cabiria is a 1914 italian epic silent film , directed by giovanni pastrone and shot in turin .

the film is set in ancient sicily , carthage , and cirta during the period of the second punic war ( 218 – 202 bc ) .

it follows a melodramatic main plot about an abducted little girl , cabiria , and features an eruption of mt. etna , heinous religious rituals in carthage , the alpine trek of hannibal , archimedes ' defeat of the roman fleet at the siege of syracuse and scipio maneuvering in north africa .

apart from being a classic on its own terms , the film is also notable for being the first film in which the long-running film character maciste makes his debut .

according to martin scorsese , in this work pastrone invented the epic movie and deserves credit for many of the innovations often attributed to d.w. griffith and cecil b. demille .

among those was the extensive use of a moving camera , thus freeing the feature-length narrative film from " static gaze " .

the historical background and characters in the story are taken from livy 's ab urbe condita ( written ca. 27 – 25 bc ) .

in addition , the script of cabiria was partially based on gustave flaubert 's 1862 novel salammbo and emilio salgari 's 1908 novel cartagine in fiamme ( carthage in flames ) .

cabiria

cabiria <EOT> made a slave : croessa and cabiria are sold into slavery . cabiria is briefly liberated but eventually becomes the long - term slave of sophonisba . croessa is executed for helping cabiria escape the priests of moloch .

living macguffin : the movie is called cabiria but cabiria does absolutely nothing over the movie , except occasionally cower in fear , and constantly need rescuing .

" cabiria issue " of bianco e nero ( rome ) , summer 1975 .

^ " cabiria ( 1914 ) . " jahsonic , a vocabulary of culture .

anonymous " nights of cabiria characters " . gradesaver , 3 june 2017 web .

nights of cabiria essays are academic essays for citation . these papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of nights of cabiria directed by federico fellini .

severo , richard . " ' cabiria ' a 1914 epic silent , marks italian culture week . "

finocchiaro - chimirri , giovanna , d ' annunzio e il cinema " cabiria , " catania , 1986 .

at the beginning of the movie cabiria is the 8 - year - old daughter of batto , a wealthy italian patrician with an estate in sicily . an eruption of mt . etna destroys batto ' s mansion , and cabiria is thought to have been killed in the fires . however , cabiria is not dead ; her nurse croessa joined the other servants in looting their master ' s estate , and croessa took cabiria with her .

looking for movie tickets ? enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing nights of cabiria near you .

they call her cabiria . . . no matter how many men she was with - she would always be alone !

^ usai , " cabiria , an incomplete masterpiece : the quest for the original 1914 version , " p . 155 .

the position of the family outside the house changes between when cabiria first opens the door and when she leaves the house .

catapult nightmare : they date back to 1914 ! sophonisba has one about being eaten alive by moloch , and cabiria being carthage ' s doom . after waking up from her catapult nightmare she agrees to hand cabiria over to the priests of moloch for sacrifice .

, using the story of cabiria , a young girl from italy , as a frame . during the confusion surrounding an eruption of the volcano mount etna , cabiria and her nurse croessa become separated from the members of cabiria’s household and are subsequently kidnapped by pirates . taken to carthage , cabiria is sold as a future offering to the god moloch . meanwhile , the roman patrician fulvius axilla and his slave maciste act as spies for rome in carthage , its rival . upon running away after a failed attempt to save cabiria from the sacrificial cult , croessa meets fulvius and maciste and convinces them to help her save cabiria . after a dangerous escape from the sacrificial cult ( during which croessa is killed ) fulvius and maciste learn that hannibal has crossed the alps and is marching on rome ; anxious to leave carthage and return to rome , fulvius and maciste attempt to flee carthage with cabiria . however , during the escape the two men are separated , with maciste recaptured and relegated to slavery after hurriedly entrusting cabiria to the safety of the princess sophonisba of cirta .

the question and answer section for nights of cabiria is a great resource to ask questions , find answers , and discuss the novel .

in terms of its influence , cabiria capped the trend in america of the switch from short films to extended stories . with wwi , hollywood was about to dominate the worldwide film industry , and cabiria was one of its greatest teachers . in terms of technique , cabiria is most renowned for its tracking shots , known for a time as ‘cabiria’ shots , which create a sense of depth via movement rather than set design , with the camera usually penetrating diagonally into the action from a long shot to a little closer , thereby picking out something of importance .

gethmann , daniel , daten und fahrten : die geschichte der kamerafahrt , " cabiria " und gabriele d ' annunzios bilderstrategie , munich , 1996 .

eye scream : when maciste subdues karthalo who tried to rape cabiria he grabs his eyes , and he could have actually gouge out his eyes .

cabiria is a classic silent movie from the early years of italy ' s movie industry , directed by giovanni pastrone . it was released in 1914 .

unfortunately for croessa and cabiria they are soon captured by phoenician pirates and sold into slavery in carthage . carthaginians are in the habit of sacrificing young children to the god moloch , and little cabiria is picked to be one of a hundred kids to be thrown into the fire . croessa makes her way to fulvius axilla , a roman businessman in carthage who is actually a spy . fulvius , and his hulking , enormously strong black slave maciste , arrive just in time to save cabiria from being sacrificed . eventually little cabiria is hidden with sophonisba , a carthaginian princess promised in marriage to the numidian king massinissa .

lane , j . f . , " cabiria : and now pizzetti ' s fire symphony , " in sight and sound ( london ) , autumn 1983 .

years pass , and cabiria lives as a slave in sophonisba’s court ; the punic wars rage on , with carthage and rome trading blows in battle . during the burning of the roman naval fleet , fulvius is carried by sea to the shores of aretusa , where cabiria’s family still lives . after promising to search for cabiria if possible , fulvius returns to carthage as a spy for the roman army ; during this reconnaissance , he frees maciste from slavery , and the two flee the city into the desert . as they travel they are captured by fugitives from the burning camp of syphax , who are fleeing from the destruction to their native city of cirta . cirta is overtaken by massinissa , a numidian king fighting for rome ; certain that the destruction is caused by her rescue of the child cabiria from sacrifice to the god moloch , sophonisba orders cabiria’s death . maciste and fulvius , having again met and remembered cabiria , determine to escape their slavery and rescue her yet again . during this new attempt to save cabiria , maciste and fulvius become entrapped in a cellar in the palace , then are freed by sophonisba’s generosity .

cabiria is a 1914 italian epic film directed by giovanne pastrone . it is set in ancient rome during the punic wars of the third century b . c .

celli , carlo j . , " cabiria as a d ' annunzian document , " in romance languages annual ( west lafayette ) , vol . 9 , 1997 .

nights of cabiria study guide contains a biography of director federico fellini , literature essays , quiz questions , major themes , characters , and a full summary and analysis .

the character of cabiria can be read as a metaphor for the nation itself , and her melodramatic fate is an allegory for the fate of italy - as - rome .

during the punic wars in the third century b . c . the little girl cabiria , and her nurse croessa , are abducted during the confusion caused by an eruption of mount etna . cabiria is sold in carthage to be sacrificed in the temple of moloch . fulvio axilla , a roman spy , and his slave , maciste , rescue her and she ends up in the care of queen sophonisba . ten years later , after many wars and alliances , carthage falls to the romans and cabiria returns home with fulvio .

a taste of the lash : croessa is whipped for trying to prevent the priests of moloch from taking cabiria away for sacrifice . later maciste is whipped for the same offense .

the name cabiria is borrowed from the 1914 italian film cabiria , while the character of cabiria herself is taken from a brief scene in fellini ' s earlier film , the white sheik . it was masina ' s performance in that earlier film that inspired fellini to make nights of cabiria . [ 3 ] but no one in italy was willing to finance a film which featured prostitutes as heroines . finally , dino de laurentiis agreed to put up the money . fellini based some of the characters on a real prostitute whom he had met while filming il bidone . for authenticity , he had pier paolo pasolini , known for his familiarity with rome ' s criminal underworld , help with the dialogue . [ 4 ]

three centuries before christus . young cabiria is kidnapped by some pirates during one eruption of the etna . she is sold as a slave in carthage , and as she is just going to be sacrificed to god moloch , cabiria is rescued by both fulvio axilla , a roman noble , and his giant slave maciste . maciste is captured just after having confided cabiria to sophinisbe ' s safe keeping , while fulvio axilla manages to escape from carthage . ten years went away with punic wars before he is able to come back to carthage . . .

