Kaos (1984)

Five stories by Luigi Pirandello set in turn-of-the-century Italy.

Directors:

Paolo Taviani, Vittorio Taviani

Writers:

Luigi Pirandello (stories), Paolo Taviani (screenplay) (as Paolo)

Stars:

Margarita Lozano, Orazio Torrisi, Carlo Cartier

4 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Margarita Lozano	...	Mariagrazia (segment "L'altro figlio")
Orazio Torrisi	...	Comizzi (segment "L'altro figlio")
Carlo Cartier	...	Il giovane dottore (segment "L'altro figlio")
Biagio Barone	...	Salvatore (segment "Requiem")
Laura Mollica	...	La ragazza / Francesca (segments "L'altro figlio" and "Requiem")
Salvatore Rossi	...	Il patriarca (segments "L'altro figlio" and "Requiem")
Franco Scaldati	...	Don Sarso (segment "Requiem")
Pasquale Spadola	...	Il barone (segment "Requiem")
Claudio Bigagli	...	Batà (segment "Mal di luna")
Massimo Bonetti	...	Saro (segments "Mal di luna" and "Colloquio con la madre")
Enrica Maria Modugno	...	Sidora (segment "Mal di luna")
Anna Malvica	...	La madre (segment "Mal di luna")
Regina Bianchi	...	Madre di Pirandello (segment "Colloquio con la madre") (as Régina Bianchi)
Laura De Marchi	...	Nonna di Pirandello (segment "Colloquio con la madre")
Giovanna Taviani	...	Madre di Pirandello (segment "Colloquio con la madre")

Storyline

The film consists of four stories plus epilogue, set in 19th-century Sicily. THE OTHER SON - A mother spends her life waiting for news from her two sons (emigrated to America) while ignoring her third, because he is the reincarnation of the bandit who raped her. MOON SICKNESS - a newly-wed peasant girl discovers that her husband goes mad every full moon. She arranges for a male friend to protect her, but they end up in bed together just as the moon emerges from behind a cloud. THE JAR - a rich landowner hires a master craftsman to repair a giant olive jar, but the craftsman gets trapped inside. REQUIEM - villagers band together in an attempt to force their landlord to let them bury their dead. CONVERSATIONS WITH MOTHER - the writer Luigi Pirandello talks with his aged mother about a story he always wanted to write, but which he never managed to capture in words.

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Plot Keywords:

italy | moon | olive | full moon | five stories | 

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Taglines:

A Canvas of People, Politics, Passion, and Pirandello.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

14 February 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Chaos

Filming Locations:

Chiaramonte Gulfi, Sicily, Italy

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,412, 17 February 1986, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$325,717

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmtre,Rai 1

Technical Specs

Runtime:

187 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Don Lollò: [Seeing his precious giant jar broken] Oh, my poor jar! What have they done to you? It was envy or infamy!

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Connections

Edited into Come inguaiammo il cinema italiano - La vera storia di Franco e Ciccio (2004)

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Soundtracks

Arietta 'L'ho perduta'
from opera "Le nozze di Figaro"
Written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

User Reviews

Haunting without subtitles

I watched this film twice in the 1980s -I think on BBC-but it may have been on channel 4 at the time and was completely captivated by it. it has a haunting quality to it that is hard to surpass and will always stay with you.. Nicola Piovanni composed the music sound score and this Maestro of Music to mood -(see if you can, Caro Diario -Dear Diary Dir.Nanni Moretti as a more modern example of the art) is virtually unknown to the general public over here . Very Sad!.. It is also a complete nonsense that in this technically advanced digital age it is impossible to find a print of this CLASSIC movie -that all film buffs really ought to see-with English SUBTITLES! Spanish ,French and Dutch subtitle versions are around and findable on DVD but ALAS... non comprarlo Inglese!-How Insular! In addition, A Bande Originale -Soundtrack "KAOS" was released on Cd in the early 90s on the Milan label (Europe-USA and S.America?), but again the niche British public not catered for. Bizarrely, when shown on TV in the 80s the movie carried English subtitles-so how does this work then? Anyway back to the film. Enjoy the opening visually stunning shots of the Crow "eagling" its way through mountain landscape and let the accompanying music sink in and you're hooked!.without going into detail-thats for you to discover-the Taviani Bros really bring out the spiritual essence of the Sicilian persona characterised in Pirandello's daily Novellas.It is a flighted sentiment soaring over a gravitated earthy reality-Sicilian Style.This is Cinema at its most alluring.Do see it if it becomes available.