Truffaut famously commented on the difficulty of making a truly anti-war movie: war, he argued, is inherently cinematic and will therefore look rousing and compelling on screen. A few films succeed, though: some are masterpieces like Paths of Glory and Kagemusha, others interesting smaller movies like this one.
Elegantly shot and moving with a slow, deliberate pace, Il Mestiere delle Armi is set in 16th century Italy and follows Giovanni de' Medici (a very fine Christo Jivkov), leader of the papal army fighting against imperial forces.
The real power of the film lies in its somber, understated tone. Armies roam around a grimy, foggy country, with a growing sense of dread. Fights are sparse, coming in random sudden bursts and leaving ugly results behind them.
The main fight director Olmi focuses on is the one against death: as several characters in Seven Samurai, Giovanni is wounded by firearms, the same weapons which would eventually make men like him obsolete, and, in the most heroic act seen in the movie, faces with quiet dignity his end.
7,5/10
Elegantly shot and moving with a slow, deliberate pace, Il Mestiere delle Armi is set in 16th century Italy and follows Giovanni de' Medici (a very fine Christo Jivkov), leader of the papal army fighting against imperial forces.
The real power of the film lies in its somber, understated tone. Armies roam around a grimy, foggy country, with a growing sense of dread. Fights are sparse, coming in random sudden bursts and leaving ugly results behind them.
The main fight director Olmi focuses on is the one against death: as several characters in Seven Samurai, Giovanni is wounded by firearms, the same weapons which would eventually make men like him obsolete, and, in the most heroic act seen in the movie, faces with quiet dignity his end.
7,5/10