nights of cabiria was filmed in many areas around italy , including acilia , castel gandolfo , cinecittà , santuario della madonna del divino amore , and the tiber river . [ 5 ]

yet in its particular way , " cabiria " is beautiful and enthralling . in his novel the book of illusions , paul auster has a remarkable passage about the appeal of silent films :

cabiria has a unique sound that combines sensual trip - hop grooves driven by classical voice and harmony . the phrasing of their hauntingly melodic music borrows from classical works of composers such as rachmaninov and chopin , with a down - tempo groove inspired by portishead and many others who have shaped the trip - hop genre . cabiria’s melodic sound is captured through the powerful operatic vocals of rachel jane henry , who has been trained classically . part of the band ' s characteristic sound is the interplay between rachel ' s intense , high - register lyrical melodies , and meredith bogacz’s sullen and seductive violin playing . the main accompaniment is the nylon string guitar played by claudio morsella , adding hints of flamenco and spanish technique to the brooding quality of cabiria’s sound . the trip - hop influence manifests through the combination of live drum and bass , defining this genre for cabiria . originally from boston , cabiria came to life in 2004 and developed a following in new england by performing most venues in the city . in 2006 they released their debut lp “no time for dreaming” which has been described as a “hauntingly beautiful operatic trip - hop masterpiece” . now in new york city , cabiria has been performing with a new lineup and has just released their six song ep , “a product of humankind” . this album reflects the new qualities in cabiria’s sound , as the band tries to market their music to a bigger audience . cabiria is seeking interests from labels , film and other avenues for their music . please visit : urltoken

breakout character : maciste the slave . actor bartolomeo pagano played him in over two dozen more films after cabiria and the character has been featured in dozens of other italian films over the decades .

carthage , third century b . c . , during the second punic war . young cabiria is about to be sacrificed to the god moloch , but is saved by the roman fulvio . . .

experiment with a mobile camera and tracking and panning shots - - the film is said to be the first popular film to use tracking shots , which were for many years referred to as the “cabiria shot . ”

cabiria , a prostitute living on the outskirts of rome , is thrown into the river by her lover giorgio who runs off with her money . she nearly drowns , but is fished out by some local boys . later , she witnesses a row between movie star alberto lazzari and his girlfriend . lazzari whisks cabiria off to a nightclub , then on to his apartment . when his girlfriend returns , alberto hides cabiria , eventually helping her slink out after the girlfriend falls asleep . dumped in the wasteland on the edge of town , cabiria meets a man giving out food to homeless people , among whom is the once - renowned prostitute la bomba . cabiria goes to church , but she is disillusioned by the shabby , market - like atmosphere . she visits a vaudeville club , where she is called up on stage by the hypnotist . under hypnosis , she reveals her dreams of romantic love . the audience ridicules her . outside the club , she meets oscar , an accountant , who claims to have been moved by her honesty . she agrees to a date with him . they begin courting .

handsomely recompensed , mr . d’annunzio agreed to rewrite the intertitles and evidently contributed the names of several characters , including the still resonant cabiria and maciste . his participation , evidently most distinctive in the flamboyant idiom of the italian titles , generated a fascination and cachet that translated into substantial social and commercial value . reputed to be the first $ 1 million production , “cabiria” demonstrated that it could pay off to budget a generous amount for literary celebrity .

carthage , third century b . c . , during the second punic war . young cabiria is about to be sacrificed to the god moloch , but is saved by the roman fulvio axilla and his faithful servant maciste . many years later , the two recognise her as the beautiful elissa , sofonisba’s ( the king of carthage’s daughter ) favourite and entrapped by the high priest kharthalo . the final defeat of carthage by the romans crowns the birth of love between axilla and cabiria .

three centuries before christus . young cabiria is kidnapped by some pirates during one eruption of the etna . she is sold as a slave in carthage , and as she is just going to be sacrificed to . . . see full summary »

alovisio , silvio , " el poder de la puesta en escena : cabiria entre la atraccion y el relato , " translated by isabel monzo - gandia , in archivos de la filmoteca , ( valencia ) , vol . 20 , june 1995 .

in outline , nights of cabiria sounds bleak and depressing . unlike the young narrator of i vitelloni ( 1953 ) , who was finally able to escape his provincial home town , cabiria has no way out . she ' s a sisyphean figure , destined always to land back where she started . given his acknowledged debt to chaplin , fellini might have been expected to play up the pathos in her plight . cabiria ' s story is indeed heartrending , but neither director nor actress allow her time for self - pity . she may be robbed , betrayed and almost killed , but despair is never more than a passing emotion with her . fellini ends the film ambiguously . cabiria has lost her home . we don ' t know whether she ' ll suffer the same fate as la bomba or pick herself up yet again . " i myself have worried about her fate ever since , " the director confessed to charlotte chandler . audiences are liable to leave the film feeling equally concerned .

massina plays cabiria as an eternal optimist , almost cartoonishly picking herself up every time she ' s knocked down . she is nothing if not mercurial . one moment , she ' ll be happily dancing a mambo in the street ; the next , having a catfight with a fellow prostitute who has taunted her about her latest no - good boyfriend . ( it is striking how closely massina resembles the equally close - cropped , equally volatile shirley maclaine , who played a character based on cabiria in sweet charity , 1968 . )

a wave of innovative camera techniques moving films away from static action and into more movement - oriented shots ; among the various techniques originating from the film , the “cabiria movement” in particular gained prestige and common usage . in addition to the novelty of its film techniques ,

characteristic of melodrama , the endangered female figure [ cabiria ] is the fulcrum of the narrative , highlighting the role of the woman as central to the social order of the nation , with her violation a sign of its dissolution . ( landy 2000 : 33 - 4

cabiria originally ran a whopping 200 minutes . it survives today in cuts running anywhere from 126 minutes to 190 minutes in a 2006 restoration . it was not the first feature film , as several films in the 60 - 90 minute range had already been produced , but it was unprecedented in its length and scope , with enormous sets and the proverbial cast of thousands . it made an obvious impact on dw griffith , who took a lot of inspiration from cabiria when filming the " fall of babylon " portion of his 1916 epic intolerance .

the site also reports that a deal is closing to attach daniels to a remake of federico fellini ‘s 1957 classic “ night of cabiria . ” that’s right . lee daniels . doing fellini . let that settle in for a moment . try not to have an aneurysm .

the director of the film , giovanni pastrone ( 1883 - 1959 ) , had been on the ground floor of the trend toward costume spectacles . evidently a skilled technician and one of the founders of itala , he had enjoyed career - altering success with “the fall of troy” in 1910 . “cabiria” was such a hit that he made three sequels revolving around its strongman hero , maciste , a slave of north african origin who comes to the rescue of his master , a roman nobleman named fulvio , destined to wed a sicilian slave girl named cabiria .

this presentation begins the latest edition of the gallery’s annual retrospective series , “from vault to screen , ” which showcases preservation work from film archives around the world . the print of “cabiria” is on loan from the museo del cinema in turin , the most venerable archive in italy .

summary : a re - release of the fellini masterpiece which sunk into obscurity after it won the 1957 oscar for the best foreign film . giulietta masina ( fellini ' s wife ) is cabiria , a waifish prostitute who wonders the streets dreaming of a wonderful life but always finding heartbreak .

unless indicated otherwise , the text in this article is either based on wikipedia article " cabiria " or another language wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the gnu free documentation license ; or on original research by jahsonic and friends . see art and popular culture ' s copyright notice .

meanwhile , sophonisba marries massinissa , and begins to turn his loyalties from rome to carthage . learning that massinissa is becoming distracted , the roman leader orders massinissa to give up sophonisba to him as a spoil of war . forced to give up his bride , massinissa secretly sends maciste to sophonisba with a vial of poison , with which she kills herself rather than become a commodity . before her death , sophonisba releases cabiria , who marries fulvius . the film ends with the victory of rome over its enemy carthage , and the happy return to rome of fulvius , maciste , and cabiria .

cabiria is a prostitute who wears a tough translucent exterior but nevertheless looks for meaning through romantic love . though she has deflating experiences like being pushed into the tiber river , and being led - on and used by an actor , she repeatedly opens her heart to the hope of finding stability and love .

the competition was nail - biting , and mother india , initially in the lead , eventually lost out to fellini’s nights of cabiria — by just a single vote . and to add to the drama , mehboob khan , shocked by his unexpected loss , had a heart attack and had to be rushed to hospital .

the national gallery of art will facilitate cinematic time - traveling this afternoon by hosting a rare screening of one of those productions , a 1914 historical spectacle titled “cabiria , ” which remains one of the most respected and durably impressive movie epics of its generation — the founding generation of movies as a popular art form .

