153. Maura Delpero's Vermiglio: A film about systems of knowledge in rural Italy at the end of WWII
Release Date: 01/03/2025
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Today on the podcast, Alex discusses the new Italian film from Maura Delpero, Vermiglio, set in a remote village in the Italian Alps at the end of WWII. It's Delpero's second feature, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Venice International Film Festival. It's in cinemas this week.
The film is the story of the local teacher's family and the power of both formal and informal knowledge and how it's passed down. When the film opens, the family is hiding a Sicilian soldier who has escape from the army – an open secret in the town. He falls in love with the teacher's eldest daughter, and the film follows their budding relationship — and all the familial relationships around them — over the course of a year, as the seasons change and the war ends.
Related Episodes:
- 139. Green Border: an interview with Agniezka Holland (It won the Special Jury Prize at Venice in 2023)
- 147. Why is it so hard to see the new Cillian Murphy movie? (On why it's hard to see independent/foreign films in cinemas).
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