“Il Postino,” or “The Postman” in English, is a haunting love story set in Italy in 1953. This is a story of a postman who learns to enjoy poetry from an exiled Chilean poet he delivers mail to. He uses his friend’s poetry to woo a beautiful girl he is in love with.
Director Michael Radford (“Nineteen Eighty-Four” 1984) has quite a gem of a motion picture on his hands. The humorous and dramatic screenplay was written by Radford, Anna Pavignano, Furio Scarpelli, Giacomo Scarpelli, and Massimo Troisi, the film’s star. It was adapted from the 1985 novel “Ardiente Paciencia” by Antonio Skarmeta.
Massimo Troisi’s performance as the postman is outstanding. Others in the cast also do an excellent job: Philippe Noiret, Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Linda Moretti, Mariano Rigillo, Renato Scarpa, Anna Bonaluto, Simona Caparrini, Michael Diana, and Sergio Solli.
“Il Postino” did quite well at the box office for a consortium of Italian and French production companies, along with Miramax International, Buena Vista International, and The Walt Disney Company. It won one Academy Award for Best Original Dramatic Score.
An unfortunate footnote to “Il Postino” is that the star and co-writer Massimo Troisi postponed heart surgery to complete the film, and the day after the movie shooting was completed, he suffered a heart attack and passed away at the age of 41.
Il Postino (1994)
cinema
My Review
“Il Postino,” or “The Postman” in English, is a haunting love story set in Italy in 1953. This is a story of a postman who learns to enjoy poetry from an exiled Chilean poet he delivers mail to. He uses his friend’s poetry to woo a beautiful girl he is in love with.
Director Michael Radford (“Nineteen Eighty-Four” 1984) has quite a gem of a motion picture on his hands. The humorous and dramatic screenplay was written by Radford, Anna Pavignano, Furio Scarpelli, Giacomo Scarpelli, and Massimo Troisi, the film’s star. It was adapted from the 1985 novel “Ardiente Paciencia” by Antonio Skarmeta.
Massimo Troisi’s performance as the postman is outstanding. Others in the cast also do an excellent job: Philippe Noiret, Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Linda Moretti, Mariano Rigillo, Renato Scarpa, Anna Bonaluto, Simona Caparrini, Michael Diana, and Sergio Solli.
“Il Postino” did quite well at the box office for a consortium of Italian and French production companies, along with Miramax International, Buena Vista International, and The Walt Disney Company. It won one Academy Award for Best Original Dramatic Score.
An unfortunate footnote to “Il Postino” is that the star and co-writer Massimo Troisi postponed heart surgery to complete the film, and the day after the movie shooting was completed, he suffered a heart attack and passed away at the age of 41.