Dir: Michael Radford | Cast: Philippe Noiret, Mario Troisi, Maria Grazia Cucinotta | Drama
Michael Radford’s masterpiece, Il Postino (The Postman) is a tender tribute to the enduring power of love and friendship garnered critical acclaim and multiple accolades on its release in 1994.
Scripted by Furio Scarpelli together with Anna Pavignano, Massimo Troisi and Michael Radford, the story follows Pablo Neruda’s exile to a tiny island off Italy where, being a high profile figure, he receives such huge quantities of mail – even for 1952 standards – that the post office has to take on extra staff – Ecco Il Postino,
This touching drama is underpinned by a imagined story the sees the exiled Chilean poet and diplomat Pablo Neruda (Noiret) retreating to house on an island off the Neapolitan coast. And the shy and poorly educated postman becomes secretly charmed by Neruda (Philippe Noiret/Life and Nothing But) as the two soon form a film friendship, Neruda helping him to win the affections of the enchanting local siren Beatrice (Maria Grazia Cucinotta/The World is Not Enough).
Radford’s brilliant casting and the breathtaking seascapes of Southern Italy make this a worthy winner of an Oscar – even though it was for Best Music and Original Dramatic Score. The only tragedy was Troisi’s death soon after filming. He embodies the romantic soul of Italy in a drama that never seems too sentimental, or too beautiful. MT
AVAILABLE ON Blu-ray and DVD from 15 October 2018 courtesy of CultFilms.