Don Bosco (2004) (TV)

Director:

Lodovico Gasparini

Writers:

Saverio D'Ercole
Graziano Diana
(more)

Release Date:

22 September 2004 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama

Cast

Flavio Insinna	...	Don Bosco
Lina Sastri	...	Margherita Bosco
Charles Dance	...	Marchese Clementi
Daniel Tschirley	...	Michele Rua
Fabrizio Bucci	...	Bruno
Lewis Crutch	...	Domenico Savio
Brock Everitt-Elwick	...	Don Bosco as a child
Alessandra Martines	...	Marchesa Barolo
Ry Finerty	...	Giovanni Cagliero
Arnaldo Ninchi	...	Pope Pius IX
Julian Patrick Brophy	...	Carlo Buzzetti
Paolo Calabresi	...	Don Gastaldi
Jonathan Ross Latham	...	Giuseppe Buzzetti
Sam Beazley	...	Don Calosso
Brando Taccini	...	Felice
Michele Melega	...	Typographer
Roberto Ciufoli	...	Mr. Rodrigo
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Andrea Bosca	...	Enrico
Emilio De Marchi	...	Cavaliere Samperi
Alessandro Giallocosta	...	Antonio
Jonatan Smulders Cohen	...	Boy who falls over
Johannes Suhm	...	Aldo

Directed by
Lodovico Gasparini

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Saverio D'Ercole
Graziano Diana
Lodovico Gasparini
Carlo Mazzotta
Francesca Panzarella
Lea Tafuri

Produced by
Luca Bernabei	....	producer
Pietro Dioni	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Marco Frisina

Cinematography by
Giovanni Galasso

Film Editing by
Alessandro Lucidi

Casting by
Fabiola Banzi

Production Design by
Enzo Tacchia

Costume Design by
Christine Rawlins

Production Management
Alessandro Longino	....	production manager
Pierpaolo Marcelli	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Raffaele Androsiglio	....	third assistant director
Nicola Barnaba	....	second unit director
Carmine Elia	....	assistant director
Francesco Sperandeo	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Sandro Erdolini	....	painter

Sound Department
Paolo Amici	....	sound effects editor
Damiano Antinori	....	ProTools operator
Vladislav Boyadjiev	....	sound assistant
St. Clair Davis	....	boom operator
Giancarlo Dellapina	....	sound mixer
Daniele Quadroli	....	sound effects editor
David Quadroli	....	sound effects editor
Fabrizio Quadroli	....	sound effects editor
Marco Streccioni	....	sound engineer
Dave Tinsley	....	dialogue editor

Visual Effects by
Stefano Marinoni	....	visual effects supervisor
Federica Nisi	....	visual effects coordinator
Paola Trisoglio	....	visual effects producer

Camera and Electrical Department
Giordano De Blasis	....	electrician
Robin Eberspacher	....	clapper loader
Daniele Rucci	....	grip

Casting Department
Luciano Silighini Garagnani	....	extras casting

Editorial Department
Valentina Mariani	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Dave Tinsley	....	music editor

Other crew
Francesco Arlanch	....	story editor
Saverio D'Ercole	....	story editor
Luca Manzi	....	story editor
Michela Prodan	....	dialogue coach
Lea Tafuri	....	script supervisor
Lea Tafuri	....	story editor

Production Companies

• Lux Vide

Other Companies

• SIF309 Film & Music Productions  film score recording
• Sud Ovest Records  music production

Also Known As:

Runtime:

146 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Lux Vide

There would be no orphan on earth if only...

People who have traveled to the northern part of Italy and particularly to the center of Piedmont must have heard of the city of Turin. A primarily industrial city saw marvelous events that took place in the 19th century thanks to one priest whose life was full of devotion to poor youngsters. This priest's name was John Bosco (1815-1888), a man who won the hearts of even the most "lost" boys. The film by Lodovico Gasparini is a truly educational biopic which concentrates on the fundamental thing Bosco's life was based on, Love.

