Il posto (1961) User Reviews

Timid youthful hope, followed by a lifetime of quiet desperation

[Asa_Nisi_Masa2 · 9/10 · 6 December 2006]

This is a shimmeringly beautiful, subtle and very powerful movie about all-too-ordinary people aspiring for "a job for life", and falling into an existence which will kill off any inkling of vitality, individuality and creativity in them, day in, day out. Olmi isn't a filmmaker I often see discussed on this website's boards, not even in a context about Italian filmmakers. Along with Mauro Bolognini, another wonderful but seldom-mentioned fellow countryman of Olmi's, he is occasionally mentioned for The Tree of Wooden Clogs, but not much else. I'll confess I'm not overly familiar with Olmi's oeuvre myself - however, since watching his 1961 gem Il Posto about a month ago, I have barely been able to contain myself and have tirelessly recommended it right, left and centre.

The dehumanising effect of the large corporation, with its ant-like clerks and bureaucrats becoming tiny clog in a faceless machine, is a universal and timeless theme, starting probably with Fritz Lang's Metropolis all the way down to Naomi Klein's No Logo. I never cared for Terry Gillam's Brazil, nor did I consider Sam Lowry an adequate embodiment of the "insignificant" clerk. There was something over-styled about him, something which made him ultimately hip and cool, and something gratingly farcical and rhetorical about Brazil and all its characters generally. On the other hand, Il Posto and its protagonist, the ultimate sympathetic wet rag of a clerk, is achingly real, yet at the same time a sublimely beautiful artistic creation that could probably not have been summarised as successfully by a less accomplished filmmaker. The measured, yet powerful visual satire in Il Posto is probably what I'd wished to see in Gillam's movie, and didn't.

The New Year's Eve office party scene is pure genius and should be studied in film school as a cinematic sequence close to technical, thematical, aesthetic and atmospheric perfection. It conveys so much at once: humour, pathos, social satire and extreme loneliness, besides being beautiful to behold and incredibly original cinematography-wise. It is at once highly artistic and entertaining, accessible. Quiet desperation: there's no better way to describe these characters' condition. Though Olmi doesn't spare us their selfishness and pettiness, he never fails to depict them with humanity and respect, thus showing his eye is a disillusioned, but not misanthropic or cynical one.

One of the final scenes in the movie, in which a gaggle of clerks fight for the privilege of sitting at a recently defunct colleague's front desk, is one of the most depressing sights I've set eyes on. And yet, you can't help but feel deeply sorry for these hyenas in cheap suits and neon-pale faces, rather than feel angry or scornful against them. You just want to scream to Domenico to "Get out while you can!!!" The poor, gormless, meek, dork-boy, bumbling through his first taste of a mediocre adulthood, a boy you fear might probably never grow enough of an awareness or backbone to react against such a dehumanising system. Antonietta, also know as Magali, the pretty girl he meets during the company's selection process of the applicants and fast develops an attraction for, seems to have more individuality, more resources to survive the dehumanisation process. But then, you think for a moment about the fact that from a very early age, Domenico had been designated as the one who'd drop out of school early so that he could go out and contribute to the family's meagre income. Meanwhile, his younger brother had been chosen between the two to continue studying, perhaps even get a high school diploma or degree, thus fulfilling himself and improving his lot. One would assume that from childhood, the milder Domenico had been treated as the "dim" one, the one who'd rightfully sacrifice himself to allow his more promising brother to emerge out of their family's working-class, suburban obscurity. The scary part is that this isn't simply a dramatic plot device to increase the pathos - it's so plausible and depressingly true to life for its time and context!

I was also deeply moved and touched by the fleeting appearance of the character of the older, married man who miserably fails the first written test (the one that the corporation's applicants take in an empty, grand old palace, so at odds with the suburban squallor and Northern Italian, typical 1960s industrial modernity). He embodies, epitomises and belongs to pre-economic miracle Italy, back when illiteracy and a rural existence was the norm. Probably either almost illiterate, or unable to apply even the most basic principles of arithmetic, he's a throwback to another era, which had ended roughly around the 1950s. He desperately tries to fit into the city, the burgeoning industrial North, the new Italy, but miserably fails before even getting anywhere. How will he and all those like him survive in this dehumanising shift into a brand new, industrial era? It's heart-breaking. Though Il Posto is also so much about Italy and its staggeringly fast move throughout the 50s and 60s from backward rural country to world industrial power, it remains first and foremost a universal, timeless movie. Very highly recommended.

