Celluloid Sicily
Sicily has been loved and described in a large number of movies because of the particular sociological and historical aspects which have marked it, its striking landscapes and the strong appeals which it offers. Irony and sarcasm are the main features of the comedies which flourished in the 60s and were concerned with the themes of male chauvinism, sense of honor and shotgun wedding.
There are many movies dealing with the Mafia “phenomenon” with varied styles and tones.
La Terra Trema (1948) by Luchino Visconti
It is the masterpiece of Neorealism. Drawn from I Malavoglia, La terra trema is concerned with the rebellion of a fishing family exploited by a sort of wholesalers. It was shot in Aci Trezza and Aci Castello with actors and actresses chosen among the locals, who played in vernacular. It was awarded a special mention at the Festival of Venice in 1948.
Stromboli Terra di Dio (1949) by Roberto Rossellini
The movie is concerned with the story of Karin (Ingrid Bergman), the wife of a fisher from Stromboli. She experiences the difficulties of integration in this wild and strange land. The set is the island of Stromboli marked by the charm of the volcano, the splendid but wild landscapes and the unpolluted nature.
It is a psychological drama, enriched by the splendid setting and the traditional fish hunt called mattanza.
Il Bell’Antonio (1960) by Mauro Bolognini
Antonio (Marcello Mastroianni), well-known Don Juan, return to Catania after a long stay in Rome and is forced to marry Barbara (Claudia Cardinale) by his family. The marriage will be annulled because of his impotence. It is drawn from the homonymous novel by Vitaliano Brancati, and it focuses on the defence on the bitter end of the virility of the men from South Italy.
Divorzio all’Italiana
(1961) and Sedotta e abbandonata
(1963) by Pietro Germi
Two grotesque comedies which are only a part of Germi’s Trilogy about the vices of Italians. Divorzio all’italiana is concerned with the story of the baron Fefè Cefalù (Marcello Mastroianni) who decides to crowning his love affair with his very young cousin (Stefania Sandrelli) and getting rid of his wife. Given that the divorce was not allowed in Italy, he resorted to the so called “delitto d’onore” (a homicide committed to vindicate one’s injured honor), contemplated in the Italian penal code in 1981.
Sedotta e abbandonata is set in Sciacca in the 60s and focused on the theme of the shotgun wedding. Agnese (Stefania Sandrelli) is forced to marry her seducer, former betrothed of her sister.
Salvatore Giuliano (1961) by Francesco Rosi 
First of a series of movies concerning with Mafia, it is focused on the multifaceted figure of the bandit Giuliano. It is set in the actual places of origins of the bandit: Montelepre, hinterland of Palermo; the nearby Montedoro mountains which sheltered Giuliano; Castelvetrano, where he spent his last days before being murdered.
The Leopard (1963) by Luchino Visconti
The renowned movie by Luchino Visconti, drawn from the homonymous novel, is concerned with the decadence of Sicilian nobility at the age of the Thousand Army’s landing. The world-famous scene of the dance performed by don Fabrizio di Salina (Burt Luncaster) with Angelica (Claudia Cardinale), Tancredi’s betrothed (Alain Delon), was set in palazzo Ganci in Palermo on the notes of an inedited valzer by Giuseppe Verdi transposed by Nino Rota.
La Ragazza con la Pistola (1968) by Mario Monicelli
Funny comedy concerning with the stereotype of the Sicilian woman, whose role is played by a very young Monica Vitti. Seduced and forsaken, she goes to London to vindicate her injured honor. She will find love and emancipation.
The first part of the movie is set in Taormina and in the surroundings of Catania.
The Godfather
(1972);
Il Padrino – Parte III (1990) by Francis Ford Coppola
A part of the first movie of the world-famous saga of the Godfather was shot in Sicily: the story of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) returned to Italy was set in Forza D’Agro and Savoca. Moreover some shots of the Part III were set on the flight of steps of the majestic Theatre Massimo in Palermo.
Kaos
(1984) by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani
Movie divided into four episodes. It was drawn from some short stories by Pirandello and shot in Donnafugata, Salina, Lipari, Ispica, Ragusa, Ibla and Giarratana. The best episode is the third, La Giara, set in Donnafugata, featured by Franco Franchi and Ciccio Ingrassia.
Nuovo Cinema Paradiso
(1988) by Giuseppe Tornatore
Evocation of the post-wars Italy focusing on childhood of Salvatore spent in a little town in Sicily. The movie is set in the birthplace of the director: Bagheria, Santa Flavia, Lascari, Termini Imprese, Cefalù.
Dear Diary
(1993) by Nanni Moretti
The set of the second episode of the movie is the Aeolian archipelago, where Nanni Moretti goes with Gerardo, a friend, (Renato Carpentieri) in search of tranquility in order to write the scenario of a movie. They leave the chaotic Lipari to land to Salina, inhabited by families composed by parents and worshipped and despotic only children. They direct towards Stromboli, but they don’t find anyone who can host them. After flying away by the fashionable Panarea they eventually land in the remote Alicudi. The islands are only an occasion to be ironical about the commonplaces of the wild beauty.
Il Postino
(1994) by Michael Radford
Drawn from the novel by Antonio Skàrmeta, it is the last movie of Massimo Troisi. He plays the role of Mario, the postman who brings the post to the exiled poet Pablo Neruda (Phillippe Noiret). The movie focuses on the meeting between the poet and the postman, which completely overturns the life of the latter. The set is Salina, and the movie was shot in the splendid village of Pollara, perched on a volcanic rock steeply descending to the sea.
Malena
(2000) by Giuseppe Tornatore
On the day in 1940 that Italy enters the war, two things happen to the 12-year-old Renato: he gets his first bike, and he gets his first look at Malèna, a beautiful, silent outsider who's moved to this Sicilian town to be with her husband Nico who promptly goes off to war, leaving her to the lustful eyes of the men and the sharp tongues of the women. During the next few years, as Renato grows toward manhood, he watches Malèna suffer and prove her mettle: her loneliness, then grief when Nico is reported dead, the effects of slander on her relationship with her father, her poverty and search for work, and final humiliations. Will Renato learn courage from Malèna and stand up for her?
I Cento Passi (2000) by Marco Tullio Giordana
One hundred paces is the measure of the actual distance between Peppino Impastato’s house (Luigi Lo Cascio) and Tano Badalamenti’s house, a Mafia boss in the little town of Cinisi. The protagonist will pay with his life his serious denunciation of Mafia power in his town by means of a local newspaper and a little radio. It was an actual story.
The movie focuses on ideals, courage and strong emotions.
Respiro
(2002) by Emanuele Crialese
A movie suspended between tale and reality, set in the splendid Lampedusa. The main character is Grazia (Valeria Golino), alleged mad because of her strange behavior. She succeeds in avoiding the mental hospital in Milan thanks to her son’s help. People believe she is died and began to worship her as a saint. The plot is drawn from a local legend.
Nuovo Mondo: Golden Door
(2006) by Emanuele Crialese
A family of the mountains from Petralia decides to sell all their belongings and leave the poor Sicily behind them and start their journey to the land of promises, the new world, America. Once they get there they discover that is not like they always imagined and humiliated by several controls and psychological tests they realise that a place that never belonged to you it never will.
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