THE TAVIANI BROTHERS REVIEWED

When it comes to Italian cinema, there are many classics to view. However, the Taviani Brothers never seem to get their fair share for the work they produced in the late 70s and early 80s. Today, we have three pinnacles of their work in the era. First, “Padre Padrone” plays like a Rosselini throwback. The Taviani Brothers love to milk that Post War Italian cinema tradition of showing how much life sucks. Serving as their most direct film, we get to see nearly three hours of a young Italian man being ruined by life until he grows up to be apathetic. “Night of the Shooting Stars” isn’t quite sure how to operate. Often it feels like a series of vignettes, while other times it tries to push onto main character Cecilia as she attempts to narrate. This constant flip-flopping almost takes the viewer out of the story. So much of the events are hyper-focused on the communal experience of Galvano’s group, as they leave during the night. The Tavianis are so concerned with the emotion of the film, that the narrative falters and ultimately collapses. “Kaos” is an interesting way to adapt obscure tales into interesting anthology. Pirandello is better known for Six Characters in Search of an Author, so a lot of people tend to overlook at the Novelle tales. It’s a shame, as they play with his personal wit and acknowledgement of Italian folk tales. The Taviani Brothers understood this approach and their whimsical style played to the strengths of Pirandello’s work. I just could’ve done without the unnecessary final piece about Pirandello.

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