Business Law

Film Analysis II: ART 3110 World Cinemas Winter 2019-2020

Film Analysis: Italian Neorealism

Essay format: MLA format, double space, etc.

Essays are DUE:

The Italian Neorealism is a film style or School, as some critics call it, practice by Italian filmmakers from 1945 until 1952—official Period. This style not only influenced many filmmakers in many parts of the world but also the future generations of Italian filmmakers. In this type of style directors relied on the script in which the dialogue is very important. In many movies, the dialogue was in the dialect of the Italian region in which the story takes place in order to give more credibility and realism to the story told. Furthermore, that would connect perfectly in depicting reality, as it is perceived. In addition to that, these are other elements explored/depicted in movies of that period: the death of the main character, introduction of more women and children characters, among others; however, one of the most important aspects is morality. Actually, morality is the alma matter that defines better this movement: all films of this period express an imperative necessity of sincerity in terms of portraying reality as hard as it is. There is a didactic end at the moral level in most of these films, and its objective is to elevate the art of cinema not as entertainment but rather to a method of criticism, protest, and as a political tool.

Write a 1 1/2 – 2 pages analytical essay on the topic explained below. Rely upon the concepts we learned in class, as well as any of the course readings, to guide your analysis. Make sure to include illustrative examples from the film – described in detail – to support your argument.

For this essay, discuss how some of the topics mentioned above are defined and depicted in the film Il Postino (The Postman) directed by Michael Radford. In your essay, you need to provide at least 3 clear examples of how these topics are portrayed in the film. Although, as you already know, this film does not belong to the neorealist period because it was filmed almost 50 years after the Italian Neorealism period; however, the historical time of the story depicted in the movie it happens to be within the period of the Italian Neorealism (1945-1952). In other words, although is not a neorealist film, there is a significant influence and traits of that cinema style in Il Postino.

Read pp. 151—176, for understanding better what the Italian Neorealism is.

Just ONE observation: be careful with using ideas from the Internet in order to avoid plagiarism. Your IDEAS should be YOURS, not somebody else’s. And if you consult other sources, you need to quote properly, and create a “cited works” page (MLA format).

Remember, your paper should have an introduction—in which you state your reflexive paper’s thesis— as well as a solid conclusion.

Structure and Format of Essays

I. Introduction

An introductory paragraph should identify the topic and explain why it is historically significant. You should also present your thesis in this paragraph. Your thesis is a significant and original statement about the topic, based on critical interpretation of sources.

II. Body

In the body of your essay, you present the evidence to back your thesis. You present this evidence in a structured argument. For example, each paragraph could present a subtheme of the central argument, with topic sentences summarizing the evidence contained in each of those paragraphs. You must cite the sources of all information and ideas in your essay, and you should tell how the evidence backs your interpretation (or, if you are criticizing a source, explain why the evidence or interpretation it is faulty).

III. Conclusion

Here you state your thesis (in different words than in the introduction) and remind the reader of the evidence you have used to prove your argument.