" cabiria , " made in italy in 1914 by giovanni pastrone , had a huge impact on cinema , encouraging countless directors worldwide ( among them america ' s d . w . griffith ) to take their craft more seriously and create longer , more artistically ambitious films . unfortunately , i found the film a bore . i couldn ' t watch it for more than an hour . set during ancient roman times , it tells the story of a young girl named cabiria born at the foot of mount etna in sicily . after a volcano wipes out her home , she is sold to a carthaginian priest seeking children to sacrifice in his religious rituals . the only gripping scenes were those in the temple of moloch , where naked children are sacrificed one by one as frenzied dancers cheer the priest on . cabiria is rescued and ends up on the run under the protection of a fellow roman and his slave . that ' s when the boredom really sets in .

although i have described the film as the story of cabiria , she is barely a character in herself but a token to be exchanged exchange , or fought over , by men ( and in fact she disappears from great swathes of the narrative ) . let me overstate : in symbolic terms , she ( female ) is the unit of currency of the patriarchal order . ( thus the marriage to the berlusconian fulvius at the end . ) in a manner we can read as an ideological metaphor for italy’s relationship with its north african colonies , the child cabiria is an innocent threatened by barbaric forces , forces which must therefore be tamed by roman civilization .

driven to suicide : sophonisba is finally reunited with massimissa , the latter having fought for the romans and toppled syphax , but when the roman consul arrives he demands sophonisba as a prize of war . so massimissa has maciste smuggle her some poison , and she kills herself , but not before freeing cabiria and reuniting her with fulvius .

in an interview he gave to charlotte chandler , fellini cited chaplin ' s city lights as a key influence on nights of cabiria . instead of the little man in the bowler hat , he offers us a prostitute ( played by his wife , giulietta massina ) ekeing out an existence in scrubland on the edge of rome . screaming abuse at boyfriends , haranguing other women on the street , cabiria is an infinitely more fiery character than chaplin ' s tramp . " she ' s got nine lives , like a cat , " someone observes after she is saved from drowning . she needs to be resilient , if only because she is constantly betrayed by menfolk .

rome , 1957 . a woman , cabiria , is robbed and left to drown by her boyfriend , giorgio . rescued , she resumes her life and tries her best to find happiness in a cynical world . even when she thinks her struggles are over and she has found happiness and contentment , things may not be what they seem .

cast : italia almirante manzini ( sophonisba ) ; vitale de stefano ( massinissa ) ; bartolomeo pagano ( maciste ) ; lidia quaranta ( cabiria ) ; umberto mozzato ( fulvio axilla ) ; enrico gemelli ( archimedes ) ; alex bernard ( siface ) ; raffaele di napoli ( bodastoret ) ; luigi chellini ( scipione ) ; ignazio lupi ( arbace ) .

at times , nights of cabiria seems like a picaresque folk tale . nino rota ' s playful music , massina ' s live - wire , clownlike performance and the cruel humour which runs throughout the film suggest fellini was no longer constrained by the tenets of neorealism . there are moments here - for instance the grotesque sequence in which the cripple is led into church in search of a miracle , attempts to walk unaided and promptly falls flat on his face - which wouldn ' t look out of place in a buñuel film . the flights of fancy , such as cabiria ' s evening with the handsome , world - weary movie star , anticipate equally magical and improbable happenings in the director ' s later work . nevertheless , we ' re left in little doubt about the practical difficulties which beset cabiria . she is a home owner , " with water , electricity , everything , " but she knows that if she slips up , she may end living rough like la bomba , the bedraggled ex - prostitute who now sleeps in a hole in the ground .

their encounter comes when cabiria accompanies a mysterious stranger who distributes food and blankets to the homeless . ' the man with the sack ' sequence , as it is known , has been missing from most prints since the film showed in cannes in 1957 . there are different theories why . biographer john baxter suggests the church took exception to the fact that the benefactor was a layman , not a priest . but producer dino de laurentiis claimed the scene was cut simply to shorten the film . whatever the reasons , the restored sequence seems pivotal . it ' s here that cabiria is given an intimation of what may happen to her . the benefactor is also the only truly trustworthy man she meets in the entire film .

although the other contenders had some good work , noted above , there really was nothing to compete with the grand scale and imagination of “cabiria . ” d . w . griffith himself was floored when he saw it , and would try building on that scale two years later when he made “ intolerance . ” but until then , nothing could hope to touch it .

mr . pastrone , whose film career faded at the end of the decade , enhanced the publicity allure of “cabiria” with a selfless brainstorm . his own identity was obscured behind the alias piero fosco . while remaining out of the limelight , he persuaded a national literary idol , the poet gabriele d’annunzio , to front as the screenwriter and presiding artistic eminence of the film .

there are no true closeups in " cabiria , " although there are medium and medium - long shots . the typical shot stands back far enough to incorporate a great deal of architecture along with tableaux of characters . the sets for griffith ' s " intolerance " possibly grew so large after he saw " cabiria , " and demille was also fond of enormous sets . when a modern film like " troy " creates a vast greek city out of digital information , we aren ' t fooled . we may be impressed by the visual effect , but we aren ' t impressed by the achievement . watching these silent films , we feel a kind of awe , because we see that the sets are really there , and really that size .

turin also was the home city of the production company , itala , that backed “cabiria , ” which began filming in 1912 . ultimately , it employed a cast of thousands while also shooting on locations in tunisia , sicily and the swiss alps . the principal standing sets were constructed in turin . circus elephants were recruited to help simulate carthaginian armies on the march during the second punic war .

both “judith of bethulia” and “cabiria” built cities from the ancient world as settings for their stories , with gargantuan features that at times dominate the human actors – the walls of the city in “judith” and the temple of mammon for “cabiria” being standout examples . “the squaw man” deserves special notice for the innovation of building an indoor set right next to a railroad track , so that the actual trains rushing by would become part of the action without camera trickery . “magic cloak of oz” gave us not one , but two fairy castles , as well as the city of noland with its fanciful architectural style . finally , production - designer - turned - director evgeni bauer gave us a complex and believable bourgeois household , contrasting the beautifully decorated living quarters with the spartan look of the servants’ domains in “silent witnesses . ”

after the eruption of mt . etna , survivors / looters finds themselves lucky to find an abandoned boat after their escape . and then unlucky , once phoenician pirates return and kill most of them . croessa ( gina marangoni ) and cabiria ( carolina catena ) are taken to carthage where cabiria is set to be sacrificed to their gods . croessa goes off in search of axilla ( umberto mozzato ) and his slave maciste ( bartolomeo pagano ) , who she recognizes as being romans living undercover there , in order to get their help . meanwhile , hannibal ( emilio vardannes ) is off on a skiing vacation in the alps . " cabiria " is a suitably epic movie done on a grand scale . like many other early silent movies , the pace if very fast . so much so , that the movie tries to squeeze the entire punic wars into a two hour running time . ( by comparison , i was going to bring up " game of thrones " but in this case i almost think it could sort of work , especially if you cut out all the scenes in brothels . ) a bigger problem lies in the film ' s lack of focus , as not only does it forget the title character for long stretches , but so to do the other characters who are supposedly looking for her .

