Padre Padrone (1977)

In the Sardinian countryside, a shepherd (Omero Antonutti) pulls his six year old son (Fabrizio Forte as the child, Saverio Marconi as the adult) out of school and makes him tend his flock in the mountains. Under the brutal yoke of his father's oppression, he spends the next 14 years in near isolation with only the animals and nature his only companions. But soon an opportunity to escape will present itself. Based on the memoir by Gavino Ledda and adapted for the screen and directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani. I must confess the almost universal praise (it won the Palme D'or at the 1977 Cannes film festival) for PADRE PADRONE stymies me. There's no denying the film's power and effectiveness but it's a crude, almost amateurish film. The acting is mostly terrible, it's a pretty ugly looking (it was shot in 16 millimeter) film, the Tavianis tend to linger over a shot way too long (we watch a character walk ... and walk ... and walk). We're too conscious of the effect they're trying for and we're distanced by that rather than plunging into the emotional core of the narrative. Its heavy handedness seems misconstrued as being powerful. In the end, it's the kind of film one can admire without really liking it. With Marcella Michelangeli as the mother and Gavino Ledda appears as himself bookending the film.