Main Cast: Massimo Troisi, Philippe Noiret, Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Linda Moretti, Renato Scarpa
Release Year: 1994
Country: IT/BE/FR
Run Time: 116 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
In this remake of the 1983 Ardiente Paciencia by Antonio Skarmeta, the time and place have been changed to Italy in the 1950s, but the relationship between the Chilean Nobel Prize-winning poet Pablo Neruda and Mario (Massimo Troisi), the postman who delivers his copious mail, is still the focus of attention. In this version of the story, scripted by a collective of Anna Pavignano, the director Michael Radford, Troisi himself, and a few others (based on Skarmeta's original story), Neruda is an aloof and slightly elitist figure who is seeking solitude on an island off the coast of Italy, taking a respite from political problems at home. Mario is a poet at heart and employs every measure he is capable of inventing to win his way into the affections and attention of the great author. As his efforts start to bear fruit and Neruda unbends and begins to share conversation and philosophy with Mario, the postman idolizes the poet all the more. Eventually, Neruda shares his leftist political philosophy as well -- and helps him win over the captivating Beatrice, the woman of Mario's dreams. When Neruda leaves, Mario enters into high gear as he prepares material for the next time he sees Neruda -- his ardor and patience, alluded to in the original title -- are essentially indestructible. (Massimo Troisi) was fated never to know that Il Postino would receive worldwide acclaim and be nominated for an Oscar for "Best Picture" in 1995 (the first foreign film nominated in that category since Ingmar Bergman's Cries and Whispers 22 years earlier). Suffering from a heart ailment and unable to work more than an hour or two on the filming of Il Postino each day, he died in his sleep at the age of 41, the day after shooting ended on the film. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
Review
Although Michael Radford directed this small, touching film about a shy mail carrier looking for love, the guiding spirit seems to have been writer/actor Massimo Troisi, who died shortly after shooting was completed. Troisi plays a simple, middle-aged man who lives on a small island in the Mediterranean also inhabited by noted Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. Upon learning that the poet receives a number of letters from women, and is said to have a way with them, he decides to solicit the help of the great man for advice on winning the woman Maria Grazia Cucinotta he loves. The film is as much about the romance of language as of lovers, and as much about the postman's gentle seduction of the initially distant poet as it is about his courtship of the woman. Troisi shines in his final role, his gauntly lyrical presence lingering in the memory long after the film ends. The great Philippe Noiret, the eternal everyman of French films, might have seemed a strange choice for the role of Neruda, but he is as brilliant as ever. A small film it may be, but its poetry is winning. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide
Il Postino is a 1994Italian language film directed by Michael Radford. The film was originally released in the U.S. as The Postman, a straight translation of the Italian title.[1] However, since the release of Kevin Costner's film of the same name, the film has been released on DVD as Il Postino: The Postman, and English-language film critics often refer to the film by its Italian title alone.
Writer/star Massimo Troisi postponed heart surgery so that he could complete the film. The day after filming was completed, he suffered a fatal heart attack.
Whereas the novel and the 1983 film were set in Chile, with Neruda living in his home at Isla Negra around 1970, Il Postino moves the setting to Italy in about 1950. The film is set and was partially filmed on the island of Salina, of the volcanic Aeolian Island chain off the north coast of Sicily. One unfortunate victim of the film's popularity has been Pollara Beach on the island, which has suffered erosion from motorboats and vandalism from tourists since the film was produced [2].
^ The official Academy Awards database refers to it as The Postman (Il Postino)[1], and a poster with the title The Postman is reproduced in its IMDb profile.[2]
