Visconti's "La Terra Trema" .... (1 Viewer)

[Gary Tooze]

La Terra Trema
I quite liked this film. The theme was almost identical to his "Rocco and His Brothers" which he did 12 years later. It is very sad, almost unnecessarily so, about a family spiralling downward. In this film though it dealt with poverty, with Rocco it was more emotionally based. The neo-realism gave it that honest feel that you never find in modern films anymore... except maybe in documentary's. The DVD comes out today, and I recommend the film to any who have not seen it. I gave a full review HERE but I still have yet to see Visconti's Ossessione and was wondering if I could get some opinions on it? I can see why Scorsese likes Visconti so much... very similar. Visconti uses almost no close-ups and his pace of both films I have seen is extremely even. Although they were both long, it never felt laboured watching them...

 

[Jim Rankin]

Hey Gary, I too like Visconti (although I did not care for The Leopard). I watched Ossessione when it was on TCM and very much enjoyed it. It is kind of neat to make mental notes comparing it to Hollywood's The Postman Always Rings Twice, but I enjoyed Visconti's intrepretation more.
The drifter played by Massimo Girotti, was very interesting - very likable in one scene and not very savory in the next, it was difficult to get a fix on his character (which was intended I'm sure).
Clara Calamai's depiction of the wife was great, in essence she is in a battle to gain control of her life, and it's intriguing how these two characters interact with each other. For me the film was rewarding, and cemented Visconti as my 3rd favorite Italian director after Fellini and De Sica.
BTW - I saw that you recently watched Belle De Jour from Bunuel and was interested in you comments on it - are you going to review it at the Beaver?? I have watched 4 Bunuel films in the last 3 weeks (including Belle).

 

[Gary Tooze]

BTW - I saw that you recently watched Belle De Jour from Bunuel and was interested in you comments on it - are you going to review it at the Beaver?? I have watched 4 Bunuel films in the last 3 weeks (including Belle).

I have reviewed a few Bunuels on the site (The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz, Las Hurdes, Los Olvidados, That Obscure Object of Desire, El ), but not Belle de Jour. I have only seen it once and it did not impact upon me in the first viewing, so I will give it another go in the future...

Cheers,