Word: postino
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Dates: during 1996-1996
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...inevitable: turn out enough garbage in the guise of movies, laced with foul-mouthed dialogue, and you have the best ingredients to ensure a successful failure. Il Postino (The Postman), a simple film with a simple plot, superbly acted, is sound proof that great films can be made and be profitable. Yet the industry continues to churn out products that seem to be based solely on special effects. At least someone in the industry has heard the wake-up call, through their bank account. LIDO DELUCK Seattle...
...cited for Best Picture. It is also why this year's nod to Babe wins cheers even from a rival, Braveheart's Steven Rosenblum: "Groups like the Academy often don't recognize how well edited these quiet pictures are." Seven's Richard Francis-Bruce adds that the contemplative Il Postino deserved a mention for its deft matching of shots, within the same scene, of the ailing Massimo Troisi and his body double who appears in about half of the film. "If they had known, maybe they would have voted...
Next is "The Postman (Il Postino)"--wait, you say, shouldn't that be in the foreign film category? However, "The Postman" was not entered into consideration for best foreign film. (There are conflicting reports as to the reasons behind this: some say that Italy was annoyed that a Briton--Michael Radford--was directing an Italian film. It has been said that since "The Postman" opened in Italy in 1994 it could not be nominated for Best Foreign Film of 1995; however, it opened in the U.S. in 1995 and thus could be nominated for best picture.) Many feel that...
...Antonio Skarmeta novel on which the film is based, and another 25,000 books of Neruda poetry. A CD of stars like Sting, Madonna and Wesley Snipes reading Neruda was later sent to Academy members with a videocassette of the film, as was a note telling them that Il Postino was ineligible for the foreign-language Oscar because the Italians had not offered it for nomination. If Academy voters wanted to honor the film, they'd just have to nominate it for Best Picture...
That they did says a few things: that a small, TV-size movie plays well to older, stay-at-home Academy voters; that in a subpar year for Hollywood films, the members will look abroad; and that emotional clout always helps sell a picture. Il Postino takes as its subject the volatile nature of a strong, unequal friendship. The movie makes poignant and palpable that most discreet of passions: devotion...