Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, September 9, 1995 TAG: 9509110043
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ELEANOR RINGEL THE ATLANTA CONSTITUTION
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Which is not to say that the preceding hour and a half has been devoid of interest. But having adjusted to the languid pace and understated emotions of the main story, you're simply caught off guard by the movie's last-minute impact.
In his final performance, beloved Italian star Massimo Troisi (he died the morning after filming ended) plays Mario, a simple, earnest fisherman's son who refuses to let his birthright be his destiny. Now in his 30s, Mario can hardly run off with the circus or take some similarly drastic action to change his life. However, he can say no to his father's "sad nets" (as he calls them) and accept a part-time job as a mailman.
His sole client? The celebrated Chilean poet Pablo Neruda (Philippe Noiret), a political exile given sanctuary by the Italian government (the movie is set in the early '50s). Roaming about Mario's small island, Neruda is a celebrity recluse, the subject of much speculation, yet isolated from the island's population.
Slowly, a friendship grows between the world-famous writer and the unworldly Mario. Eventually, in a twist worthy of Rostand, Neruda is offering his love poems to help Mario woo a beautiful barmaid (Maria Grazia Cucinotta).
English director Michael Radford ("White Mischief") brings an outsider's intrigued eye to the sunny serenity and unadorned practicality of Mario's life. But his ultimate focus is on the unlikely collision between the peasant and the poet and how each truly does affect the other.
Neruda may be the central encounter of Mario's life while Mario may be no more than a footnote in the great man's reminiscences of a stopover in Italy.
But when Mario tells Neruda, "Poetry doesn't belong to those who write it but to those who need it," the movie has increased your understanding of the intricate relationship between artist and audience.
The Postman ***
A Miramax release showing at The Grandin Theatre. In Italian with subtitles. 108 minutes. Rated PG.|
by CNB