A Quiet and Humane Document About The Way We Live

[museumofdave · 9/10 · 28 March 2013]

This is a film about ordinary people and it is told in an extraordinary fashion; a young man is not terribly excited to be entering the corporate world--and with good reason. But family and custom and lack of formal education can be persuasive, and so he tests for a position and finds himself in a well-ordered black and white world where individuals count for very little; sounds grim, but director Olmi has a keen eye for the richness of humanity, for the sensitivity of existence, for the quiet celebration of being human. This is a remarkable document, all the more so for being without breathless pacing or minute-by-minute explosions or rounds of gunfire; this is a quiet masterpiece about the richness that can be found by merely observing and the loneliness that is a quintessential part of being human.

Twenty years of schoolin' and they put you on the day shift

[gbill-74877 · 8/10 · 1 September 2018]

This is a quiet film, but it leaves a lasting impression. For the good of his family, a young man (Sandro Panseri) has had to abandon his dream of continuing his education to become a surveyor, and hopes to get a job at a big company that's hiring in Milan. From the moment he steps into a crowded room of other applicants, we feel for him. We can already probably appreciate the anxiety associated with the life transition he's going through, but here it's amplified by the dehumanization of the process and the drones who run it. This continues on when he gets a job there, after which he's put at the same desk with an older worker, and finds that his actual duties are somewhat nebulous. It's so absurd as to be comical, especially as he encounters various forms of petty behavior and bureaucracy in the office.

Lightening the mood a bit is a love interest; he sees a young woman also interviewing (Loredana Detto), and has lunch with her. Even here we sense his awkwardness as he tries to make conversation, and then later struggles to re-connect with her. Panseri registers his feelings very well, often without speaking a word, and it helps that he has such a baby face. The scene where he attends a New Year's Eve party, showing up when only an older couple is present, sits through the somewhat cheesy entertainment, and is cajoled to dance by some kindly older women feels incredibly realistic, and of course this is what director Ermanno Olmi was going for.

Another memorable scene occurs after a worker dies, freeing up a desk for him, but everyone then vies for a better desk, and shifts positions. This may be a little exaggerated, but it is how it feels sometimes in a corporate setting, and the film made me think of Bob Dylan's words "twenty years of schoolin' and they put you on the day shift." There's a deadening of the soul that's taking place here, and while we suspect that the young man will be ok as his life plays out, there is a tinge of sadness in it.

A late Italian Neo-realist masterpiece, of exquisite sensitivity

[robert-temple-1 · 10/10 · 2 September 2014]

This is a marvel of film-making, Director Ermanno Olmi, following in the Neo-realist mode of his predecessor Roberto Rossellini, made this as only his second feature film (his first, TIME STOOD STILL, of 1959, is little known, though apparently excellent; it appears to be unavailable with English subtitles). This film has no frills. It is a brilliantly evocative 'fly on the wall' observation of what it was like at that time in Milan to try to find and retain employment. The sadness, the disappointments, the heartache, the bullying, the exploitation are all observed without comment. The two central performances are by Sandro Panseri as the boy Domenico and Loredana Detto as the girl Anotnietta, both seeking their first jobs, and both ending up at the same huge company where they work in separate buildings and essentially never see each other again, despite having bonded and formed the beginnings of a romance. Panseri's innocent and naked performance is positively inspired, but after appearing in two further films over the subsequent four years, he retired from acting, and today apparently manages a supermarket in Milan. Loredana Detto never acted again, but she married Olmi in 1963, and they have three children. The script for this film was jointly written by Olmi and someone named Ettore Lombardo, who never wrote anything for the cinema again. (One might make a mystery film about what happened to the people involved with Olmi in this film, and call it THE CASE OF THE DISAPPEARING TALENT.) The delicacy of Olmi's handling of this film is miraculous. He realizes the Neo-realist ideal to its full. He gets as 'close to life' as one can reasonably get without being personally involved, and he observes what is happening as if he were an invisible angel monitoring human activity with a helpless sense of melancholy (remember Wim Wenders's WINGS OF DESIRE, 1987, which may have been partially inspired by this earlier style of film-making by the Italians, as Wenders is such a knowledgeable film historian). This film is infinitely sad, but then so is Life.

One of my personal favourites

[anton_d_mannaseh1 · 23 June 2004]

I encountered this film almost accidentally one evening, and was not expecting a lot from it. Certainly, I had no way of knowing in advance what I was in for. With relative indifference I sat down, pressed play, and ended up experiencing one of the greatest movie experiences of my life. I sat in my chair, taking in the film, and was breathless. It never took a wrong step.

As a film-maker myself, I kept a critical watch, waiting for Olmi or one of his actors to misstep. However,I can happily say that 'Il Posto' is a flawless picture. It is deeply moving, visually beautiful, and has a resonating power unlike almost any other film.

I sincerely wish that more people could see and appreciate this picture, and that it was more widely available, because I consider it one of the greatest accomplishments in cinema history. Olmi's beautiful, universal film is worthy of standing alongside the best of Bergman, Kubrick, or Bunuel. Please seek it out!

