Padre Padrone (1977)

The true story of the life of Gavino Ledda, the son of a Sardinian shepherd, and how he managed to escape his harsh, almost barbaric existence by slowly educating himself, despite violent ... See full summary »

Directors:

Paolo Taviani, Vittorio Taviani

Writers:

Gavino Ledda (book), Paolo Taviani

Stars:

Omero Antonutti, Saverio Marconi, Marcella Michelangeli

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 9 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Omero Antonutti	...	Father
Saverio Marconi	...	Gavino
Marcella Michelangeli	...	Mother
Fabrizio Forte	...	Young Gavino
Marino Cenna	...	Young shepherd
Stanko Molnar	...	Sebastiano
Nanni Moretti	...	Cesare
Pierluigi Alvau
Giuseppino Angioni
Fabio Angioni
Giuseppe Brandino
Mario Cheri
Giuseppe Chessa Perle
Domenico Deriu
Marina D'Onofrio

Storyline

The true story of the life of Gavino Ledda, the son of a Sardinian shepherd, and how he managed to escape his harsh, almost barbaric existence by slowly educating himself, despite violent opposition from his brutal father.

---

Plot Keywords:

shepherd | father son relationship | sardinia | masturbation | abused child | 

---

Taglines:

...my father, my Master

---

Genres:

Biography | Drama

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian Sardinian German Latin

Release Date:

2 September 1977 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Padre Padrone

Filming Locations:

Sardinia, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rai 2, Cinema S.r.l

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The actual author of the autobiographical book the movie is based on, Gavino Ledda, appears at the beginning and the end of the movie and talks to the audience. Ironically, he gives a stick to the actor playing the father: a symbol of the violence the father exerts on his son (i.e. Ledda himself in real life).

---

Quotes

[last lines]
Father: Don't laugh at Gavino. Hands on your desks! Today is Gavino's turn. Tomorrow will be yours.

---

Connections

Featured in Filmstunde: Filmstunde 2 (1992)

---

Soundtracks

Clarinet Concerto
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

User Reviews

disturbing film with tons of poetry

Vittorio and Paolo Taviani are surely one of the most important Italian directors ever and just like all the great masters they often have their not so brilliant movies, but "Padre Pardone" certainly belongs to the best they ever made. It's all based on a true story and sometimes people tend to forget that there are places that God forget. In an agricultural area in Sardinia some folks pretend it's better to take care of the sheeps rather than scoring well at school. The young Gavino (Fabrizio Forte) goes to his school but one day he's father comes in the classroom telling him that his schooldays are over and that it is time to take up his duty as shepherd. The brothers Taviani are masters in filming the useless factors of the job as we see a young boy who absolutely has no interest in the job he got by his father, and we see some explicit scenes in where the almighty father beat his children. Schoking that's for sure and if the Gavino grows older we see his hunger to learn something (the poor boy couldn't read) as soon as he must enter the world of the army which is in total contrast with the world of the hills where sheep run. The story itself is rather hard to bear and you often shake your head by disbelief but still the Taviani-brothers are opting for a sober and poetic approach of the problem that it looks like you're viewing some touristic documentary of an area that God forgot. "Padre pardone" is certainly the kind of movie that will have both its lovers and enemies but having said that, you know that "Padre Pardone" belongs to the classic section of the Italian cinema that will never be forgotten.