MovieChat Forums > Il postino (1996) Discussion > not as simple or straightforward as it s...

not as simple or straightforward as it seems

posted 18 years ago by marianeta
4 replies | jump to latest

as a film about poetry, passion/love, it isn't surprising that Il Postino isn't as straight forward/simple as it may seem on the surface...

to me the clue lies in our simpleton's life after he marries Beatrice... it certainly isn't your usual romance where the get together is the be all and end all of the story... it seems that his real love is rather neruda's poetry, and to prove his heroic passion he dies in the process...

it is certainly like a sad romance where one might fall short of their goal... mario was not a great writer but he at least lived his life trying to fulfill that dream... and on the way he created his own legend in the shadow of his friend neruda...

the biggest clue to this is when beatrice is fed up with this obsession such as with naming his child pablito... and mario goes on to great lengths to be recognised or respected by neruda (even though he sadly feels that Neruda has forsaken him or just used him or laughed at him behind his back), despite all these doubts mario still strives forward in a manner in which to me represents unconditional love...

when he was crushed (was it love or just a crush?) amongst the followers, it may be sad that he didn't know that Neruda actually did care... but in unconditional love that doesn't matter... the postman has established himself as a true lover...

Carpe Diem

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] gryspnik 17 years ago

I partly agree with the people above. However, I think that this is a deeply political movie. Yes Mario loved Neruda. But not just because he was writing beautiful poems. Neruda woke him and his conscience up. He helped him become politically, romantically, socially awakened. The political references are EVERYWHERE in the film. From the corrupted Christian Democrats, the whole behaviour of Mario's boss, Neruda's exile, the poverty of the tricked villagers, the scene with the politician shopping the fish etc etc.

As for Beatrice e Mario, well, does it really matter "why" the fell in love? Some people fall in love because of something they heard, they smelles, they saw, or heard. At the end they did love each other and were honest about it.

[–] stevenvh 14 years ago

I think that this is a deeply political movie. [...] The political references are EVERYWHERE in the film.

I don't agree. Most of the film would have been be more or less the same if Neruda wasn't a communist. The exception, of course, being Mario's fate, but that's only near the end of the film. The film is about poetry, culminating in Mario's recordings, which are poetry, and don't have anything to do with politics at all.
At least that's what I make of it.

--
I never make mistakes. Once I thought I did, but I was wrong.

[–] PoppyTransfusion 12 years ago

Neruda got Mario to think about the greater good and not accept that every so often the water dried but rather to campaign for a better quality of life. THAT'S political.

Why problem make? When you no problem have, you don't want to make ...