A magical tale about a young man's initiation into adulthood.

[mireille · 10/10 · 14 June 1999]

This is one of those rare moments in cinema when the picture really is worth a thousand words and the director has the confidence and wisdom to let the film and his actors "speak" for themselves.

We join the film with young Domenico preparing to take the big exam to get on with a firm in the city. If he can pass the test and be hired, he will be set for life--a great thing according to his father.

The film has a way of showing us the range of emotions and doubts that race through the young Domenico's mind as he experiences the city, working life, and even a hint of romance with a beautiful young woman at the firm. The actor is such a natural and we are captured by his sense of wonder that is so effectively conveyed through subtle looks and gestures. And the film is certainly not without its moments of humor--there are wonderful moments throughout that allow us to laugh at the ridiculous nature of the working world and the folly of ordinary people.

This is a true masterpiece of Italian neo-realism and I strongly encourage taking the time to watch it and savor every little nuance. You will be charmed.

an honest and beautiful film

[NiceGuyEddie75 · 10/10 · 11 January 2008]

"Il Posto" is an extremely simple film; by that I do not refer to its intelligence, which is on par with anything written by Sartre or Hobbes, but its way of representing its characters and the environment surrounding them; they are not shown with an emotional and artistic grace, as in a film by Visconti, but rather in a plain (but not dull) and un-grandiloquent way. They are shown not as heroes, or rebels, but rather as ordinary people, with ordinary problems inside of ordinary lives. But even through this simplicity, Ermanno Olmi finds beauty.

It is about a shy and timid young man from a small village trying to get a corporate job in Milan; he meets and falls in love with a beautiful girl who works there; he tries to court her. It is also an extremely (and extremely subtly) political film; we see the day-to-day lives of the middle-aged employees, and their interactions with others. We see the poor, the rich, and those in-between, there interactions and their place in their world, and how they stay that way. It is, as well as an intimate character piece, a film of society, and its flaws.

It's a film of sublime beauty, though not on the surface. Its a film that leaves the viewer with a sense of every emotion possible: humor, sadness, tragedy, innocence, etc. Its a social and emotional documentary-as-fiction. Its a film I wouldn't hesitate to call perfect.

An understated neorealist gem

[Red-125 · 10/10 · 7 September 2003]

Posto, Il (1961)

"Il Posto" (called "The Sound of Trumpets" in the US) is a quiet, sadly humorous movie about the dehumanization of two people who obtain "a job for life" in a major Northern Italian corporation.

Domenico ((Sandro Panseri) and Antonietta (Loredana Detto) are two young adults who meet when both of them apply for a job in Milan. There is definitely a chemistry between the two, and, when both are hired, we expect that their relationship will progress.

The progress of this relationship is confounded when the two are assigned to different buildings, with different shifts and different lunch breaks.

We become aware--before the protagonists do-- that the promise of "a job for life" is a double- edged sword. With the job comes the realization that white collar workers here become cogs in a machine in which boredom and stifling repetition rule.

See this picture because it's a small, quiet, neorealist gem. (Olmi went on to direct "The Tree of Wooden Clogs," one of the finest movies I have ever seen. This early movie shares the quiet, observant quality of Olmi's later masterpiece.)

Fun little movie with really normal characters

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 12 September 2019]

"Il Posto" or "The Job" is an Italian black-and-white movie from 1961 that runs for slightly over 90 minutes and is among the more known works by notable Italian film director Ermanno Olmi, one of his early, but not very early, career efforts. This is ths story of Domenico (physically 60% Tobey Maguire, 30% Timthée Chalamet and 10% Tom Hiddleston) and he is at the center of the film from beginning to end. Early on we find out a bit about his family, then about his crush and finally about his colleagues. So it is a bit strange that the first credit here went to Loredana Detto. I mean she played her part well and probably the middle part in which she is a dominant force is the best the film has to offer, but still kinda strange. I wonder if it had to do with the fact that she married Olmi no less than two years later at a truly young age. When this film was made she was 15 or so and Olmi was 30, but things worked out well for these two and they stayed married for over 55 years until his death in spring last year, so chances are Detto never had another man in her life, at least not until she became a widow. Now lets not go any further into their relationship, but instead focus on the film. Also a bit strange that looking at the credits here on imdb with only these two listed on the front page, you could think it is a two-people movie from beginning to end with all other character being fairly insignificant, but that is not the case. Maybe secondary, even tertiary, but not pointless. The best example is the protagonist's young brother. The two don't have the greatest relationship to be honest compared to other movies with brothers, so there is nothing else there except Olmi telling us that Domenico has a brother. Little more focus is on his parents, but they are also not really what the film is about. We never find out about how (un)well their marriage is going etc. Instead we stay with Domenico, accompany him to a suitability test for an upcoming job he may enter. We see a problem they have to solve. Now I don#t know if it was just me and I don't want to sound full of myself, but it was pretty ridiculous they had an hour to do so and pretty much everybody mannaged the right result it seems. Slightly afterwards, there is a physical exam for all the applicants and eventually our "hero" is reinvited. There he also meets again the girl he has been crushing on for a while, the one played by Detto. The two talk a lot, walk around a bit, but eventually end up in different departments of the company, she as a typist, he as a messenger. And as their lunch time is also not synchronous. Still near the very end, they meet again and we find out there is a party for the employees whhere they may see each other again. So is a happy ending in store? Watch for yourself if so or if realism takes over. If you know a bit about Italian films from that era, then you maybe know the answer vaguely already.

