The Tree of Wooden Clogs (1978)

Peasant life in a feudal farm in rural Italy at the end of the 19th century.

Director:

Ermanno Olmi

Writer:

Ermanno Olmi

Stars:

Luigi Ornaghi, Francesca Moriggi, Omar Brignoli

18 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Luigi Ornaghi	...	Batistì
Francesca Moriggi	...	Batistina
Omar Brignoli	...	Minec
Antonio Ferrari	...	Tuni
Teresa Brescianini	...	Widow Runk
Giuseppe Brignoli	...	Anselmo
Carlo Rota	...	Peppino
Pasqualina Brolis	...	Teresina
Massimo Fratus	...	Pierino
Francesca Villa	...	Annetta
Maria Grazia Caroli	...	Bettina
Battista Trevaini	...	Il Finard
Giuseppina Langalelli	...	La Moglie Finarda
Lorenzo Pedroni	...	Il nonno Finard
Felice Cervi	...	Uslì

Storyline

The life inside a farm in Italy at the end of the 19th 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 another pair. What can they do?

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Plot Keywords:

bedwetting | chasing an animal | french | soldier | pianist | 

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Taglines:

Once in a generation, a work of art appears as if by magic, to move and inspire its audience. A work that returns to a exhausted humanity the possibility of simple grandeur. We invite you to visit a time and place when life was still a sacred matter. When the family of man was still - a family.

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

1 June 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Tree of Wooden Clogs

Filming Locations:

Cividate al Piano, Bergamo, Lombardia, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana, Italnoleggio Cinematografico

Technical Specs

Runtime:

186 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Gevacolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.

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Goofs

When the children are making music with pots and pans, the 'instruments' of the little girl are switching from one hand to the other when the camera looks at her from the other side.

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Quotes

Batistì: A peasant's son going to school. What will people say?

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Crazy Credits

Quite strangely, the names of the actors are listed as "last name first name", while the names of the rest of the crew are correctly listed as "first name last name".

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Alternate Versions

There are two versions of this movie: one which is spoken in the dialect of Bergamo, Italy, and one in which the actors dubbed themselves in Italian.

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Connections

Edited into Bellissimo: Immagini del cinema italiano (1985)

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Soundtracks

Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g'mein, BWV 734
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performed by Fernando Germani

User Reviews

Speaks to the soul in a voice of simple beauty that declares that money is not the ultimate key to survival.

The "Tree of Wooden Clogs", set at the turn of the last century, is the perfect film to watch as we approach the year 2000. The institutions of religion, marriage, and family have been (sometimes rightfully so) scrutinized and criticized over the last 100 years. However, the "Tree of Wooden Clogs" aptly celebrates these institutions as engines of survival. The slow pace of the film may not be for everyone but the serene simplicity of this film sparks more beauty than most of the high-tech films of today.