The Tree of Wooden Clogs
(1978)
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The Tree of Wooden Clogs
(1978)
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| Watch Trailer 0Share... |
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
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Luigi Ornaghi | ... |
Batistì
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Francesca Moriggi | ... |
Batistina
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Omar Brignoli | ... |
Minec
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Antonio Ferrari | ... |
Tuni
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Teresa Brescianini | ... |
Widow Runk
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Giuseppe Brignoli | ... |
Anselmo
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Carlo Rota | ... |
Peppino
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Pasqualina Brolis | ... |
Teresina
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Massimo Fratus | ... |
Pierino
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Francesca Villa | ... |
Annetta
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Maria Grazia Caroli | ... |
Bettina
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Battista Trevaini | ... |
Il Finard
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Giuseppina Langalelli | ... |
La Moglie Finarda
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Lorenzo Pedroni | ... |
Il nonno Finard
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Felice Cervi | ... |
Uslì
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The life inside a farm in Italy at the beginning of the century. Many poor country families live there, and the owner pays them by their productivity. One of the families has a very clever child. They decide to send him to school instead of make him help them, although this represents a great sacrifice. The boy has to wake up very early and walk several miles to get to the school. One day the boy's shoes break when returning home, but they do not have money to buy other. What can they do? Written by Michel Rudoy <mdrc@hp9000a1.uam.mx>
This movie could have been made any time after the development of color film. Unless you look at the tape jacket, you wouldn't know what year it had been filmed. It is timeless.
"Tree" follows the lives of three peasant families in the Lombardy (northern) region of Italy. The historical accuracy appears to be quite high. You'll learn how things were done before electricity, the automobile, etc. Watching this film reminded me of visiting Bali or Morocco; I felt immersed in another culture in another time.
The downside is that, of course, peasants don't live terribly exciting lives, and this is a long movie. There isn't really a plot driving the film. What I considered to be the action scenes are grisly; livestock is slaughtered on camera, and it's clear that you are watching the real thing. (I almost started crying while watching a pig as it is was slaughtered; it was squealing loudly as it was literally eviscerated while it was still alive.)
This is a contemplative film. The film which I think would be an interesting companion piece would be "The Scent of Green Papaya," a Vietnamese film with about the same pace and purpose.