This film felt a bit French at times too, certainly really European. The comedy is nice and was up my alley a lot of the time, so it was a fun watch too, even if it is never in your face. Still moments like the guy who shows our protagonist the ropes was funny, even if he had little to work with. But I liked his comment about how his wife only smiles and likes him at the end of the month when he brings the paycheck. Or the SS coat scene also had me more in stitches than I thought it would. Same about the scene briefly before the main character is employed when we have his future super busy boss there and get to watch (together with Domenico) his fascinating cafee routine that also involves his secretary. In general, this movie is a lot about situational comedy and awkwardness depicting characters' shticks and mannerisms and thus entertainingt he audience. The best example is during the test I mentioned earlier when we see one character who is ready super fast and another older characer who is unable to finish in time even. This is kinda typical Italian stuff from that time. You see it often that in films from that country and era small significant characters (and many of them) get one or two scenes each in which they can shine, which is fine with a film that does not really take itself seriously like this one here, but for more meaningful stuff I am struggling with the approach. Maybe this is also one reason why I did not like the final scene at the New Year's Eve party that much honestly because there were so many characters in here and the one we knew was just a silent shy observer basically, although it was again kinda fun how the lady also wants the boy at their table, but not without his alcoholic beverage gift. The final dancing scene then did nothing for me, even if I felt a bit sorry for Domenico that ge seemingly did not find/get the girl he was longing for. So mission accomplished for the writer I suppose as he got in the emotional connection. But with the next day at work again, the movie goes out on a high note again with this scene when they fight for the best table there. Now that was kinda hilarious. Like animals. And in the end, our Domenico ends up on the table with the struggling light bulb. Oh well that was a bit sobering honestly because even if he got promoted from messenger to accountant finally it does not really seem to be an improvement other than in terms of income, especially not with people looking at the kind mentor he had earlier and the girls who took an interest in him. He may just waste away behind that account table for the next 40 years or more. Yeah a bit sobering and not too happy. Okay that was all then. Overall, a good movie, even if I think that the rating here on imdb is a bit too high, but I've seen worse from that time for sure. Also a bit surprised it got this much awards recognition. Not entirely undeserving though and I am stll surprised the two main actors did not have prolific careers in the decades after this movie. Nice music as well. Go see it. A bit disappointing that this was almost a personal screening for me during my showing, just 2 other people. The reason is probably too that people know Pasolini, Fellini and a handful others when it comes to Italian movies from that time, but Olmi not so much. However, with this film here he proves he should be more famous still then he is nowadays. Watch.

Very rewarding

[highclark · 10/10 · 9 January 2005]

So much of this movie is built around the reserved gestures and stolen glances of the lead character Domenico. We watch Domenico slowly wake up each day while his family wonders if he will pass the testing requirements that will enable him to land a job for life. Domenico's younger brother will be the one who gets to go to school, Domenico, it has been decided will be the one who must work. We see first off how this change in his life makes him somewhat ashamed to travel on the train with others who are going to school. All of this is accomplished with just a look of sadness and shame.

From there we see Domenico enter into the testing process. After entering into a crowded waiting room with all eyes staring through each who enter, Domenico shuffles into the crowd and away from the door and all of the watchful eyes. Every scene becomes another part of a larger process of self discovery.

Domenico falls in love with Antonietta, a girl who is also testing for a job. While having coffee on a lunch break, the girl shares her spoon with Domenico and goes so far as to stir his coffee, a scene that plays out not only as an innocent bonding experience, but as subtle sexual foreplay.

In Domenico's world we see him gradually climb the footstool of success, we see him smile a little bit more, we see his generosity to fellow employees and more than anything else, we see him discover where his journey for a job for life has led him.

Very powerful, very moving and very, very rewarding. One of the best films that shows the beauty of the unspoken subtleties of the human condition.10/10.

Clark Richards

A film with a remarkable ending

[JuguAbraham · 7/10 · 5 April 2015]

I am an Olmi fan and consider his later work "The Tree of Wooden Clogs" to be one of my top 10 films of all time.

