Giuseppe Tornatore
-Life and career:Born in Bagheria near Palermo, Tornatore developed an interest in acting and the theatre from at least the age of 16 and put on works by Luigi Pirandello and Eduardo De Filippo.He worked initially as a freelance photographer...
. It was the opening film of the 66th Venice International Film Festival
66th Venice International Film Festival
The 66th annual Venice Film Festival held in Venice, Italy, was opened on September 2, 2009 by Baarìa - La porta del vento. International competition jury, led by Ang Lee, awarded Leone d'Oro to Lebanon...
in September 2009.
Plot
The film recounts life in the Sicilian town of BaarìaBagheria
Bagheria is a town and comune in the Province of Palermo in Sicily, Italy.-Etymology:According to some sources, the name Bagheria originates from the Phoenician term Bayharia meaning "land that descends toward the sea." Other sources claim that it derives from the Arabic Bāb al-Gerib, or "windy...
, from the 1920s to the 1980s, through the eyes of lovers Peppino (Francesco Scianna) and Mannina (Margareth Madè).
A Sicilian family depicted across three generations: from Cicco to his son Peppino to his grandson Pietro… Touching lightly upon the private lives of these characters and their families, the film evokes the loves, dreams and disappointments of an entire community in the province of Palermo
Province of Palermo
The Province of Palermo is a province in the autonomous region of Sicily, a major island in Southern Italy. Its capital is the city of Palermo. The Province of Palermo has 82 comuni , 1,239,272 inhabitants, and is 4,992 km² .-External links:...
over five decades: during the Fascist period
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...
, Cicco is a humble shepherd who, however, finds time to pursue his passion: books, epic poems, the great popular romance novels. In the days when people go hungry and during World War II, his son Peppino witnesses injustice by mafiosi
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
and landowners, and becomes a communist
Communist Party of Italy
The Communist Party of Italy was a communist political party in Italy which existed from 1921 to 1926. That year it was outlawed by Benito Mussolini's fascist regime. In 1943, the name was changed to the Italian Communist Party.-Foundation:The forerunner of the party was the Communist Faction...
. After the war, he encounters the woman of his life. Her family opposes the relationship because of his political ideas, but the two insist and get married, and have children.
Subplots include one about a boy running an errand, a living fly locked inside a top
Top
A top is a toy that can be spun on an axis, balancing on a point. This motion is produced in the most simple forms of top by twirling the stem using the fingers. More sophisticated tops are spun by by holding the axis firmly while pulling a string or twisting a stick or pushing an auger as shown...
, three rocks people try to hit in one throw, a man mutilating himself to avoid having to fight in the war, looting while the U.S. invades Sicily
Allied invasion of Sicily
The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis . It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.Husky began on the night of...
, making clothing from an American parachute, and Peppino's daughter calling her father a fascist for not allowing her to wear a mini-skirt.
Running through the film however is the main subplot concerning the history of the Italian left especially the Communist Party
Italian Communist Party
The Italian Communist Party was a communist political party in Italy.The PCI was founded as Communist Party of Italy on 21 January 1921 in Livorno, by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party . Amadeo Bordiga and Antonio Gramsci led the split. Outlawed during the Fascist regime, the party played...
of which Peppino is a life long member. It charts his fight against injustice and eventual disillusionment in the face of corruption and compromise by his fellow politicians.
Production
The film was first announced during the 2007 TaorminaTaormina
Taormina is a comune and small town on the east coast of the island of Sicily, Italy, in the Province of Messina, about midway between Messina and Catania. Taormina has been a very popular tourist destination since the 19th century...
Film Festival.
The film was shot in both Bagheria
Bagheria
Bagheria is a town and comune in the Province of Palermo in Sicily, Italy.-Etymology:According to some sources, the name Bagheria originates from the Phoenician term Bayharia meaning "land that descends toward the sea." Other sources claim that it derives from the Arabic Bāb al-Gerib, or "windy...
, in the province of Palermo
Province of Palermo
The Province of Palermo is a province in the autonomous region of Sicily, a major island in Southern Italy. Its capital is the city of Palermo. The Province of Palermo has 82 comuni , 1,239,272 inhabitants, and is 4,992 km² .-External links:...
, Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
and in an old neighborhood of Tunis
Tunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
, Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
; the latter location used because it could better depict what Bagheria looked like in the early 20th century.
The title of the film, Baaria, is actually Sicilian slang for Bagheria where Tornatore was born.
Language
The film has two versions, the original in the local Baariotu dialect of SicilianSicilian language
Sicilian is a Romance language. Its dialects make up the Extreme-Southern Italian language group, which are spoken on the island of Sicily and its satellite islands; in southern and central Calabria ; in the southern parts of Apulia, the Salento ; and Campania, on the Italian mainland, where it is...
