Well, after having seen quite a few neorealist films within quite a short time, I’m not surprised that I was intuitively expecting a sad/more natural non-resolved ending. And that is what I got.
La Terra Trema (The Earth Trembles) centres on the Valestro family in Sicily, where Antonio, a fisherman sick of working for someone else, revolts against the wholesalers, prompting his family to mortgage the house in order to buy oars, nets, etc. However, after what first seems a prosperous night catching barrels of anchovies, Antonio and his brother and some of the other family members go to sea in a storm and come back with a damaged boat, having lost everything. Thus, the spiral of misery ensues, as the older brother leaves (to try and get a job somewhere else), the grandfather goes to hospital and the family begins to be shunned by the others in the village.
It’s a film about pride and your place in the world. Antonio wanted to set an example and although that is admirable, after he loses everything he isn’t willing to swallow his pride and return to the same job working under the very same people he revolted against − until the end that is. The film ends with Antonio and his two younger brother going out with the crew on a boat − no real conclusion but reflecting how life really is − full of ups and downs and cycles, not always happy endings. Some of the characters in the film, including Antonio and his sister, talk about marriage and we can see how in those times, in different cultures, love was not enough to marry. It’s kind of sad but the images speak truth. We do in fact see those moments of banality or just when the camera lingers for a while longer but all in all it is a very realistic film. It becomes more engaging as the film progresses and you begin to empathise with the characters, joining them on their journey, where everyone is a spectator in life.
Here is the opening of the film:
Here is the opening of the film:
3/5
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