This short interview with Italian film director Ermanno Olmi and critic and Olmi-collaborator Tullio Kezich was a pleasure to watch. I have long admired, even revered, the work of Olmi, who is one of Italy's greatest film directors. His "Tree of Wooden Clogs" is one of my favorite Italian films, no, favorite FILMS of all time, and I think the world of "Cammina Cammina" and the two 1960s movies discussed in this interview. All of them need to be more widely seen today by American viewers.
The subject matter of these interviews is primarily the early films "Il posto" and "I fidanzati" and the piece is included as an added feature on the Criterion "I fidanzati" ("The Fiances") DVD. Olmi gives useful insights into his working methods, the directors who had inspired him (Rossellini and Pasolini), and his thoughts about the transformation of Italy from an agricultural-rural society to a modern industrial nation of the postwar economic boom. Neither "Il posto" nor "I fidanzati" can be understood without that issue in mind.
The subject matter of these interviews is primarily the early films "Il posto" and "I fidanzati" and the piece is included as an added feature on the Criterion "I fidanzati" ("The Fiances") DVD. Olmi gives useful insights into his working methods, the directors who had inspired him (Rossellini and Pasolini), and his thoughts about the transformation of Italy from an agricultural-rural society to a modern industrial nation of the postwar economic boom. Neither "Il posto" nor "I fidanzati" can be understood without that issue in mind.
