MovieChat Forums > Riso amaro (1950) Discussion > Neo-Realist?

Neo-Realist?

posted 11 years ago by lubin-freddy
2 replies | jump to latest

This film shows how much the so-called neo-realism was a self-created myth. While it's ostensibly "realist", in that much of the action takes place on location, and within a specific social context, there's little else of what Zavattini defined as central to the movement. The story deals with the least average of the group, and focuses on the special, and not ordinary. The lighting and mise-en-scene are stylistic to the extreme.

But, it's easier to place things in simple categorised rather than deal with the complexities of art.

People hungry for the voice of god
Hear lunatics and liars

[–] Charlot47 10 years ago

Agreed that the central quadrilateral is melodrama rather than neo-realism, but aren’t you ignoring everything else: the exploitation of the seasonal workers, both contractual and casual? their miserable living conditions? the sheer hard work outdoors in heat and in rain?

Or do you think the film makers exaggerated the woes of the workers in order to pump up the drama?

[–] MyCocaine (48) 3 years ago

I agree and I have though about that many times before. Most of the so called neo-realist films are pretty much just melodramas that just happen to be about poor people with some location shooting mixed in.