Somebody else almost always has it worse, “Terraferma” reminds us, but that’s not a comfort in this latest film from Emanuele Crialese. Far from it. For a fisherman and his family struggling to make a living in the 21st century on a Sicilian island, a flood of illegal African immigrants brings moral questions and other complications to their doorstep. Playing out the consequences of that encounter on the family yields dramatic moments of decision, but what comes afterward feels more like a show of resolve than compelling drama. While the blaze of sun and the glittering sea bottled on screen are invigorating, Mr. Crialese plunks down a familiar old-ways/new-ways story. The bearded patriarch, Ernesto (Mimmo Cuticchio), wants to keep fishing with his adolescent grandson, Filippo (Filippo Pucillo). Ernesto’s son, who organizes parties and activities for tourists, says the boat would make more money when junked for scrap. Ernesto’s daughter, Giulietta (Donatella Finocchiaro) — Filippo’s young-looking mother — opts for renting out rooms. When Ernesto and Filippo happen upon a boat of refugees, they find that their altruistic impulses put them at odds with the police. Giulietta does her part, secretly harboring a pregnant Ethiopian (Timnit T., a real-life refugee) at the same time she’s hosting three young Italian weekenders. Mr. Crialese, who also directed “Respiro” off the coast of Sicily and the trans-Atlantic immigrant’s tale “Golden Door,” makes an effort to ennoble his subjects. A dinner scene is delicately rendered with chiaroscuro lighting, while alternating head-on shots during tense conversations between Timnit T. and Ms. Finocchiaro seem intended to confront the audience with the gravity of the situation. Even the film’s title invites comparison to “La Terra Trema,” Luchino Visconti’s 1948 Marxist-neorealist classic about fishermen under the thumb of middlemen. But it’s rare for Mr. Crialese’s political conscience to translate into an organic emotional payoff. One such scene does come after Filippo’s moonlit boat date with a visiting tourist is nightmarishly interrupted by another tide of refugees, with grim consequences the next morning. It’s a striking moment, as is the film’s boldly prolonged final shot of a boat alone at sea. But as “Terraferma” tightens its focus on a courageous resolution of tough issues, too much nuance is jettisoned along the way.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Jul 2013 20:15:03 +0000
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