Cinema
La terra trema
Luchino Visconti · 1948
Synopsis
Aci Trezza, a fishing village on the east coast of Sicily. The Valastros, like the other families, sell their fish to wholesalers who set the price as they please. 'Ntoni, the eldest son, urges his family to revolt: they mortgage their house to buy their own boat and work for themselves. The first catch is abundant.
Context
The film freely adapts a novel by Giovanni Verga published in 1881. It was shot entirely in Aci Trezza with the local people, who act in their Sicilian dialect; a voice-over in Italian was added. The Italian Communist Party contributed to its financing. Visconti conceived it as the first part of a trilogy on fishermen, peasants and miners, never completed. Francesco Rosi and Franco Zeffirelli were his assistants, and the photography is by G. R. Aldo.
Who it is for
Nearly three hours, in Sicilian dialect with an Italian voice-over. A long film, played by the village's fishermen.
Prizes and reception
International prize at the Venice Film Festival in 1948; restored, it was presented at Cannes Classics in 2006 and re-released in cinemas in France in 2019.
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