By comparison, "Il posto" is a minor work of Olmi. Yet it has certain common factors that can be found in most Olmi films--the love for the offspring from the parents, the blooming love of first time lovers, and an honest portrayal of lower middle class Italy. In most Olmi films there is a good dose of Catholicism but in this work it is restrained to a few references.

The end sequence is however remarkable. The film ends with the clackety-clack sound of a stencil copier and no music. It is preceded by a significant and quixotic movement of clerks from one desk to another. Olmi communicates so much to the viewer without a word spoken. This will remain a great end sequence for me.

The job

[jotix100 · 10/10 · 14 November 2006]

Ermanno Olmi was a documentary maker in Italy during the 1950s. His roots were in the neo-realism movement that he, like most film fans, greatly admired and cherished their realistic stories. His arrival in the scene as an important voice was cemented with "Il Posto", a film that established him as a man to be reckoned with.

We had seen a restored copy of this magnificent film when it was shown at New York's Film Forum about four years ago and recently, we decided to take another look of the Criterion DVD, a wonderful transfer that will probably open his work to movie lovers all over. "Il Posto" is a great film because it doesn't pretend to be otherwise. Mr. Olmi, working on the screen play with Ettore Lombardo created a picture of the Italy during the boom after their defeat in WWII, as the country was getting back to the business of reconstruction.

It was about this time that cities like Milan and Turin, in the north of the country, became the centers for manufacturing and commerce. It is in this context that we are taken to meet Domenico Cantoni and his family. They have come to Meda, a suburb of Milan, in search of better paid jobs. In the case of Domenico, scoring a position in one of those giant companies it means steady income and a job for life.

Domenico is a clever young man and passes his math test with flying colors. This is the moment when he first sees another young woman, Magali, who is also taking the test. Domenico likes what he sees, but he is too shy to do anything that will make Magali think less of him. When he receives a notification for further tests and interviews, it appears he has been accepted by the firm. This, in turn, turns to be a situation that changes his hopes for developing some sort of relationship with Magali as they are assigned to two different areas of work. Domenico can't even see Magali during his lunch time because they are assigned to different shifts.

As Domenico, who aspires to be an accountant within the firm, is assigned to be a messenger apprentice, something he clearly doesn't deserve, but he must accept, we follow him around different areas within the company. We are taken to watch the people in one typical accounting department, where older employees bide their time until they can retire. Domenico, who hopes to finally hook up with Magali at the company's New Year's party, is once again disappointed when she never arrives. Instead, he must spend a night surrounded by the same people he will be working with. The final sequence of the film shows how Domenico is able to move to the spot where he will probably spend the rest of his life, in which he, being the youngest, is suddenly the center of the department's ill will.

Sandro Panseri makes a fantastic Domenico. This non-professional actor registers in his face all what is going in his head without great gestures, or other affectations. Domenico conquers the viewer's heart because he is genuine and because we realize the goodness in his soul. Loredana Detto, who appears as Magali also makes an impression.

"Il Posto" is blessed by Pier Emilio Bassi's music score and by the black and white cinematography of Roberto Barbieri and Lamberto Caimi. The film is a triumph for Ermanno Olmi, who captured the ambiance and the gist of that era in a wonderful film that will live forever.

Very much like an Italian reworking of "The Crowd".

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 26 January 2011]

In 1928, King Vidor directed a terrific silent film, "The Crowd". It was about a young couple who live in a big and impersonalized city and it portrays their struggle to maintain their sanity in such a world. In so many ways "Il Posto" is like an updated Italian version of this silent classic.

Ermanno Olmi directs this movie is a sparse and almost documentary style--with very subdued performances and a heightened sense of it just being everyday life. There is no pretty soundtrack, the lighting is often very naturalistic and the acting is very simple and low-key. Some may dislike this, as it does make the movie much slower and less exotic than a typical film--even a typical Italian film. I see it as a further evolution of the Italian Neo-realism style of film making--something that can be super-effective.

Domenico and Antonietta are two very young people (to me they appear about 17) that seek out jobs at a mega-company--one that is very bureaucratic and impersonalized. They not only interview for the jobs but go through very exhaustive testing until they learn that they do have jobs. Much of the film portrays all the many steps needed to obtain the jobs. Unfortunately for Domenico, the job he wants as a clerk is filled, so he takes a job as an office boy until something better is available.

For 93 minutes the film tells the story of these young people. However, there really are never any fireworks or excitement--just a straight telling of this period in their lives. Not surprisingly, the young and not particularly flashy actor and actress that starred in this film had very limited film careers--Loredana Detto (Antoinetta) only appearing in this film and Sandro Panseri (Domenico) only having three credits. They just seemed like ordinary folks--a strength in this movie but not something that will usually cause an acting career to flourish.

