The Postman (Il Postino) (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 (uncredited)

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:

He had no way to win her heart. Until a great poet showed him the power of words.

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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:

The Postman (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 114 min (Blu-ray)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Massimo Troisi's Best Actor Oscar nominated performance was the only one in the category in a Best Picture nominee that year.

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Quotes

Donna Rosa: When a man starts to touch you with words, he's not far off with his hands.

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Alternate Versions

The Italian version of the film includes an additional title credit for Massimo Troisi, listed as co-director of the movie together with Michael Radford.

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Connections

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: John Goodman/Everclear (1996)

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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

Lovely Little Film About the Power of Words

A sweet, gentle film about a quiet postman who discovers the power of poetry in winning the heart of his true love.

Massimo Troisi gives a warm, wonderful performance as said postman, while Phillipe Noiret plays the poet Pablo Neruda. The setting, a sleepy Italian village, gives the film a cozy atmosphere, and it's got a lovely score to match.

One of the rare foreign-language films to be nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award, it lost to the thunderingly stupid "Braveheart." Mel Gibson could use a little poetry himself.

Grade: A