DVDS

Spettacola

91 min. Jeff Malmberg & Chris Shellan, dist. by Grasshopper Film, www.grasshopperfilm. 2017. DVD $99.95; acad. libs. $375. Public performance. SOC SCI/HIST
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In a remote part of Tuscany is a tiny village where inhabitants create a new play each year about the story of their lives. Spettacolo follows every element of the next production of Teatro Povero di Monticchiello—from the first public gathering to the performance itself. The documentary also digs into the history of the village, including a powerful and frightening tale of facing down the Nazis in 1944 after the Germans arrived to wipe out a band of local partisans. The dramas veer toward intimate social statements of the collected history of a community—the good and the bad. Sadly, the continuation of the 50-year tradition is in jeopardy. The young people are either too scarce or too busy with the distractions of 21st-century life to carry on the project.
VERDICT This poignant journey into the lives of Italian villagers through the creation of a personal play is a thoughtful meditation on the intersection between tradition and the modern world, creativity and a community's shared past; fascinating stuff.
Reviewed by Joshua Peck, Pioneer Lib. Syst., Norman, OK , Sep 01, 2018
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