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Rating: Upon reaching the end, I promised myself to return to history books to refresh and also deepen my knowledge of the Italian Risorgimento.
Yes, because I must say that the film did not help me much, and if this should be one of the purposes of a historical film, "Noi credevamo" did not succeed in that intent.
Of course, this is not the main purpose of this film since we witness a unique portrayal of the period of unification of the Italian state from an unusual perspective. From the deeds of the "non-protagonists," those who materially contributed to uniting the states and small states into which our peninsula was divided. Not by the thinkers, the Mazzinis, Crispi, Cavour, Garibaldi; not by the leaders, the revolution theorists, those we know at least for having passed through streets named after them.
Instead, by Domenico, Angelo, and Salvatore, boys from Cilento who join Mazzini's revolutionary movement Giovine Italia, and others like them who sacrifice themselves for the noble cause, some even at the cost of their lives. People whose industrious deeds we do not know. Not until today, at least, not until watching this film.
It is certainly no coincidence that it was released during festive times, as commercial strategies are naturally part of the game in cinema too; one hundred and fiftieth anniversary, the impact on the public is stronger. This cleverness should be forgiven, as the advantage is not just for producers but for all those Italians who, encouraged and urged by the recurrence, have at least got an idea of events concerning their homeland, which perhaps they did not know before.
Unity is also in knowledge.
The film is divided into four parts, whose stories overlap even in their strict sequence, partially featuring the same protagonists but examining different fronts of this complex tale that led to the unification of Italy.
The choice of using a dialect that often turns out to be too tight, which many spectators struggle to translate and that does not always allow understanding of the dialogues, proves to be a handicap. If the choice, necessary, was to respect the reality of a fragmented Italy, with many similar but different languages, the direction should have understood that many cannot understand southern dialects if spoken without adaptation. Moreover, sometimes overly complex dialogues do not aid comprehension and distort the acting, making it artificial.
The cinematography is the backbone of the film, supported by beautiful costumes and camera movements that rise to the occasion. It is embellished by a soundtrack taken from works by Rossini, beautiful and appropriate. Warm colors, fitting exteriors, balanced shots.
The acting generally leaves something to be desired, but this is a general issue with Italian actors. Few stand out in the national scene, just like few stand out in this film, both primary and secondary actors. It seems almost all would excel in theater, but not here in cinema, because it is theatrical acting that is heard. Standing out, or rather excelling in true skill, are Francesca Inaudi and Luigi Lo Cascio.
Some errors could have been there, and they were, but they would have also gone unnoticed if there hadn't been a real blunder: a shot lingers for a long time on a reinforced concrete construction, with exposed columns and irons characteristic especially of Southern Italy to "raise a floor when there is money," not considering that the use of reinforced concrete in construction appears in Italy in the early decades of the 1900s, that is at least 50 years later. Similar column shapes, then, are really reminiscent of the 70s-80s (of the 1900s!). Unless it is a scene with symbolic meaning, but then someone explain it to me!
Overall, one feels the limp realization of an ambitious project, a too detailed recount of history, which ends up being a bit disjointed or, in other words, leaves the viewer with the idea of an incomplete puzzle. Agreed, it's not easy to synthesize the events of such a complex history, but then it is the skill of the screenwriter and the director to impose cuts, the sacrifice of some details in favor of general comprehension.
In conclusion, I indeed invite everyone to watch it as it concerns Our Evolution, but I also advise revisiting a bit of history the day before to have in mind the general course of events. Because “Noi Credevamo” is certainly not a film like "Troy," where you leave the theater knowing perfectly what Achilles and Hector did and, especially, who this blessed Helen of Troy was.
Italy, 2010
Directed by Mario Martone
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