Baarìa (2009)

Baaria is Sicilian slang for Bagheria where Tornatore was born and this is an autobiographic epic of three generations in the Sicilian village where he was born.

Director:

Giuseppe Tornatore

Writer:

Giuseppe Tornatore (story and screenplay)

Stars:

Francesco Scianna, Margareth Madè, Lina Sastri

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 14 wins & 23 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Francesco Scianna	...	Peppino Torrenuova
Margareth Madè	...	Mannina
Lina Sastri	...	Tana / Beggard
Ángela Molina	...	Sarina
Nicole Grimaudo	...	Sarina as a young woman
Ficarra	...	Nino (as Salvo Ficarra)
Picone	...	Luigi (as Valentino Picone)
Gaetano Aronica	...	Cicco
Alfio Sorbello	...	Cicco as a young man
Lollo Franco	...	Don Giacinto
Giovanni Gambino	...	Peppino as a child
Giuseppe Garufì	...	Pietro as a child
Aldo Baglio	...	Speculator
Raoul Bova	...	Roman journalist
Paolo Briguglia	...	Catechist

Storyline

The film begins in the 1920's, in the Sicilian town of Bagheria (a.k.a. Baaria) where Giuseppe "Peppino" Torrenuova works as a shepherd to financially help his poor family. Over the next 50 years Giuseppe's life, as well as the life of the village, is observed. Giuseppe grows up, joins the Communist Party, marries a local girl (Mannina), has children and forges a political career for himself.

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Plot Keywords:

child | movie theatre | test of physical strength | bagheria sicily | five generations | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [France]

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Sicilian Italian English

Release Date:

25 September 2009 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Baaria

Filming Locations:

Bagheria, Palermo, Sicily, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

€28,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,900, 30 January 2011, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$4,900, 30 January 2011

Company Credits

Production Co:

Medusa Film,Quinta Communications,Regione Siciliana

Technical Specs

Runtime:

163 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

More than 35,000 extras were employed.

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Alternate Versions

The initial UK DVD release of the film (by eone entertainment) is heavily cut, missing a total of ten minutes of footage. Not only is the 'controversial' cow death scene almost entirely cut out (missing the actual cow execution and subsequent bloodletting), but most of the scenes in the film are abridged by at least several seconds (and a few times cut out entirely).

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Connections

References Three Brothers (1981)

User Reviews

Tornatore's Sicily in Venice

A red carpet event of major proportions. First time in 20 years that an Italian film opens the prestigious Venice Film Festival. The expectations were palpable. The film, as far as I'm concerned, a very personal 30 million dollar artsy rehash of a lot of common places. In a way the two and a half hours seemed to me the promotional teaser of a movie we have yet to see. In fact it looks and feels like a long, long trailer. Naturally, Tornatore knows how to steer sentiments and has a vivid commercial eye that survives in spite of the artistic aspirations. There are a couple of wonderful moments and it's a treat to see dozens of Italian stars making very brief cameos in a beautiful reconstructed city. The question is, after the emotional soirée, this morning it took me well after breakfast to remember the actual movie and I suspect that is because "Baaria" is too much and not enough at the same time. What come back to me at this very moment, trying to remember the epic is the wonderful face of Lina Sastri. So, Tornatore and his major collaborator Ennio Morricone are heading back to Oscar land. I wish them luck