Mediterraneo (1991)

Mediterraneo: Directed by Gabriele Salvatores. With Diego Abatantuono, Claudio Bigagli, Giuseppe Cederna, Claudio Bisio. In WW2, an Italian Army unit of misfits occupies an isolated non-strategic Greek island for the duration of the war.

“u0026quot;Mediterraneou0026quot;, which we saw during its debut run locally, has stayed fresh as when we first saw it. This small, endearing film has a lot going for it. In fact, it makes a perfect statement against WWII, or any war, for that matter, without being in oneu0026#39;s face. The subtlety of this film stays long in the vieweru0026#39;s mind.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWe are presented a group of Italian soldiers on a mission to set a base in a small, and apparently uninhabited island in the Aegean Sea, not too far from Italy, but millions of years away in the way it has stayed primitive enough to offer anything to these men. As soldiers, under the command of Raffaelle, these are not the typical professional soldiers. In fact, these men discover themselves and a world they didnu0026#39;t know existed during their time in the island.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhat surprises the soldiers is not to encounter anyone living in the village facing the sea, where they disembark. It becomes clear everyone is hiding from them. When the populace discover these men are harmless they return and embrace the invaders with open arms. After all, they feel the Italians share a lot in common with them.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe men, obviously abandoned, and lacking means of transportation, get stuck in the island. In fact, they donu0026#39;t realize, but when the Italian aviator arrives in his one engine plane, he is amazed how many years have passed since they arrived at that remote spot.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis small film is a delight to watch. Diego Abatantuono makes a great Lorusso. Claudio Bigati, is Raffaele, the man with an artistic eye, who sees the beauty of the classical Greek design. Vanna Barba plays Vassilessa, the local whore who falls in love with the shy Farina(Giuseppe Cederna). The rest of the cast does a good job under Mr. Salvatoresu0026#39; direction.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWatch this film as it will delight fans of Mr. Salvatores and the Italian cinema.”