imagine pericles , shakespeare ' s surreal drama , recast with a young female lead , and with the epic factor amped up to 11 : elephants , volcanos , death cults and all the horrors of the punic wars , and you have cabiria . it takes a particular self - distancing aptitude to appreciate silent films in our age as more that curiosities . for the most part , they fall into two categories : flat filmed melodrama that predates the sound era , and visual extravaganza that takes full advantage of the form . metropolis and the nibelungen are examples of the latter . thankfully , so is cabiria . cabiria takes you - and let us not forget , the undoubtedly spellbound audience of 1914 - on a visual journey that would have been impossible on stage , showing a sophistication in its characterization , mise - en - scene , art direction and effects that is well ahead of its time . more importantly , it is a compelling tale of adventure . a silent film today ' s audience could actually enjoy ! a word about access : i love watching people ' s reaction to the eureka blu - ray of fritz lang ' s metropolis . people think silent films were meant to look all soft and scratched . it is truly a wondrous thing to see these films as they were meant to be seen . doing so for cabiria is a bit harder : the kino dvd transfer is far from ideal , and the imposed piano score does little justice to the scale of the film . an easy solution is to mute the audio on your dvd player or tv and patch in something grandiose , like wagner ' s ring . . . in any case , if you love films and are curious about their history , try this one on for size .

there ' s something magical and alluring about cabiria that goes above and beyond the sum of its hit - and - miss elements . beautifully sprawling sets depicting ancient times with stunning detail and imagination serve as the backdrop to characters that jump out from the screen in a way that had yet been achieved anywhere else . in more ways than one , cabiria strikes many a resemblance to dante ' s inferno from a few years prior , but tops said film on just about every count . perhaps the most vivid comparison between the two lies in its special effects . while inferno ' s imagery strived for biblical grandeur , cabiria instead delivers something that ' s more artistic and frail . sure , there are scenes which focus mostly on disaster and action , but it ' s the movie ' s dabbling in dream - like effects and romantic imagery that gives it the upper hand . by no means is everything perfect , however . it has to be said that moments of banality and obtuse , incomprehensible plotting occur more frequently in between moments that either awe you with spectacle or woo you with charm . nevertheless , the film still manages to make its mark well , standing out vividly from its early cinematic siblings thanks to its more straight - forward subplots which more often than not cease any yawns beginning to surface . perhaps most staggering of all is the film ' s scope , not just in ambition and bravado , but in its ability to strike genuine pathos . whether it ' s moments of comic relief , tragic despair or sheer thrill , cabiria gripped me from time to time in ways that earlier features failed to do . definitely worth at least one watch for curious cinephiles and in my opinion is the first truly worthwhile entry in cinema ' s awkward infancy years .

contemporary audiences and filmmaking professionals were united in admiration of the scenic sweep and pictorial finesse of the italian epics . the producers didn’t seem to stint when constructing mock - ups of ancient edifices or staging mass spectacles . the principal set pieces in “cabiria” depict land and naval battles ( the incineration of a roman fleet approaching syracuse by a system of high - powered mirrors invented by archimedes ) and a barbaric sacrificial rite at the temple of moloch .

like birth of a nation cabiria has aroused its share of controversy because of the political nature of its subject matter . it was produced by italian ultra - nationalist gabriele d ' annunzio and was released soon after the italo - turkish war , in which italy conquered the north african ottoman provinces of cyrenaica and tripolitania . the parallels in the film , about rome conquering an inferior north african carthage , can be seen as a celebration of italian imperialism .

the splendid set design back in 1914 , which would obviously influence griffith ' s intolerance a few years later , is worth watching . other than that , as a work in the dawn of film history , cabiria inevitably suffers several flaws . comprising exclusively medium and long shots ( with absolutely no close - ups ) , the film should have relied on engaging storytelling , but it just progresses tediously . as a title role , cabiria should have appeared on the screen more , but she serves as a catalyst and stays behind the scene for most time . versatile solo piano on the soundtrack ( which is , according to the credit of " 1990 alternate version " i watched , " piano score recorded by jacques ganthier , based on the original 1914 score , " which i assume is composed by manlio mazza ) imitates classical composers in various eras , from bach to beethoven to schumann to brahms to debussy , and is quite enjoyable by itself .

the princess in the foreground is an 8 - year - old sicilian named cabiria ( carolina catena ) , who survives an eruption of aetna but is kidnapped , and after various adventures becomes a slave in carthage . she originally was rescued from the volcano and earthquake by a traveler from rome named fulvio ( umberto mozzato ) and his slave maciste ( bartolomeo pagano ) , and they discover her again as a grown woman ( lidia quaranta ) . together they plot to free her .

i find it tragic , enthralling , and mysterious that one of the most innovative films in the history of cinema is also one of the least known . in many ways , it was so far ahead of it ' s time , and so evolved in terms of the grand vision the film possessed . simply put , every epic film in the pantheon of cinematic history owes something to cabiria . an appropriate and well - deserved nickname for this film would have to be the godfather of epics .

it’s not that we’re against the idea of a remake in principle — fellini’s film was , after all the basis for bob fosse ‘s classic musical “ sweet charity , ” which took a very different approach , but still worked out . the problem here is that whoever’s involved seems to have worked and long and hard to find the worst possible director that they could have hired for the material : “ nights of cabiria ” would seem to play to daniels’ worst excesses , if “precious” is any indication .

eventually , oscar offers to marry her . radiantly happy , cabiria sells up her house , withdraws her life savings and prepares to set up home with him . he leads her through the woods to a cliff top . she realises he intends to kill her . he spares her life but takes her savings . distraught , she stumbles back to the road . serenaded by a procession of young dancers and singers , she wipes away her tears and smiles . in spite of everything , her optimism has returned .

the glory of this restoration of " cabiria " is that almost all of it is sharp and clear . my laserdisc version is so murky you can ' t see and appreciate the beauty of the sets and costumes . because the film ' s story moves in a stately fashion , because intertitles introduce more characters and plotlines than are probably necessary , because the acting is broad and the gestures large , we don ' t get involved emotionally . but there are benefits as well as drawbacks to pastrone ' s epic style .

the same reality is true of some of the stunts in " cabiria . " there is a scene where a city ' s walls are besieged by warriors on ladders , and others in a wicker basket are raised high up at the end of a crane . the city defenders push the ladders off the walls , and use lances to overturn the basket . yes , there are probably piles of straw down below to cushion the warriors as they land , but look how far they fall while they are still onscreen . the risks they are taking are chilling .

italy was a colonial power in libya at the time when cabiria was made . imperial ambition is associated with mussolini but it was already in place before wwi . when we talk of history in the film we can do so in terms of the representation of the other . all nations define themselves against an other ( geographically , culturally , linguistically ) , but could one function of the film have been to legitimate italy’s imperial ambitions ? hence the representation of africa as barbaric , uncivilized , needing control ( the same representation survives in contemporary italian political culture ) .

