Miracle in Milan
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| Miracle in Milan | |
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 Theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | Vittorio De Sica |
| Produced by | Vittorio De Sica |
| Written by | Cesare Zavattini Vittorio De Sica Suso Cecchi d'Amico Mario Chiari Adolfo Franci Story: Cesare Zavattini |
| Starring | Emma Gramatica Francesco Golisano |
| Music by | Alessandro Cicognini |
| Cinematography | Aldo Graziati |
| Editing by | Eraldo Da Roma |
| Distributed by | Criterion Collection |
| Release date(s) | Feb. 8, 1951 |
| Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | Italy |
| Language | Italian |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Miracle in Milan (Italian: Miracolo a Milano) (1951) is an Italian film directed by Vittorio de Sica. The screenplay was co-written by Cesare Zavattini, based on his novel Totò il Buono. The picture stars Francesco Golisano, Emma Gramatica, Francesco Golisano, Paolo Stoppa, and Guglielmo Barnabò.[1]
The film, told as a neo-realist fable, explains the lives of a poverty-stricken motley group in post-war Milan, Italy.
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[edit] Plot
This fantasy tale tells of Totò, who is found in a cabbage patch and adopted by an old women named Lolotta. He later moves to an orphanage because Lolotta passes away.
The film moves forward to when he's eighteen years of age and Totò (Francesco Golisano) leaves the orphanage and begins to live in a shantytown in Milan.
Totò's organizational skills, learned at the orphanage and from Lolotta, brings structure to the colony and brings a sense of small happiness and well being among the depressed folk.
When Totò is given a magic dove by the ghost of his adoptive mother, he uses its powers to grant wishes to those who ask. The dove, however, is taken back by two angels who object to a mortal having possession of it.
The land where Totò's and his friends live is taken over by capitalists after oil is found there and they're all taken away to prison in horse-drawn paddy wagons. On the way to prison, however, a dove is returned to Totò and his wish for the freedom of his friends is granted. In a historical cinematic scene they escape into the sky, arguably to heaven, on brooms pinched from street sweepers in a town square.
[edit] Background
Vittorio De Sica wrote that he made the film in order to show how the "common man" can exist given the realities of life. He wrote, "It is true that my people have already attained happiness after their own fashion; precisely because they are destitute, these people still feel--as the majority of ordinary men perhaps no longer do--the living warmth of a ray of winter sunshine, the simple poetry of the wind. They greet water with the same pure joy as Saint Francis did."[2]
The Milan Cathedral serves as a focal location for the film, and also can be viewed as symbolic of the miracle to which the film's title refers. [3]
American special effects specialist Ned Mann was hired to create the special effects for the film. The picture would be Mann's final project.[4]
[edit] Casting
Vittorio De Sica, in neo-realist fashion, used both professional and non-professional actors.[5]
[edit] Cast
- Emma Gramatica as La vecchia Lolotta
- Francesco Golisano as Totò
- Paolo Stoppa as Rappi
- Guglielmo Barnabò as Mobbi
- Brunella Bovo as Edvige
- Anna Carena as Marta, la signora altezzosa
- Alba Arnova as La statua che prende vita
- Flora Cambi as L'innamorata infelice
- Virgilio Riento as Il sergente delle guardie
- Arturo Bragaglia as Alfredo
- Erminio Spalla as Gaetano
- Riccardo Bertazzolo as L'atleta
- Checco Rissone as Il comandante in secondo
- Angelo Prioli as Il comandante in primo
- Gianni Branduani as Totò at eleven years
[edit] Distribution
The film premiered in Italy on February 8, 1951. Later it was presented at the Cannes Film Festival in April, 1951. In the United States it opened wide on December 17, 1951.
[edit] Critical reception
Bosley Crowther, film critic for The New York Times, liked the film and wrote, "The rich vein of sly, compassionate humor that Charlie Chaplin and René Clair used to mine with unparalleled genius when they were turning out their best satiric films, has been tapped by Vittorio De Sica in his Miracle in Milan, the widely proclaimed Italian picture that arrived at the World yesterday. And although this uncommon vein of fancy is a way from De Sica's previous line, the great director has brought up from his digging a liberal return of purest gold."[6]
The staff at Variety magazine gave the film a positive review and wrote, "The sharp satire on the oil-greedy industrialist is handled in a broader, perhaps exaggerated manner, and pic is liberally sprinkled with intelligent humor, much of it ironic. Performances by pros and tyros alike are flawless."[7]
[edit] Awards
Wins
- Cannes Film Festival: Grand Prize of the Festival, Vittorio De Sica; 1951.
- Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists: Silver Ribbon; Best Production Design, Guido Fiorini; 1951.
- New York Film Critics Circle Awards: NYFCC Award; Best Foreign Language Film, Italy; 1951.
- National Board of Review: National Board of Review Awards 1951, Best Foreign Films; 1951.
Nominations
- British Academy of Film and Television Arts: BAFTA Film Award, Best Film from any Source, Italy; Best Foreign Actor, Francesco Golisano, Italy; 1952.
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
- ^ Miracle in Milan at the Internet Movie Database.
- ^ De Sica, Vittorio. de Sica: Miracle in Milan. Baltimore, Maryland: Pelican Books, page, 11, 1968.
- ^ Schneider, Rolf (2004). in Manfred Leier: 100 most beautiful cathedrals of the world: A journey through five continents, trans. from German by Susan Ghanouni and Rae Walter, Edison, New Jersey: Chartwell Books, p.11.
- ^ Ned Mann at the Internet Movie Database.
- ^ Miracle in Milan at in black and white.
- ^ Crowther, Bosley. The New York Times, film review, December 18, 1951. Last accessed: January 26, 2008.
- ^ Variety. Film review, 1951. Last accessed: January 26, 2008.
[edit] External links
- Miracolo a Milano at the Internet Movie Database
- Miracolo a Milano at Allmovie
- Miracle in Milan at DVD Beaver (includes images)
- Miracle in Milan clip at You Tube
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