"Bandits of Orgosolo"; Vittorio De Seta (Italy, 1961): Days of Glory: Revisting Italian Neorealism December 12, 2010

Bandits of Orgosolo; Vittorio De Seta (Italy, 1961): Days of Glory: Revisting Italian Neorealism Film - Series | December 12 | 3-4:45 p.m. | Pacific Film Archive Theater
Sponsor: Pacific Film Archive
(Banditi a Orgosolo). Set in the remote Sardinian countryside, De Setas first feature is as spare as the surrounding mountains, unforgiving in their barren majesty. In this trying expanse lives Michele, a simple shepherd who wants nothing more than to tend his flock. Wrongly associated with bandits, Michele, along with his twelve-year-old brother Peppeddu, flees with his sole possessions, the sheep, driving them across the bleak mountains to evade the carabinieri. Cast with nonprofessional actors, Bandits of Orgosolo has the stark authenticity of neorealism, lyrically heightened by De Setas austere but beautiful photography. The film, however, is not really about an injustice leading to calamitous results, but about the delicate social and moral order that allows Michele to persist ever so precariously upon the land. Tilt that balance just slightly and the age-old order fails. Often compared to poetic works like Robert Flahertys Louisiana Story (1948), De Setas great film shares in their romantic innocence, now tempered by a more worldly sense of outrage.Steve Seid

Written by De Seta, Vera Gherarducci. Photographed by De Seta. With Michele Cossu, Peppeddu Cuccu, Vittorina Pisano. (98 mins, In Italian with English subtitles, B&W, 35mm, From Cinecitt Luce S.p.A., permission RAI Cinema)
Tickets required: $9.50 Adults (18-64), $6.50 UC Berkeley faculty and staff, non-UC Berkeley students, senior citizens (65 & over), disabled persons, and youth (17 & under), $5.50 BAM/PFA members and UC Berkeley students Ticket info: Buy tickets online, or by calling 510-642-5249.
Event Contact: bampfa@berkeley.edu, 510-643-2197

Official Website: http://events.berkeley.edu/index.php?event_ID=35908&date=2010-12-12&tab=all_events