Happy as Lazzaro (2018)

An unceasingly kind Italian peasant and his family are blatantly exploited by a tobacco baroness.

Director:

Alice Rohrwacher

Writer:

Alice Rohrwacher

Stars:

Adriano Tardiolo, Agnese Graziani, Alba Rohrwacher

18 wins & 52 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Adriano Tardiolo	...	Lazzaro
Agnese Graziani	...	Antonia bambina
Alba Rohrwacher	...	Antonia
Luca Chikovani	...	Tancredi giovane
Tommaso Ragno	...	Tancredi adulto
Sergi López	...	Ultimo
Natalino Balasso	...	Nicola
Carlo Tarmati	...	Carletto
Pasqualina Scuncia	...	Suora
Nicoletta Braschi	...	Marchesa Alfonsina De Luna
Edoardo Montalto	...	Pippo bambino
Carlo Massimino	...	Pippo adulto
Maddalena Baiocco	...	Stefania bambina
Gala Othero Winter	...	Stefania adulta
Giulia Caccavello	...	Teresa giovane

Storyline

This is the tale of a meeting between Lazzaro, a young peasant so good that he is often mistaken for simple-minded, and Tancredi, a young nobleman cursed by his imagination. Life in their isolated pastoral village Inviolata is dominated by the terrible Marchesa Alfonsina de Luna, the queen of cigarettes. A loyal bond is sealed when Tancredi asks Lazzaro to help him orchestrate his own kidnapping. This strange and improbable alliance is a revelation for Lazzaro. A friendship so precious that it will travel in time and transport Lazzaro in search of Tancredi. His first time in the big city, Lazzaro is like a fragment of the past lost in the modern world.

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Plot Keywords:

wolf | tobacco farm | magical realism | peasant | fake kidnapping | 

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements and brief violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Germany] Official site [Japan]

Country:

Italy Switzerland France Germany

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

30 November 2018 (USA)

Also Known As:

Happy as Lazzaro

Filming Locations:

Bagnoregio, Viterbo, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,802,696

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tempesta, Amka Films Productions, Ad Vitam Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Adriano Tardiolo (Lazzaro) was scouted in a public high school in Orvieto, closing a search that involved more than a thousand other boys of the same age. Adriano had never done any acting before, but he was convinced to accept the role after getting to know Alice Rohrwacher.

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Quotes

Marchesa Alfonsina De Luna: Human beings are like animals. Set them free and they realize they are slaves locked in their own misery. Right now, they suffer, but they don't know. I exploit them, they exploit that poor man. It's a chain reaction that can't be stopped.

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Connections

Referenced in Modern Love: The Race Grows Sweeter Near Its Final Lap (2019)

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Soundtracks

Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Prelude and Fugue No. 8 in E-flat minor BWV.853
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach

User Reviews

The Tale of Inviolata

There are some in our lives that exist beyond the scope of time or universally accepted countenance, those like Lazzaro who bear the kindness of a child and the internal strength of an ox. In Alice Rohrwacher junior film Lazzaro Felice (Happy as Lazzaro), the title character develops an unlikely friendship with the heir to a tobacco industry marquis. This same marquis has kept Lazzaro and his kin imprisoned as unpaid workers on a farm isolated from the modern world. The film mesmerizingly drifts between somber and bitter-sweet notes while the tobacco leaves and sway and the sun bakes the earth. Because the work is captured in warm 16mm, the setting feels like a piece of art from a lost age. Every character is real. A pinch is required to remind the viewer that this is not a dream or a production, Lazzaro and his partner in crime Tancredi are flesh and blood. The sound profile's depth compliments Lazzaro Felice's archaic beauty. The score uses music box chiming and staccato piano strikes, both of which echo throughout the Italian hills. Despite the Italian language barrier, one can understand the plot from vocal inflections alone. Lastly, the sound effects are rich. The pitter patter of the wolves' claws over concrete is distinct from the crunch of sand and soil underfoot. Lazzaro Felice is not to be missed. It calls to mind an air of innocence and perseverance in spite of the world. It beckons home the love of youth and family.