Sorrentino, "The Great Beauty", 2013
Wednesday, November 21, 2018
Terraferma
I think one of the best aspects of Terraferma is the creative portrayal of poverty and the way it is juxtaposed to prosperity. At one point in the film, we see a group of tourists jump off of a boat and into the clear water for their first time while they enjoy themselves during a beautiful scene. Later on, we see the locals of the Island jump off the boat into the very same water not out of joy and love for doing so, but rather out of the necessity to fish the old-fashioned way in order to make a living. It struck me as ironic the way these same actions implied very different things depending on who exactly was the one doing them. I think it says something about Italian culture and the way their social dynamic is framed as the locals of the Island jumping off the boat meant something totally different from the tourists doing the same thing.
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I agree with Andrew that context does play an important role in the film, as it has with the other films we have watched in this class. In "Divorce Italian Style" for instance, the main plot of a husband conspiring to kill his wife can seem horrific and deranged on its surface. However when presented in an absurd light, like in "Divorce Italian Style", it is seen as comedic. By presenting the audience with different perspectives of the same events in "Terraferma", director Emanuele Crialese demonstrates the importance of context and the need to contextualize the events of these suffering people. In doing so, the audience is able to further empathize with these people, rather than become apathetic towards their suffering.
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