Overall, this is a well-made but not particularly exciting film. I can respect the subdued style but wish the film had just a bit more energy--though I can understand that would have most likely not been the sort of film they had envisioned. Its mundane nature IS the point of the film--that life can be very ordinary and monotonous. It just makes for a tough viewing experience, however. If you are very patient, the film is well worth your time.

Decent first half of the film and a messy second half

[askerb · 4/10 · 27 June 2023]

Sometimes I'm a bit conflicted when rating films like this one because I can sort of see why other people would like it in terms of characters, story, cinematography etc.-frankly, I did not enjoy the film very much but I won't be bashing the film and act like whomever appreciates the film is a pretentious pseudointellectual since I myself have watched slow-paced arthouse films that I liked which were deemed pretentious and pseudointellectual by others.

Going into this film I did not have any prior expectations and I actually quite enjoyed it for the film 30-45 minutes or so, but then it became a bit of a blurry snoozefest in my opinion. It felt all over the place and I could not see a coherent theme, it didn't even seem to provide me the satisfaction of phenomenological insight that other neorealist film seemed to be capable of even though other reviews here seem to differ in that regard.

During the second half of the film everything felt cluttered and almost claustrophobic. The office rooms and hallways without windows were incredibly dull and I didn't feel much aesthetic pleasure. Perhaps this was an intentional directional choice to highlight certain elements of capitalism or whatever, but to me it just felt dull and boring.

For the last 30 minutes I was honestly just waiting for the film to end. The connection I felt with the lead character and the young girl had vaporized, I couldn't really string together the thematic coherence, didn't get much aesthetic pleasure or intellectual insight, nor the phenomenological insight that other neorealist films seem to provide. 4/10 would probably not watch again.

A precise, highly-personal and thoroughly engaging film with a natural, humanistic sensitivity very rare in movies.

[TheVid · 8 September 2003]

Olmi delivers a involving study of one young man's initiation into the corporate structure. The lifelike ambiance and natural tone of the picture are remarkable, and the emotions it generates universal. It's hard watching the final images and not hoping for the protagonist's escape from the reality of his situation. A Criterion DVD edition excellently revives this important work from renowned Italian director, Ermanno Olmi. Simply stunning!

great picture

[ronspencer547 · 10/10 · 10 April 2014]

I had never seen or heard of this film until last year. WOW! this is one of the best films of the post war, the cinematography, narrative elements, the easy confident pace. and for the actors to be non professionals - in the neo-realist tradition. It's hard to believe. some of these Hollywoodland hams could learn something here. If you've seen it see it again. If you haven't rent it, buy it, download it from someplace. that is if you like your cinema pure in spirit and free of crap, sadly, most people don't. most go out of their way to tell contrived, complicated plots with no feel for characters. I kind of wish I'd gotten into the film business.

Love of Labour Lost

[co_oldman · 10/10 · 2 February 2017]

As my German grandmother is fond of saying, "mit Arbeit versaut man sich das halbe Leben," which translates to "through work you ruin half your life". In Ermanno Olmi's masterpiece Il Posto, work is portrayed as a prison, an obstacle to romantic love or a disruption of the natural rhythm of life. To secure a job in a corporation for the rest of your life, then, is a life sentence. And yet the young man Domenico, with the encouragement of his parents, earnestly endeavours, even desires, to obtain such a job, to be wrested from the comfort of his childish existence and to enter into a wholly unfamiliar world.

The director depicts the violence of the transition from childhood to adulthood and from simple small town life to the organized chaos of the city with great subtlety. His use of non-professional actors adds to the film's realism: Sandro Panseri effortlessly channels Domenico's discomfort and awkwardness owing to his unfamiliar surroundings and new experiences because starring in a film for the first time must have had the same effect on the actor. The attraction between Domenico and Antonietta feels genuine as does the intimacy of their interactions. A scene in which Domenico unsuccessfully attempts to suppress a smile upon seeing Antonietta is particularly memorable and affecting.

The outstanding sound design and cinematography reinforce the themes of the film without attracting unwarranted attention. The obtrusive cacophony of incessant traffic and construction reflects and enhances the anxiety of Domenico and Antonietta but also grants them the anonymity through which they can develop their attraction to each other. By way of contrast, the monastic silence of the office represents the stultification of youthful energy and personal expression. The director uses long shots to convey the isolation and vulnerability of Domenico. Hand-held shots give the viewer the feeling of being in the midst of a throng of people. The black and white photography is starkly beautiful.

