Il Postino: The Postman (1994)

Simple Italian postman learns to love poetry while delivering mail to a famous poet; he uses this to woo local beauty Beatrice.

Directors:

Michael Radford, Massimo Troisi

Writers:

Antonio Skármeta (novel), Furio Scarpelli (story)

Stars:

Massimo Troisi, Philippe Noiret, Maria Grazia Cucinotta

Won 1 Oscar. Another 30 wins & 17 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Philippe Noiret	...	Pablo Neruda
Massimo Troisi	...	Mario Ruoppolo
Maria Grazia Cucinotta	...	Beatrice Russo
Renato Scarpa	...	Telegrapher
Linda Moretti	...	Donna Rosa
Sergio Solli
Carlo Di Maio
Nando Neri
Vincenzo Di Sauro
Orazio Stracuzzi
Alfredo Cozzolino
Mariano Rigillo	...	Di Cosimo
Anna Bonaiuto	...	Matilde

Storyline

Pablo Neruda, the famous Chilean poet, is exiled to a small island for political reasons. On the island, the unemployed son of a poor fisherman is hired as an extra postman due to the huge increase in mail that this causes. Il Postino is to hand-deliver the celebrity's mail to him. Though poorly educated, the postman learns to love poetry and eventually befriends Neruda. Struggling to grow and express himself more fully, he suddenly falls in love and needs Neruda's help and guidance more than ever.

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Plot Keywords:

postman | poetry | island | poet | bicycle | 

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Taglines:

A shy postman didn't stand a chance with the island's most beautiful woman until the great poet of love gave him the courage to follow his dreams...and the words to win her heart.

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild thematic elements

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Italy France Belgium

Language:

Italian Spanish

Release Date:

22 March 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Il Postino

Filming Locations:

Pollara, Salina Island, Aeolian Islands, Messina, Sicily, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$234,643, 20 September 1996

Gross USA:

$21,848,932

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$54,900,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cecchi Gori Group Tiger Cinematografica,Penta Film,Esterno Mediterraneo Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Writer/co-director/star Massimo Troisi postponed heart surgery so he could complete the film. The day after filming was complete, he suffered a fatal heart attack.

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Quotes

Donna Rosa: When it comes to bed, there's no difference between a poet, a priest, or a communist!

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Connections

Referenced in Jersey Girl (2004)

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Soundtracks

Madreselva
Written by Francisco Canaro (as F. Canaro) and Luis César Amadori (as L.C. Amadori)
Performed by Carlos Gardel
Courtesy of E. Musical Pirovano

User Reviews

Art and Love

Having just visited the opera version of this film IL POSTINO by Daniel Catan courtesy of PBS Great Performances it is rewarding to return to the original source to honor the nidus for the inspiration for the opera. Directed by Michael Radford the film relates the heartwarming story of Mario (Massimo Troisi), a gentle and simple postman who falls for the beautiful café waitress Beatrice (Maria Grazia Cucinotta) from his village, but is too shy to speak to her. He meets the famous Chilean poet Pablo Neruda (Phillipe Noiret), and, as their friendship develops, the postman's own inner poet awakens. Soon he is able to win the love of Beatrice and even stand up for and express his own beliefs.

This is a simple story graced by sensitive performances: of not the actor Massimo Trosi died from heart failure on the last day of production of the film. It is possibly this knowledge of the loss of one of Italy's best comedic actors along with the clarity and transparency of the film's gentle message about love and art that has made it a cult film. At any rate this is a film that belongs in every movie lover's library.

Grady Harp