Der Postmann (1994)
10KDer Postmann: Directed by Michael Radford, Massimo Troisi. With Philippe Noiret, Massimo Troisi, Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Renato Scarpa. A simple Italian postman learns to love poetry while delivering mail to a famous poet, and then uses this to woo local beauty Beatrice.
“u0026#39;Il Postinou0026#39; is a love story between men. Thereu0026#39;s something poetic about that, in this movie about love u0026amp; poetry. Neither of them is gay, mind you. In fact, a ravishing beauty (Maria Grazia Cucinotta) is the object of the title characteru0026#39;s affection. Still, this movie belongs to Philippe Noiret and the Oscar-nominated Massimo Troisi. Noiret is a Chilean poet, exiled in Italy for his communist leanings. Troisi is the postman, a man going nowhere who comes to idolize this intelligent poet. They become friends and Noiret essentially Cyranos Troisi into Cucinottau0026#39;s ample heart.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI didnu0026#39;t find the entire film to be heart-rending, but the final scenes add deep resonance to the material. My eyebrows were raised when the movie ended and there was a u0026quot;For Massimou0026quot; credit. Troisi died less than a day after they finished shooting. It seems fitting that the end of the film is bittersweet because the cast u0026amp; crew had been working with a dying man who wanted nothing more than to finish this final project. u0026#39;Il Postinou0026#39; ended up grossing a boatload of money, so his subtle performance clearly struck a chord with audiences.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTroisi got all the press for his fine work, but Noiret is certainly his equal. Director Michael Radford does well to stay out of their way. I like how he didnu0026#39;t sentimentalize the Troisi/Cucinotta relationship. Heu0026#39;s infatuated with her, but that diminishes a bit once he gets her. Theyu0026#39;re a fair representation of a real couple who were brought together for what might have been the wrong reasons. In fact, the film is filled with surprises. Itu0026#39;s a quiet character study, but all the players in u0026#39;Il Postinou0026#39; go through earth-shaking changes of personal proportions. And the Noiret/Troisi friendship is right at the heart of the matter.”
