‘Happy as Lazzaro’ comes and goes like an airy fable but doesn’t make as much of an impact as it wants to. Through a lack of convincing and earned pivot, its first half in realism drags down the escapism it yearns for in its second half. Its ambition is to be commended and is definitely a film that deserves to be seen, but as a whole is just verging on greatness.
- Ashley Teresa
Read Ashley's full article...
https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-happy-as-lazzaro-more-than-meets-the-eye
A tale (or fable?) of social commentary by directress and writer Alice Rohrwacher (that I first knew in the short "Le Pupille") in rural Italy with touches of anti capitalism and class division, where sharecroppers live, without knowing their semi-slavery state because of lack of knowledge. Lazzaro the protagonist, is an innocent character that is happy to make others happy, in the pureness of his heart. He doesn't know who is his father of mother just who is maybe his grandmother.
There are very few signs of when this passes you can guess the 60 or 70's till later you see a cellphone of the 90's. So this is the condition that those people lives.
They live under Marchesa Alfonsina De Luna state till one day Lazzaro meets the rebellious son of her, Tancredi, that wants to live away from the rot of his bankrupt family, so he devise a plan.
A plan that unwillingly ends ends with and event that throws Lazzaro in the future 20 to 30 years ahead. By chance or destiny he meet robbers in the now decadent rural mansion (not knowing that they are people of his past "family") and in the city where he is recognized by an old female friend (the role is played by the older sister of Rohrwacher, Alba) - the only one that sees the miracle of him not ageing anything at all (and not all broken and bloody by the event that happened so many years ago, not seen by anyone).
In this urban future he ends up living within the same ignorant and individualist clan (with some exceptions) and ends up meeting by chance the Baroness son again, decadent as ever in his dreams of richness that broke his spirit.
Not telling the end after all this spoilers, but it is sad to see Lazzaro so pure treated as nothing, unhappy by his friend status, and trying to correct things in a wrong way in his innocency (no, it doesn't have an happy ending).
A movie that may not be for everyone but that shines to see such saintness and pureness of heart among our society.
Good cinematography and choice of colors, with Kodak Super 16mm film by cinematographer DP Hélène Louvart AFC and good acting by the protagonist, the newcomer Adriano Tardiolo.
I would score this one a 8.0 out of 10.0 / A-.