Although Olmi's vision of modern life is bleak, he enlivens the film with humour. In one scene Domenico's father, a reluctant participant in a ploy to allow his son to go out one night, pretends to retire for the night only to reemerge from his bedroom seconds later shaking his head. The workers at the corporation appear to be employed for no other reason than to pass the time as they sit in their desks. One rolls a cigarette unhurriedly, another cleans out a drawer in his desk, and a third works on a manuscript for a novel, all in plain view of their supervisor. The perspective of the film shifts here to portray the lives of the workers individually inside of their own homes. Their lack of agency at work is mirrored at home where they have to endure vexatious landlords because they do not earn enough to purchase a property.

By the end of the film, it becomes clear that the achievement of obtaining a job for life is at best bittersweet, an escape from a miserable life of penury at the expense of happiness and fulfillment. Notwithstanding that one might be nostalgic for an era where permanent, lifelong positions were abundant, Il Posto resonates with the viewer of today, inasmuch as capitalism and alienated labour, along with their attendant harms, remain as prevalent as ever.

Fundamentally sad but with many delights

[bob-790-196018 · 9/10 · 25 January 2011]

Domenico is an innocent boy from a small town outside Milan who goes to the city to get himself a "job for life" with a corporation there. He submits to absurd tests to "qualify," gets a job as a messenger, and eventually achieves his real goal--a desk job as a clerk--upon the death of some poor sap who'd performed his own "job for life" by doing the endless round of routine tasks that clerks in this company seem to do.

Along the way, Domenico meets and has a crush on (no other wording quite works) another new employee, a girl named Antonietta. She likes him, and one of the high moments in this incredibly quiet film is when director Olmi gives us a closeup of their holding hands. The sweetness of this moment is hard to describe.

Once Domenico is hired, we are introduced to his co-workers and their alternately depressing and comic daily grind. There is an abrupt shift to a montage showing their lives away from the office, the lives of obscure people. One of these is the clerk who eventually dies and whose place is taken by Domenico. We learn that this clerk has been working on a novel. One gathers that he has been doing it for a long time, snatching moment for it during office hours.

The great climactic sequence is that of the New Years Eve party sponsored by the company for its employees. Domenico is one of the first to arrive, finding a nearly empty institutional room with mostly empty tables. As other people arrive, he can be seen glancing hopefully to see if Antonietta is among them. But she never comes, perhaps kept from attending by her mother. In the meantime, the party atmosphere builds. A rather ordinary-looking young woman at a nearby table sits looking wistfully and enviously at other women, who have been asked to dance. Nobody asks her. But she proves to be a lively sort, finally coaxing Domenico onto the dance floor. Soon Domenico is caught up by the excitement of the party, with its lively music, and this is how he greets the new year.

Next day, back to work, and this is when Domenico learns of his "elevation" to clerk. We watch as the other clerks scramble to move one desk up in the row to fill the place until now held by the clerk who just died. We watch as someone in charge empties that clerk's desk. He finds a manuscript. That, along with the clerk's personal possessions, is wrapped up in paper, and the bundle is tossed onto the top of a high cabinet.

Domenico, now sitting in the back-row desk as a new clerk, stares into the future as we listen to the monotonous sound of the office mimeograph.

A wonderful movie, filled with sharply observed detail. Never does Olmi look down on his characters. We see the futility of their lives, but we also share in their humanity.

new Italy

[lee_eisenberg · 10/10 · 2 June 2007]

I had never heard of Ermanno Olmi when I sat down to watch "Il posto". If this movie is any indication, then his other work must be masterful. The movie portrays young Domenico leaving his grim existence in a small town near Milan to move to the big city in hopes of finding work with a corporation. In the process, the most important thing that happens to him is that he develops a relationship with a woman looking for the job.

I believe that there are several ways to interpret the movie. One is about the changing Italy of the post-WWII years. Following the war, Italy was destroyed economically, and the people would now have to try and make their way while also dealing with the results of Mussolini's actions (much like how the German people would have to deal with the results of Hitler's actions). In that sense, Domenico is trapped in a world resembling the old Italy, and so he, as an agent of the new generation in the post-war years, is trying to seek a new path in the world.

Of course, there is also the theme of the corporate world. He enters the building and finds many people applying for the same job. Most likely only one person can get the job, and so the rest will get tossed aside just as casually as they were admitted, left to fend for themselves once again. In this respect, we see the irony in Domenico's search for a new path: his aim of making his way in the world will probably deprive others of the chance of having a better life. But what can we say about the corporate world? All in all, I really recommend this movie. Like much of Italian cinema during the past sixty years, it shows that country having to come to terms with itself, rejecting the idealized impressions that had previously held sway ("Malena" also showed this). Really good.

Fruitful reality and that's what counts in life!

[hikerhetav · 7/10 · 15 September 2021]

Many Italian Neorealist films have discussed about harsh, bleak reality of life but I have rarely come across any reality that's fruitful. By fruitful, it reflects on the realistic aspects of life and it gives you an image that resembles with our own. People may not relate to it often but when they do, they show the components that provide an analysis which help us to lead our lives.