BRIEF INTRODUCTION OF CONTENT: Piedmont, the 1830s, young priest John Bosco (Flavio Insinna) sees the hardship of the society and their brute living conditions. Most of young boys turn to crimes and robberies while girls make money as prostitutes. The most cruel fact, however, is that no one seems to care about these young people who lost all dreams of a better future. Once, Bosco visits a prison of minors and faces a terribly difficult conversation with young thieves. He realizes that the only way to help them is through solidarity. He decides to arrange one free day for nine boys from prison. The day on which he takes care of them begins a new era for the youngsters. A school is started in Valdocco where the boys can learn to read and write. Youngsters begin to recapture their believe in dignity and a hope for a better future. However, no one would then expect, probably not even Bosco himself, that this will be such a bright future that will move crowds of people...

CAST: Flavio Insinna, known for some of his roles in Italian productions, gives a magnificent performance as Don Bosco. Not only his outlook suits to this role but his entire acting. No moment disappointed me when compared to my expectations of how I imagined Bosco. I also liked Lina Sastri as Margherita Bosco. I remember this actress from SAINT PETER (2005) where she also beautifully portrayed Mary. Here, her role is filled with heart. Other performances, except for some, constitute primarily the ones by young boys. In this case, the boy actor that caught my attention was Lewis Clutch who plays a famous young saint, Domenico Savio. Although the film is not a top production, which is proved by the small number of IMDb votes, the performances are of very high level. Thanks to them the film is nice to watch since the content is quite hard as Bosco's life itself was.

POWERFUL MOMENTS: I know that someone may say: "This is a religious epic and since I am not religious, I won't watch this". Yes, you are free to think your way, nobody forces this on you. Yet, such a viewpoint will not open you to wonderful horizons in life but will rather close you within your world. This movie, like many purely religious films does not show religion falsely, as it isn't - full of codes, duties, fear of God the Judge but rather religion as full of simple JOY and LOVE. Don Bosco's life was filled with these two things and almost each scene of the movie contains them. Why does he sacrifice everything for the boys? Because of love. Why does he like the way he lives and cannot live another way? Because of joy, great joy that he learned from Jesus in the Eucharist. Powerful moments of the movie are numerous, difficult to enumerate just here in one review but one thing is certain: these moments make the film really touching. The scene in the forest moved me most... Bosco speaks to the boys from prison, those who lost faith that God is with them. Yet, it is them he speaks to, not the theologians or saints, but young criminals: :Look up, at the sky, at the sun, look around you ... if you admire these beauties that are God's shadows, His creatures only, you are free within your hearts and no one can take this freedom away from you." Bosco's recovery is also very moving. Because of difficulties in founding Salesians, Don Bosco is so ill that he seems to die soon. The boys' prayers touched me to tears... And the final symbolic scene when the priest walks in the streets of a big city and looks for orphans to take care of (that's what he really did), he finds one boy ... "No one is an orphan on this earth"...

AN IMPORTANT NOTE: I like this movie thanks to one more factor. It is not only a biopic of Don Bosco but it wonderfully makes use of extensive story of saint Domenico Savio (1842-1857) a boy who died at 15 in sainthood. His words "Better die than sin" became the fundamental words of the Salesians. His life, though so different and shorter than Bosco's, also reached sainthood. Lewis Crutch memorably plays Domenico, particularly a moving scene of his death. And Bosco's words after the boy's death: he died but only if we have forgotten his example. Yet, as long as we follow him, he lives within us. GREAT, ABSOLUTELY GREAT SCRIPT!

I recommend everyone to see this film, particularly youngsters. Those who feel so lonely or who think that God has forgotten us will see a slightly different light after this movie. No matter of historical period, no matter of races, believes, countries, continents, where is Love, there God occurs to be. See this! This movie will touch you to tears! If we take Bosco's example, no one around us will feel an orphan...

JUST A HISTORIC NOTE: Don Bosco was canonized in 1934 by Pius XI and Domenico Savio in 1954. Both are buried in Turin where yearly, crowds of pilgrims visit their tombs, the tombs from which one truth has been shining brightly for more than 100 years now: Love is eternal and only Love conquers the world!