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

Italy's official submission to the Best Foreign Language Film category for the 82nd Academy Awards; the other four films considered were: Fortapàsc (2009), Il grande sogno (2009), Si può fare (2008) and Vincere (2009).

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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 The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964)

User Reviews

A Calculated Memory

I used to be a fanatic of Italian cinema. I learned to see and appreciate film thanks to Roberto Rossellini, Vittorio De Sica, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Pietro Germi, Mario Monicelli, right up to Bernardo Bertolucci, that's why I felt so upset and depress by this latest Tornatore film, the most expensive Italian production ever. The result is a mildly successful Martini Bianco commercial. Everything looks and feels phony. The "auteur" is trying to sell us something and I fear many will buy because the rewards, if you can call them that, are immediate. Beautiful colorful images, relentless Morriconi, famous faces playing tiny cameos etc. A commercial operation if I ever saw one. The confusing part is that Venice prides itself for being a "Mostra d'Arte" so, I'm prepared to bet "Baaria" is going to get some of the top awards. The forces here don't seem to be on the side of art but on the artful skill of self congratulations but, I do hope I'm wrong. As I sat through the two and a half hours I was hoping, longing actually, for a hint of Francesco Rosi or even Blassetti or Soldati. No, not even by mistake. This is a pastry difficult and dangerous to digest. No heart, no warmth and no truth.