(with Italian and English subtitles); the second dubbed in Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
.
Cast
- Francesco SciannaFrancesco SciannaFransceco Scianna is an italian actor.- External links :...
as Peppino - Margareth MadèMargareth MadèMargareth Madè born Margareth Tamara Maccarrone is an italian model and actress. She uses her artist name because her own familyname gives to much associations with pasta...
as Mannina. - Raoul BovaRaoul BovaRaoul Bova is an Italian actor.Bova was born in Rome to Calabrian parents. At the age of 16 he became a local champion in the 100 meter backstroke. At the age of 21 he joined the Italian Army and performed his military duty in the Bersaglieri corps...
as Romano, a reporter. - Ángela MolinaÁngela MolinaÁngela Molina is a Spanish actress, and a daughter of Antonio Molina, Spanish singer and actor.Molina studied dance and theater art in the Escuela Superior de Madrid. She rose to international prominence after starring in Luis Buñuel's last movie That Obscure Object of Desire...
as grown-up Sarina. - Enrico Lo VersoEnrico Lo VersoEnrico Lo Verso is an Italian actor.He studied acting at Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia and INDA|Istituto Nazionale del Dramma Antico.-Filmography:* Atto di dolore * Nulla ci può fermare...
as Minicu - Luigi Lo CascioLuigi Lo CascioLuigi Lo Cascio is an Italian actor born 20 October 1967 in Palermo.He won David di Donatello for Best actor for his starring role in I cento passi.-Filmography:*2000: I cento passi*2001: Luce dei miei occhi...
as youngster with Down syndrome. - Laura ChiattiLaura ChiattiLaura Chiatti is an Italian actress and singer. She is the leading lady in two successful movies: Ho voglia di te, alongside Riccardo Scamarcio, and Paolo Sorrentino's third movie The Family Friend. The latter was entered into the 2006 Cannes Film Festival...
as a student. - Beppe Fiorello as moneychanger.
- Nicole GrimaudoNicole GrimaudoNicole Grimaudo is an actress born on 22 April 1980, in Caltagirone, Sicily, Italy. She began her career on the Italian television show "Non è la Rai" in 1994-1995, and later moved to TV and cinema films and theatre....
as Sarina - Leo Gullotta as Liborio
- Gisella MarengoGisella MarengoGisella Marengo is an Italian actress. Marengo played the role of Nurse Nicu in the 2005 thriller Mary, and Matilde in the 2009 comedy Baarìa – La porta del vento. In 2010 it was reported that she would be playing the role of "witch mother" to Rose McGowan's character Marique in the upcoming 2011...
as Matilde - Gabriele LaviaGabriele LaviaGabriele Lavia is an Italian actor, film director and theatre director.Lavia was born in Milan, Lombardy. Since 1970 he has had roles in nearly thirty films and television programs...
Nominations and Awards
Nominated to the 2010 Golden Globe67th Golden Globe Awards
The 67th Golden Globe Awards was telecasted live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on Sunday, January 17, 2010 by NBC, from 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM and 8:00PM – 11:00 PM . The ceremonies were hosted by Ricky Gervais, and were broadcast live for the first time.Nominations were...
in the Best Foreign Language Film category.
It was also the Italian entry for the 2010 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
82nd Academy Awards
The 82nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , honored the best films of 2009 and took place March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. The ceremony was scheduled well after...
but did not get the nomination.
Controversy
In Italy, the Lega Antivivisezione (an anti-animal cruelty group) has condemned the actual on-screen killing of a cow visible in the Italian trailer. The animal was killed with an iron punch driven in the skull without any pain-relief technique, and then seen bleeding to death while some actors collect and drink its blood.Such a scene could not have been shot in Italy, because of laws against the unethical treatment of animals in media production. That part of the movie was filmed in Tunisia, where there are no such restrictions.
Thereafter the ENPA (National Association of Animal Protection) demanded the immediate withdrawal of all copies distributed in theatres "to avoid the exposition of minors to such disgusting and fearful images", as the film is rated for an unrestricted audience. Again according to the ENPA, although the scene was filmed in Tunisia thus bypassing the Italian law, after application to the Minister of Justice, the prosecution can still take place in Italy. In October 2009, the ENPA started an international boycott campaign against the film and an online petition asking to revoke the designation of the movie as Italian entry to the Oscars.
Responding to these critics, director Giuseppe Tornatore clarified that the location in Tunisia was not intended to bypass Italian regulations, and that the animal was not specifically killed for the film. The scene was filmed in a local slaughterhouse and the killing was one of the many that take place there every day.