Il Posto deals with the very honest portrayal of getting recruited in corporate sector and how to get aquainted in it without buzzing away. Overall, it's a magnificent film, despite some loosely connected sequences in the story in the second half.

lesser known Italian masterpiece

[SnoopyStyle · 8/10 · 21 May 2018]

Domenico is a young man in a working class family with his parents and younger brother. With the need for money, he decides to climb the corporate ladder. The pay is low and the term is expected to be a lifetime. He joins a large group applying to join the joyless, bureaucratic world. He falls for fellow applicant Antonietta "Masetti". Her family is also in need and it's their first job. The aptitude test is a maze of Kafkaesque hurdles. The young neo-couple gets two jobs in different departments. There is no place at the clerical position for Domenico who becomes a messenger but he spends most of his days waiting at a desk in the hallway.

Ermanno Olmi is a lesser-known great Italian director. He's overshadowed by his more famous compatriots. That does not mean that this movie is any less than the great cinema of that Italian era. This portrays a young man on the verge of a long journey which may not go anywhere professionally and go everywhere personally. It gives a memorable vision of the corporate world. The young love has an adorable awkwardness. These are kids trying to be adults. It leaves the movie with a realism of post war Italy and a surrealism of the new emerging corporate culture. This is a great movie.

Charming!

[mnogogaloshi · 7/10 · 23 April 2020]

Il Posto is not an ambitious movie. Its told from the perspective of a regular working class boy. What it tries and ultimately succeeds at is showing us how alienating and distant the corporate world can feel. But this story is not about kafkazque alienation with bureaocracy, because at its center we see a romance between two young people. Facing the cold, gray reality of the working life, Antonietta and Domenico rely on each other to prove that love is still possible even in the grim world of tight work schedules and endless forms and papers you need to navigate around. Domenico, like everyone else in his place is trying to cope with his new life and to make the most out of it. My favorite character is the person assigned to supervise him. He is so used to the corporate life that nothing can really get to him. While Domenico faces every new thing with anxiety and fear, Portioli is relaxed and doesn't seem to take anything happening there seriously. In the end we see corporate climbing at its best, with different workers fighting for the desk at the front, which Domenico has been given. He gives his desk to a senior worker and takes the desk at the back, learning a lot about the corporate circle of life.

A near-masterpiece

[zetes · 9/10 · 25 April 2012]

A beautiful, sweet little neo-realist slice-of-life picture. Sandro Panseri has been taken out of school by his parents and been thrust into the working world in Milan. While applying for his first job, a job for life in an office, he meets up with a female applicant, Loredana Detto, and the two form a quick connection despite their shyness toward the opposite sex. When their jobs actually start, though, the two are separated, their brief romance begins to fade and it looks like they might never meet again. That's pretty much the whole story (we do get a lot of insights into how this job-for-life is going to go for the two protagonists based on the lives of the other office workers we observe), but as small and gentle as it is, man, does it hit hard. I mean, who hasn't had this experience of missed opportunity? And the film's observations about a life at work are spot on, too. The best film I've seen in a long while.

Why didn't I like this movie?

[m_alternativ · 2/10 · 9 September 2021]

Why didn't I like this movie? The main reason is that many questions arise in the mind when watching this film, for which there is never an answer. Is this film about Italian society after the Second World War? Does this film want to show the lives of ordinary people? Is it about a romantic relationship? Is it made about a family? My answer is: none of this. This movie can't get close to the characters. I think this movie is also very boring. The story proceeds slowly and has no central meaning in the film. We do not understand exactly why this film was made. Regarding this concept, I can suggest Rocco and his brothers. An extremely great movie that will never get old.

A new job.

[ItalianGerry · 6 January 2002]

If you summarize the plot of this remarkable movie, it gives you absolutely no idea of how good it is. A shy young man applies for a job, his first ever, with a large corporation in Milan. If he gets it he will be "sistemato" (all set) for life. He takes the entrance test, observes the other applicants, meets a friendly girl also seeking employment. We see in flashback some of the desperate lives of the other employees. The boy gets the job, begins working, finito!

IL POSTO (THE JOB) is more than that, however. It is a sensitive look at what people are and what impersonalized modern industrial society is capable of doing to their humanity. There is a fine Christmas party scene in which people's loneliness outweighs their frolic. In the movie's understated but unforgettable final image, our young hero looks oh so content working in his secure new job in his little back row desk, but the sounds of the mimeograph machines (remember those?) getting louder tell us that he too someday will become lost and crushed as others have been before him.

The film was renamed "The Sound of Trumpets" upon its initial U.S. release, a title which makes no sense for this gentle yet incisive work from the director who would later give us THE TREE OF WOODEN CLOGS and CAMMINA CAMMINA.