giovanni pastrone ' s grand - scale storytelling of a lost princess , her journey from being kidnapped to almost being offered as a child sacrifice and then ending up as a slave , ' cabiria ' is cinema ' s first true epic . pastrone made several films , and the scope and spectacle of his films inspired directors like griffith and fellini , but ' cabiria ' is the only one which has stood the test of time . and since the story is set almost 2000 years ago , the aged quality of this 100 - year - old film only adds to the feel of the time . like griffith ' s ' birth of a nation ' , ' cabiria ' too was shrouded in controversy for its biased depiction of races , places and cultures . like ' birth of a nation ' propagated ku klux klan ' s nobility and agenda , ' cabiria ' tried to legitimize italy ' s distant past , and tried to promote and inspire themes like ' wars of conquest ' , roman salute , racial nobility and virtue , etc . i mean , all the non - roman characters in the film are depicted in negative light . whatever the controversial history the movie might have , if one is ready to ignore those aspects and try to acknowledge the feat it tries to achieve in the medium of filmmaking , it ' s an enjoyable journey . the movie offers many fascinating sequences , like , the child offerings at temple of moloch , princess sophonisba ' s pet leopard and even her spectacular arrival for her almost wedding , soldiers and elephants crossing the alps , the pyramid formed by soldiers and shields in one continuous shot , and few others . the original version is said to have been three hours long . i saw the truncated 1993 restoration , which is two hours long . in this itself , the number of characters and events seem too many , a few of them almost unnecessary ; i wonder what the extra 60 minutes had in store . better editing ( i mean , even shorter than two hours ) could have made the story tighter , more interesting and compelling . overall , it ' s an interesting story and a well - made film , and personally , i liked it much more than the overrated ' ben - hur ' .

three centuries before christus . young cabiria is kidnapped by some pirates during one eruption of the etna . she is sold as a slave in carthage , and as she is just going to be sacrificed to god moloch , cabiria is rescued by both fulvio axilla , a roman noble , and his giant slave maciste . according to martin scorsese , in this work pastrone invented the epic movie and deserves credit for many of the innovations often attributed to d . w . griffith and cecil b . demille . among those was the extensive use of a moving camera , thus freeing the feature - length narrative film from " static gaze " . now , i prefer to think of the " moving camera " as a german invention , but i would be more than happy to grant pastrone the epic . the film also marked the debut of the maciste character , who went on to have a long career in italian sword and sandal films . this is actually one of the most impressive cultural achievements , because the character maciste became really has very little to do with this film . whole studies could be done on how maciste evolved .

although pastrone pointed the way , certainly griffith was a greater filmmaker than the italian , and his " birth of a nation " ( 1915 ) moves the camera with greater freedom and has a headlong narrative and an exciting use of cross - cutting that pastrone does not approach . " cabiria " moves at a stately pace , depends on title cards of perplexing complexity , and introduces so many characters , cities and plot lines that we are grateful for a princess who becomes a slave and a giant who becomes a hero , because we can follow their stories all the way through .

to provide a safetly valve whereby italian [ … ] feminity can be seen in the traditional context of the national imagination , tied to images ( as at the end of the film ) of the glorification of romanità – a conception of the italian nation identified with its glorious roman past that the fascist regime was to exalt . in this way , the character of cabiria , presented though images of her childhood and of her childlikeness , is identified with the notion of woman as innocent but potentially endangered figure , to be redeemed like the nation itself . ( landy 2000 : 239 )

fellini ' s cinema classics are memorable not only for their lasting images and heartbreak , but also for the enchanting music score by nino rota , a master at his own craft . with fellini ' s visual magic and rota ' s dreamy music , how could any of these films end up as anything less than master pieces . " nights of cabiria " not only has the benefit of these two geniuses , but also features the incomparable giulietta masina in the most beautiful final scene of any film i ' ve ever seen . . . and i ' ve seen a lot of films !

is the story of a young roman girl of noble stock who is kidnapped and taken to carthage where she evades sacrifice to the local gods and grows to young womanhood as a slave . the film is set during one of the punic wars , when rome confronted rival carthage across the mediterranean in north africa . full of impressive sets and amazing special effects , cabiria tends to be discussed as the foundational text of the anti - realistic , the spectacular , the fantastic , and the epic strains in italian cinema . these are seen to reach from this film up to the ‘sword and sandal’ epics of the fifties ( the ‘peplum’ films ) , but also to other genres , and even to auteurist films ( fellini’s satyricon , much of bertolucci ) that make an ‘excessive’ use of visuals . the later peplum films were highly successful on the export market – and so was cabiria , which was both financially successful and artistically influential abroad . in italy itself it had the particular effect of spawning a series of films with the maciste strongman character – fifteen in the pre - sound period alone , featuring the same actor , former dock worker bartolomeo pagano . ( indeed , maciste is seen by some as a model for benito mussolini’s public image . )

1914 was quite a year . charlie chaplin made his film debut , wwi began - - and set the stage for a lot of what happened in the 20th century - - and my great - grandparents immigrated to the united states ( sorry , i couldn ' t resist adding that last one ) . but that year also saw the release of giovanni pastrone ' s " cabiria " . this epic depicts the kidnapping of a sicilian girl following an eruption of mt . etna , her sale into slavery in carthage , and a roman nobleman ' s quest to rescue her . it ' s like nothing that you ' ve ever seen before . the movie has drawn controversy due to its depiction of the romans as pure and the carthaginians as monstrous ( thereby glorifying the idea of italian supremacy ) . to be certain , producer gabriele d ' annunzio ' s ideology influenced benito mussolini , although d ' annunzio had no actual association with il duce . regardless of that , the movie is still a fun - - and visually breathtaking - - romp . maciste got his own series of movies . the ones immediately after " cabiria " starred bartolomeo pagano , and then there was a new series in the 1960s . anyway , really cool !

as the story progressed , i thought swanson’s jenny began to look more and more like characters played by giulietta masina in the films of federico fellini . especially intriguing was the film’s end — when swanson jumps over the side of the boat , the scene provokes an uncanny visual prefiguration of the climax of fellini’s nights of cabiria . one wonders if a young fellini saw the film in italy and used this memory years later to create his oscar - winning classic . stage struck was my favorite film at the festival , i hope it gets more exposure so that more people can discover a delightful film and appreciate gloria swanson’s comic talents .

the movie is based on emilio salgari ' s cartagine in fiamme ( carthage in flames ) and gustave flaubert ' s exotic novel salammbo . set in ancient carthage during the period of the second punic war , it treats the conflict between rome and carthage through the eyes of cabiria , the title character , who is kidnapped by pirates , sold as a slave in carthage , and rescued from being sacrificed to the god moloch by a roman nobleman and his muscular slave maciste ( who would later become the protagonist in a whole successful series of films on his own ) . hannibal and his war elephants fit into the convoluted plot of this epic film .

there is so much richness in this film : the great scenes of hannibal crossing the alps with his army and elephants ; the eruption of etna , and the destruction of the roman fleet at syracuse by means of the sun - reflectors of archimedes . most of these effects were achieved by multiple exposure . the acting is fairly theatrical , but the performances of italia almirante manzini as sophonisba and vitale de stefano as massinissa are moving and impressive , while bartolomeo pagano , as maciste the strong man , adds a new figure to the mythology of the movies . cabiria therefore stands as a major filmic achievement at a time when the cinema was fighting for its place among the other arts .


wonderful town is a 2007 thai film written and directed by aditya assarat .

set on the mainland north of phuket island in the dreary post-tsunami khao lak area and takua pa town , phang nga province , shooting was completed in december 2006 , for which aditya had secured funding from singha beer and rolex .

more money was needed for post-production work , funds were provided by the thailand ministry of culture 's office of contemporary art and culture .

wonderful town premiered at the 2007 busan international film festival .

it won the festival 's top prize , the new currents award and a us$ 90,000 prize , which he split evenly with two other filmmakers who also won the award , malaysian director liew seng tat , who won for his film flower in the pocket , and guang hao-jin of china , for his film life track .

aditya said he would use his prize money to transfer his digital-format footage to 35-millimeter , and he hoped it would have a limited screening in bangkok sometime in 2008 .

wonderful town was shown in the forum programme at the 2008 berlin international film festival , and won a prestigious tiger award at the 2008 international film festival rotterdam .

wonderful town ( film )

wonderful town ( film ) <EOT> a thai movie , wonderful town , seen the previous night , was shot around old takua pa . the film director was right : this charming old town is wonderful .

supphasit kansen and anchalee saisoontorn in " wonderful town , " directed by aditya assarat .

" wonderful town " , the promising first film by aditya assarat , has a great amount of outer spirit , though what it truly lacks is an expressive inner life .

a film review on friday about “wonderful town , ” set in thailand , reversed the names of the two main characters . the housekeeper is na and the architect she falls in love with is ton .

