Movies
Italian melodrama, that starts off as a teen romance and evolves into a dreary war drama. In the background we see the rise of fascism, ignored by a wealthy Jewish family who retreats to their private domain. De Sica bets on quite a few horses, but the result is a bit of a jumbled mess. The film appears a little cheesy, with soft-focus visuals, idyllic colors and a wannabe romantic score. It's all a bit much, so I never ended up caring for the two leads, nor their predicament. The contrast with the background of the story also doesn't work well, the fascist threat comes off forced, and the darker second half fails to make an impression. Not great.Read all
A film made famous by a cute little dog. Not quite as special anymore, in an age where pet videos dominate the internet, but watching an old man and the loving bond with his pet is certainly something that ages pretty well. Sadly, that's about all I got out of this film, which isn't a lot for 90 minutes of drama. The film looks better than most other Italian Neorealism dramas of that time, but not spectacularly so. Performances are decent and the bond between the man and his dog is nice enough, but it's also pretty sentimental and the finale is well overdone. Not the worst in its genre, but nothing memorable either.Read all
Italian neorealism, but make it jolly. It's a strange combination, but one that isn't quite as bad as I'd feared originally. I'm still not won over by this niche, but at least Miracle in Milan isn't as dreary as many of its peers. Apart from that, there still wasn't much here for me I'm afraid. The minimal dialogue is a plus, the continuous presence of music not so much. The performances are overstated and the plot wasn't all that interesting, the cinematography was slightly better than usual, but not good enough to wow me. So yeah, this was an interesting experiment from De Sica, but the result isn't all that impressive.Read all
Early De Sica that already sports many of the typical Italian neorealism traits. It's certainly not my favored type of film, but the above-average cinematography does add a tiny bit of extra flair to Shoeshine. Not enough to make it a pleasant or easy watch, but I've struggled harder with certain other films in the genre. An excess of drama and highly evocative performances aren't the best premise for a touching film, at least not in my book. I prefer a more subtle approach to drama. The high-contrast black and white cinematography is a bonus and the short runtime a blessing, but it's not enough to turn me into a believer.Read all
A pretty loud and basic Italian romance. If you ever wondered where the cliché of the "loud Italian" came from, look no further than this film. Other than that, it's a very classic romance. Fans of the 40s Hollywood films who wouldn't mind an Italian take might like this film, personally I didn't care that much for this early De Sica. The performances are very basic, the plot isn't anything special, and the characters are a bit too loud for my liking. But the pacing is fine, and it's nice to see a film that doesn't overstay its welcome. It's certainly not the worst of its kind, but unless you're a big fan of classic cinema, there's not much of note.Read all