“the film is both a bittersweetlove story and a memorial to the tsunami victims . ”

wonderful town is a movie starring anchalee saisoontorn , supphasit kansen , and dul yaambunying . after the tsunami struck the coast town of takua pa , young architect ton moves in town to develop a construction project and settles in a small hotel run by na , a young sensitive local girl . . . see full summary »

ian johnston is a new zealander living in taipei , taiwan . his work has appeared in the film journal .

assarat has set and shot wonderful town in takua pa , a town at the centre of the tsunami , and the film is both the bittersweet love story that assarat originally set out to make and the memorial to the tsunami victims that it was transformed into after the director’s visit to the town . it’s the latter feature that’s alluded to in the film’s opening shot of waves gently lapping the shoreline . the giant wave that brought such death and destruction has subsided but is still implicit in the quiet movement of water before us , just as the placid surface of the town keeps hidden and suppressed for the time being the pain and anger of the survivors .

the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .

small peaceful coastal town , located amid the freshness of a valley in phang nga province .

faith prince ( right ) as ruth and nikki m . james as eileen in los angeles opera ' s semi - staged performance of leonard bernstein ' s ' wonderful town ' ( wally skalij / los angeles times )

that performance of the " wonderful town " is to my opinion a must for every misic lover - as this " live performance " is so special in any sense - it attracts the listener / viewer . . .

given that " wonderful town " is escapist entertainment best known for its wonderful songs , that doesn ' t necessarily mean a disaster . this is , after all , bernstein uncommonly frivolous . unlike pretty much all of bernstein ' s major work ( with the possible exception of his one film score , " on the waterfront " — which the l . a . phil also recently performed live with the movie ) , " wonderful town " was a jobbed - out score . when the songs originally written for the 1953 show by leroy anderson were rejected , bernstein ' s old pal lyricists betty comden and adolph green were hired to come up with new ones in a month . they convinced bernstein , with whom they had written " on the town " a decade earlier , to write the music .

after the tsunami struck the coast town of takua pa , young architect ton moves in town to develop a construction project and settles in a small hotel run by na , a young sensitive local girl . they begin a secret love affair , but soon rumors spread and they meet with strong opposition from the town ' s residents .

this delicate , delightful and nearly note - perfect debut feature from young thai director aditya assarad offers more evidence of the tremendous film renaissance underway in east asia .

there ' s a folksy majesty to wonderful town , born of its leisurely pace , pastoral views of idyllic scenery and a storytelling drive set only slightly faster than slow motion . it recalls a lot of rustic , independent english - language films of the ' 90s

but this " wonderful town " ( bearing no relation to the old musical ) is a thai film set in takua pa , a coastal area of southern thailand hit by the 2004 tsunami . director aditya assarat wisely tackles his topic with an elegiac restraint . except that the story occurs in a beach region where countless homes are now skeletons , you ' d never guess for the first third of the movie that the aftermath of the tsunami is the setting—it ' s hardly mentioned .

takua pa has a similar feel to parts of old phuket town , but is found about two hours north in phang - nga .

there’s a dreamlike sense to the town , intimated in the way assarat starts his story , after this shot of lapping waves , with female lead na ( anchalee saisoontorn ) awakening from an afternoon nap . that scene is then parallelled at the end of the film , prior to the final tragic turn of events , with a repeat of this : a shot of gently rolling waves is then followed by na waking up , although this time her lover ton ( supphasit kansen ) is by her side . this is not to suggest that we should read the story of wonderful town literally as na’s dream , but there is a metaphorical effect here , where the motif of dreams and sleeping adds an oneiric level to the drifting , languorous feel of life in this forgotten small town .

there ' s a folksy majesty to " wonderful town , " born of its leisurely pace , pastoral views of idyllic scenery and a storytelling drive set only slightly faster than slow motion . it recalls a lot of rustic , independent english - language films of the ' 90s , with its sleepy narrative underscored by folk music .

wonderful town is set in a thai village that was devastated by the 2004 tsunami . a young architect is sent to oversee the rebuilding effort that has started in the village . he soon falls in love with a local girl . the film is slow and thoughtful . it builds upon the romance whilst looking at it from a distance . both parties are very cautious about getting close to each other . the locals soon disapprove of the relationship , it upsets the balance and releases pent up anger from the community that perhaps feels abandoned . the ending is shocking and even sickening . it comes suddenly , as such an act would . wonderful town is a bit to thoughtful for it ' s own good . there ' s a great story and some fascinating themes here , but first it makes us sit through a generic love story , one that takes up too much screen time .

everything is , for a good long while , very nice indeed in “wonderful town . ” written and directed by aditya assarat , this lucid debut unfolds in a comfy patch of southern thailand nestled in a lush green valley near the sea . takua pa , the place is called , and a woman named na ( anchalee saisoontorn ) calls it home .

another remnant cruises the streets , psychic ruin on wheels : a crew of disaffected teenagers prowling about on motorcycles , displaced , trouble - seeking , adrift , fated to break forth the tensions beneath the film’s placid surface .

the route passes through the popular khao lak holiday area with its strings of luxury resorts on both sides of the highway north and south of the town .

written ( in thai , with english subtitles ) and directed by aditya assarat ; director of photography , umpornpol yugala ; edited by lee chatametikool ; music by koichi shimizu and zai kuning ; production designer , karanyapas khamsin ; produced by soros sukhum and jetnipith teerakulchanyut ; released by kino international . at the anthology film archives , 32 second avenue , at second street , east village . running time : 1 hour 32 minutes . this film is not rated .

as in one of mr . weerasethakul’s beguiling narratives , where time and space are mercurial creatures and mythical beasts pad through the forest , the air in “wonderful town” feels charged with weird energies , as if something strange and possibly menacing is about to erupt . and so it does , in a single word , uttered by ton in pillow talk with na : “tsunami . ”

“wonderful town , ” by its third act , is a title drowning in irony . wondrous , nevertheless , is mr . assarat’s sustained command as he guides his material into darker waters . it’s no small feat to pull off as sweet and sensitive a romance as that between na and ton , and something rarer yet to suffuse such affections into a poem of wounded landscape .

wonderful town ( 2007 ) , the first feature film of thai director aditya assarat ( he co - directed the documentary - drama mix three friends in 2005 ) , is haunted by ghosts . which is not to say that it’s the latest contribution to thailand’s commercially successful ghost - horror genre , something to add to the likes of nang nak ( nonzee numibutr , 1999 ) , bangkok haunted ( pisuth praesaeng - lam and oxide pang , 2001 ) or the shutter ( pakpoom wongpoom and banjong pisanthanakun , 2004 ) . far from it , in fact , for assarat’s slow - burning , gently evocative mood piece is firmly in the line of the work of thai art movie auteurs apichatpong weerasethakul and pen - ek ratanaruang . and the ghosts that haunt the setting and the film itself are those of the real victims of the 2004 tsunami .

" wonderful town " is a fictional story set against a real - life background . aditya assarat ' s feature debut takes place in takua pa , a coastal area in southern thailand that lost more than 8 , 000 habitants when the asian tsunami struck in late 2004 . caused by a 9 . 3 magnitude indian ocean earthquake on dec . 26 , this natural disaster affected 15 countries across the globe and was responsible for the death of over 225 , 000 people . three years later , takua pa , once the site of a thriving community , still struggles with this collective trauma . and , amidst the city ' s reconstruction , an architect mysteriously arrives from the cosmopolitan bangkok . ton , the only person from his firm willing to re - locate to this desolate place , comes to supervise one of the city ' s many construction sites . as he looks for a place to live , he meets na . as such , to view " wonderful town " as a reaction to the tsunami is perhaps to miss the film ' s larger point . here , this traumatic natural disaster also functions as a point of departure for the film ' s assertions about the relationship - - and many parallels - - between humans and the so - called natural world .

there’s a lot to admire about wonderful town , above all the patience , elegance , and delicacy with which it delineates both ton and na’s growing relationship and the environment in which it takes place – the small town of old - style dilapidated buildings , nestled beneath low - lying dull - green hills , almost as if it were suspended in time . still , it’s not a perfect work by any means , and as much as assarat’s fellow - thai apichatpong weerasethakul will inevitably be invoked as a point of comparison , assarat is a more conventional director , lacking weerasethakul’s thrilling experimentation with form and narrative . wonderful town suffers from some lapses in tone : there’s an unfortunate moment of unnecessary prurience when the camera readjusts to leer at actress anchalee saisoontorn’s naked breasts ; there’s an unconvincing scene that aims to show na’s growing love by having her stroke ton’s clothes ( a banal movie - moment – does anyone ever really do this ? ) ; and the soundtrack’s “moody” guitar score is decidedly over - determined .

at the dorothy chandler pavilion on friday night , it was los angeles opera ' s turn , for a semi - staged performance of " wonderful town " conducted by the company ' s resident conductor , grant gershon . on broadway , no one — other than the cast — pays much attention to the conductor . once again , the revelation with west coast bernstein is just how wrong broadway can be musically .

this was a chance to be sassy , not think too hard , and also be a little subversive . " wonderful town " is based on the stories of ruth mckenney about her and her sister eileen . in the show , ruth is the quiet , awkward and shy one who gets the guy and eileen is the pretty , gregarious one who gets nothing but guys . a new yorker writer , mckenney got her start at communist dailies .

i have these days developed a certain suspicion of dreamy arthouse movies that pay for their dreaminess with a flourish of violence at the end , but there is no doubt that this is highly persuasive and intelligent film - making , the kind of movie that enfolds you in its world .

you could call such camerawork jamesian , for the elegance with which it traces the contours of experience — or perhaps , given the context , apichatpongian is the better term . the mellow bliss and aesthetic delicacy of “wonderful town” recall the work of the ingenious thai cinéaste apichatpong weerasethakul , creator of idiosyncratic romances like “tropical malady” and “syndromes and a century . ” mr . assarat shares with his compatriot an elegant , intuitive ease coupled with prodigious formal control , though of a less experimental bent than his better - known colleague .

in 2002 , for instance , simon rattle devoted his first new year ' s eve concert as music director of the then still stuffy berlin philharmonic to none other than a semi - staged performance of " wonderful town , " which ended with the cast doing a conga line through , and with , the audience , while the erudite musicians let their long hair down and danced as they played onstage . the cast included music theater singers ( including audra mcdonald ) who could sing and classical singers ( including thomas hampson ) who could do theater . it was fabulous .

in the film’s climax assarat aims to broaden the meaning of his film beyond that of the central couple . ( it’s impossible to offer any proper analysis without revealing important plot points , so spoiler - averse readers are warned . ) this final section follows on a revelation of ton’s past and a sudden alteration to the future that has so far seemed to be mapped out for the couple . leaving na in bed , he goes out to his car , calls his ex - girlfriend in bangkok , and tearfully reconciles with her . this casts a new light on ton’s sincerity up to now – his professions of liking and satisfaction with the simple pleasures of small - town life , his commitment to na . and although na’s brother wit can have no knowledge of ton’s change of heart , the way wit now removes his earlier approval of ton’s relationship with his sister in overseeing his gang’s attack acts as a symbolic punishment for ton’s abandonment of na .

the bus ride of 120 kms from phuket to the town on the northern coast of phang nga was a two - hour drive through thick forests , dense national parks and dark - green mountains , the road following a winding coastline all the way .

that is not to say that the l . a . opera " wonderful town , " with only three performances over the weekend , didn ' t go all broadway on us . the cast , headed by faith prince , was primarily showbiz . peggy hickey ' s choreography and the little staging that david lee could get away with were broadway - ish . the one novelty was a cinematic backdrop by hana s . kim , with cute animated drawings of greenwich village in the 1950s setting the scene of the story of two sisters from ohio trying to make their way in new york .

ton and na’s romance proceeds at a gentle , underplayed pace in keeping with the style of the film . he shows an early interest in her , helping her out with the laundry hung out on the roof of the inn ( this is a site which will have symbolic import in the film’s final scene ) , and she soon responds to him , listening to the sounds he makes in his room , exploring his room in his absence . their love affair seems so fluidly developed , so natural , that it’s almost a shock when na warns ton to be more circumspect , that the townspeople might react badly to their relationship . when some louts on motorcycles circle na’s car threateningly , it’s like an incursion from another kind of movie , but it’s also a foreboding of what is to come . those local layabouts are in fact led by ton’s mostly absent brother wit ( dul yaambunying ) , a small - town gangster who confesses his inability to shoulder the responsibility of running the family inn with na and who eventually seems to give his approval to ton’s relationship with na .

this film , paradoxically , is a still water that runs deep with unspoken emotion . anchalee saisoontorn plays ton , a young guy from an architect ' s office who has come to a shattered beach resort to supervise the building of a new tourist complex . he stays at a modest hotel in town , run by na ( supphasit kansen ) , a beautiful , withdrawn young woman . gradually , the two of them fall in love , but ton is to clash with na ' s scapegrace brother , who represents a strange kind of loyalty to the past and the wrecked present , and a reluctance to see it all rebuilt and paved over , however painful the catastrophe that turned their existence to rubble .

the centennial of leonard bernstein ' s birth is not until the summer after next , but the west coast has already gotten a jump - start over broadway with the musicals . michael tilson thomas last summer conducted a semi - staged version of " on the town " with the san francisco symphony , while gustavo dudamel led " west side story " at the hollywood bowl .

but there’s one further sacrifice . when we’re taken back to the inn after the killing – although clearly some time has passed – we first see wit now at work , a sign that he has accepted the family responsibilities that he’d avoided in the past . but the two shots of na that follow are both images of entrapment , of her behind a window grille and then , on the rooftop , separated from us by wire netting . in a sense , the film abandons her here : life has adjusted and moved on , leaving the tragedy of her and ton’s story as a reflection in miniature of the town’s larger tragedy of the past . the future is symbolised in the delicate balancing act of the two young girls as they execute their ballet steps on the rooftop , and when they leave the shot , the camera holds on the view out from the rooftop , tremulous and a little uncertain , but still one of hope for the future .

the gang’s murder of ton is also an acting - out of their own feelings of frustration and resentment , their sense of their own abandonment . it’s not simply small - minded locals’ suspicion of and unthinking malice toward an outsider . when ton’s body ends up floating in the water – water that brought death and destruction to the townspeople in the form of the tsunami – it’s a way of making bangkok - dwellers , whom the townspeople feel have neglected and abandoned them , literally share in their own pain . ton becomes the necessary sacrificial offering that leads to rebirth . this significance is reinforced in the film’s final image of the two young girls in tutus dancing on the inn’s rooftop .

ton is from bangkok and has come to takua pa to supervise a hotel resort project on a nearby beach . he stays in the town itself , in a small inn where we first see na working as what we assume to be a mixture of receptionist and room maid . in fact , in a demonstration of assarat’s subtle and allusive narrative style , we only learn later that na’s family owns this inn , and even then precise background details – what happened to na’s parents , how she came to be bringing up her nephew ( who we , like ton , first assume to be her son ) – are never made entirely clear . more important is the establishment of a general feeling of absence and loss , and the idea that this slow - moving , underpopulated town – we never see many people – is in a sense haunted by the ghosts of those who died in the tsunami . these “hauntings” are symbolised by the two abandoned buildings that ton visits , one the old family home beside the inn , the other the ruined hotel next to the resort that the workers superstitiously warn ton away from .

historically , indian , chinese and arabic traders knew takua pa as takola , the indian word for the sweet - smelling cardamom spice . its port was well known as a trading centre for spices on the early commercial shipping route from the andaman sea to the gulf of siam 200 years ago .

takua pa ( tin in thai ) then became also an important centre for tin - mining and was eventually included as an administrative district in the new phang nga province .

it was morning of a long - weekend . thinking about where to go next , this traveller remembered takua pa that she once visited with many friends and met other travellers who are now close friends .

travellers can take their time , slowing down and stopping to walk and take in the sights such as at the busy khao lak tourist township .

more cars and motorbikes were on the road as the sun rose . people were out early , opening their restaurants , spreading out their groceries or just relaxing in front of their houses .

the old sino - portuguese - style buildings on udom tara and sri takua pa roads silently testify to the golden age of old takola when tin mines made the money that built the picturesque , grey , two - storey shophouses .

early next morning , this travelller woke in an old hotel that was decorated simply and neatly . with not many visitors were around , it was an ideal place to rest .

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a sensitive love story from thailand set against the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami .

it ' s no small feat to pull off as sweet and sensitive a romance as that between na and ton , and something rarer yet to suffuse such affections into a poem of wounded landscape .

occasionally , assarat - - who studied in the us - - drops a hint about sinister times to come , but nothing prepares the audience for what does happen .

assarat has little to say about the role of hope in post - traumatic living .

demonstrates that it ' s still entirely possible to make a movie outside the framework of pop genre cinema that is engrossing , moving and , in its unassertive way , quietly entertaining .

a purposeful , almost meditative exploration of the scars left on a people ' s psyche after tragedy .

part time musicians feat . chladni chandi - would you mind ? [ official video ]

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na works at a rundown but well - scrubbed hotel that doesn’t see many guests these days until the arrival of ton ( supphasit kansen ) , a handsome young architect overseeing a beachfront development . na and ton play their parts — she , the curious , reticent housekeeper ; he , the shy , grateful guest — but another game is afoot , slipping around the edges of their customary roles . the faintest blush , a lingering look , a gift of oranges from the market , a conversation that goes on a little longer than normal . they’re falling , ever so softly , in love .

mr . assarat shelters this budding romance with surpassingly lovely filmmaking , easing into and out of scenes with an unrushed tempo that lets each emotion , thought and subtle effect flower , then fade away . his frames are meticulous without being fussy and his camera movements suave and suggestive , delineating the sentiment of the moment with precision and grace .

that beachfront property , adjacent to a ruined building rumored to be haunted ; that lonely hotel that used to bustle with tourists ; that aspect of something submerged in ton’s physical carriage and expression — these are remnants of the cataclysmic storm from 2004 that claimed thousands of lives in takua pa .

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with : anchalee saisoontorn ( na ) , supphasit kansen ( ton ) and dul yaambunying ( na’s young brother ) .

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inematic quietism is a quality that has to shout to be heard , sometimes . aditya assarat has made an intriguing and engrossing thai movie , which is both a troubled love story and a metaphor , of sorts , for thai communities traumatised by the 2004 tsunami .

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instead , assarat probes at the psychological devastation such an event ( some 8 , 000 died at takua pa ) imparts on individuals and on the slender thread of community left behind . he does so through the casual , gradual , tortured love affair between na ( anchalee saisoontorn ) , now running her family ' s economically hard hit hotel , and ton ( supphasit kansen ) , a bangkok architect sent to a construction site with secrets of his own . he becomes a target of na ' s brother and his gang , now as zombielike as all the other survivors .

assarat ' s plotting is deliberately vague and unclear , but his sense of the emotional nihilism in the wake of such an unimaginable tragedy is one of quiet , deadly poetry . the juxtaposition of natural beauty and physical decay , perhaps obvious , is nevertheless disturbing and breathtaking .

running time : 1 : 32 . opens aug . 15 at facets cinematheque .

the debate as to whether sophisticated broadway shows belong on the lyric stage is an old and tired one . european opera houses do bernstein and sondheim , along with other classic shows , all the time , regularly trying to find the kind of daringly relevant dramatic angles too provocative for mainstream commercial theater . that , of course , assumes that opera companies and symphony orchestras , for all their exceptional musical resources , can avoid the deadly dangers of pomp and condescension .

l . a . opera , on the other hand , attempted to break down different barriers . rather than simply relying on its own impressive resources and emerging classically - trained singers who can do anything ( as so many can these days ) , the company went for broadway veterans . cast members stood at their music stands and read their lines and sang their songs . they compensated for lack of preparation by doing what professionals know how to do — project all - purpose personality and ham with all - purpose charm .

the show ' s milieu they knew , all three having been starving greenwich village artists themselves not that long before . bernstein had just attempted a short opera , " trouble in tahiti , " and it hadn ' t gone well . he feared the house un - american activities committee might come after him for his pronounced leftist leanings .

the songs cover the waterfront — an irish jig , a swing tune , beatnik scat , moving ballads , crazy comic numbers , that irresistible duet " ohio , " a tour of christopher street that will make a real new yorker long for the old days , and , of course , " conga , " the number with which eileen gets a chorus line of brazilian sailors heated up .

as ruth , prince could be counted on for her appealingly raucous and wry good humor . nikki m . james , a better dancer than singer , proved a vivacious eileen who could follow a line of flips with a song refrain without catching her breath . the most polished and amusing performance came from roger bart , changing hats and accents with remarkable ease as tour guide , lecherous reporter , hipster club owner and , if i counted correctly , eight other characters .

ben crawford , as the addled football player wreck went all out , as any wreck must , with his riotous song about passing the football . marc kudisch , as the editor who falls for ruth , was the most reliable singer . jared gertner made a fine nebbishy store clerk , one of eileen ' s endless admirers .

it came as little surprise that by assigning to emerging opera singers ( mostly from l . a . opera ' s young artist training program ) the many minor roles — such as wreck ' s girl friend helen , sung by julia aks , and the various policemen , editors and the like — the musical level was lifted . the company ' s chorus and chamber orchestra served to further modernize broadway .

even so , you might be led to believe that personality ultimately works best . the audience loved the show .

but behind it all was gershon ' s illuminating conducting . the evening ' s one leading opera figure , he knew how to pace every number , how everything song should be sung , how every dance should swing , how to offer guileless compensating support for a needy cast ' s every need and most of all , how to bring out the best in everyone on the stage .

a look at what ' s happening in the l . a . scene , plus openings , critics ' picks and more .

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in his first appearance in the berlin philharmonic ' s new year ' s eve concert series , sir simon rattle conducts this brilliant score by leonard bernstein . rattle is joined by kim criswell , audra mcdonald , thomas hampson , brent barrett , and european voices .

region : region 1 ( u . s . and canada only . read more about dvd formats . )

broadway stars brent barrett , audra mcdonald and kim criswell , and the magnificent opera baritone thomas hampson , sing in concert in berlin one of bernstein ' s most memorable and funniest shows . they are accompanied by the berlin philharmonic , conducted by the fabulous and unequaled sir simon rattle . for a show - stopper encore , the entire orchestra , along with the stars , chorus and audience , all dance the conga !

great music from a terrific little broadway musical back in the 1950 ' s . audra mcdonald is a world class talent . the final number has the joint jumpin and those attending this concert rolling in the aisles .

an enjoyable disc with a couple of caveats . the 5 . 1 audio settings make the audience sound like it ' s in a 5 - gallon jug . and it was dispiriting and distracting to see kim criswell rely on a notebook for the lyrics to " conga . "

top performers well conducted all having lots of fun . one can not ask for any better than this . simon rattle is very good with l . bernstein !

i purchased this dvd based on scott morrison ' s review - and am very happy i did . it ' s great fun - a pleasure for the eyes and ears .

there is a time and a place for everything under the sun - and that includes lenny ' s showtunes . this sort of concert should have been entrusted to the likes of michael tilson . . .

this performance will due as the only one available . but when will cbs masterworks release dvd ' s of some of their classic television broadcasts .

a concert presentation of the leonard bernstein / betty comden / adolph green musical adaptation of " my sister eileen " with audra mcdonald radiant as eileen and kim criswell terrific . . .

i agree the performance was outstanding and all the performers did such a great job . the sound / video quality is exceptional . but . . .

i was immediately taken with the overture . considering it wasn ' t one i was familiar with , i was surprised at how much i enjoyed it .

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