Rating: 
Summary: A Film That Will Make You Want To Write Metafore
Review: The other day I had to watch this movie for my Italian class. The movie was fabulous. In the beginning of the film I felt bad for Mario (brilliantly acted by Massimo Troisi), he just seemed so awkward, and because he didn't like fishing, it seemed like he was a failure to his father and the rest of the village. This begins to change when Mario becomes a postman, delivering mail to the Chilean love poet Pablo Neruda. Mario and Neruda develop a great friendship + Mario becomes more confident and falls in love. I had heard very good things about this movie, but watching it was a fabulous experience + it was better than I expected.Today in Italian, we watched an interview with the director and the TV special about Neruda that are included on the DVD. I didn't know, while watching the film, that the star Massimo Troisi was dying during filming. Learning that he was holding on to life just to complete this film, made it all the more special and sad. I also learned that the actor who played Neruda (Philippe Noiret) acted in French and was later dubbed into Italian. I thought that was a really interesting fact. All in all this is a great film. It will make you cry. It will make you want to read Neruda's poetry, and even more so, it will make you want to write poetry of your own.
Rating:
Summary: Human and Poetic
Review: This is one of the best films I ever saw and I realize that I am adding nothing original when I call it a poem of a film. If this film were music it would be a Chopin Nocturne or an Impromptu by Schubert. Not dazzling, not too difficult form a technical standpoint yet very profound, melancholy, disturbing, stirring, and emotionally stimulating. The film is based on the novel by Antonio Skarmeta - a Chilean and student of Neruda. in the novel the setting is an island not far from Santiago, where Neruda is temporarily confined. Other than the change in setting - which in the film is the island of Procida 3 naut. miles from Naples - the film respects Skarmeta's story. I had read the book prior to seeing the film in its original Spanish and I was amazed by the translation of the story in film. the Neapolitan dialect, or neapolitan inflected italian, of the film even sounds like Spanish. naturally as a fan of Troisi and a Neapoliatn I think Massimo Troisi as the postman was the best possible choice. In life he was generous, charming, humorous but always showed that slight melancholy that indicated his depth. Noiret as Neruda is also well cast. To add to the visual beauty of the sorroundings the excellent soundtrack of tango like music was very apt and flowed effortlessly with the reading of neruda's poems. the story istelf is fictional and lossely based on Neruda's real life events though displaced in time. Neruda did in fact become Chilean ambassador to France and was a strong supporter of Allende; moreover, Neruda always had leftist sympathies and was often in trouble with his government, which led to a number of exiles or 'trips' outside his country. Those who enjoyed Cinema Paradiso, Kolya, Mediterraneo and countless other films that can be described as piano pieces by Chopin or Schubert will love Il Postino.
Rating:
Summary: Seven seas in the seventh heaven
Review: A man comes across a few crossroads in his life. These crossroads sometimes comes in the form of influential people who change the way he perceives the world. Il Postino documents the transformation of an Italian postman in a little Italian village. The influence is no less than a Pablo Neruda, one of the most romantic poets who ever walk the face of earth. The first thing that the postman picks up from his only client is obviously the penchant for the romantics. The two slowly become friends and the postman requests the master to teach him poetry. His inital motive is to use it to woo a local beauty who works in a bar he frequents. The strategy works and the two end up getting married. Neruda takes a leave to go back to his homeland Chile, after his banishment has been lifted by the Chilean government. The film could easily end here and the film will still be highly memorable. However, it is what comes next that pushes the film to the next level. The postman grows weary of his destitute surroundings, and influenced by Neruda's Marxist views, he begins to lean towards the left wing. Like reading great poetry, the postman initially falls in love with the words and imageries. Then the words begin to sink in and the importance of the words felt. Instead of falling into the realm of predictable romantic genre, the director, Michael Bradford shapes this into a mimicry of poetry which works successfully. Many factors help make this possible. The stunning cinematography appeals to the sense of sight and a great score accompanies an excellent script. Taken together, these elements give a birth to a film that one can all too easily dub a masterpiece. Whether it is one is open to arguments, however, I believe that many would agree that it is a special movie that would stay in many hearts for a long time to come.
Rating: 
Summary: Good movie but sometimes cheesy
Review: I liked the movie. It's a good way of getting away from Hollywood garbage. Sometimes it tends to become too romantic, but I think in the end you see a good movie. I liked the music too. Also, I think the movie is a good way to introduce someone to Neruda's poetry, which is absolutely extraordinary.
Rating: 
Summary: Borrrring
Review: Everyone kept telling me how good this movie was so of course I went out and rented it...BIG mistake!!! This was the stupidest movie I've ever seen. It was boring and it dragged on and on and on and on...and on.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful scenery, intricate plot
Review: I felt Il Postino was an excellent story about a fishing town in Italy; this town was graced by the presence of the poet Pablo Neruda. The plot is more complex than an American movie from the start -- foreign audiences usually have more tolerance for anything for which the mind must be used than Americans do. Besides a politically charged plot, the cinematography is wonderfully rich. The vast difference between the fishermen of the town and Pablo Neruda of the cultural elite is displayed well. Neruda helps the simple postman to win the heart of his true love through poetry; the postman learns much from Neruda about the world outside. However, this is not simply a love story. The story ends with a twist unheard of in American movies: a twist that causes the viewer to reflect upon whether knowledge is all it is made out to be.
Rating:
Summary: I Owe This Movie So Much
Review: Il Postino is one of my top two or three movies. It is just so beautiful any way you look at it, and it has actually helped to make a change in my life. Il Postino is about Mario, a mailman who has problems expressing himself. Of course, he has fallen in love with the local beauty and can't show it. Luckily for Mario, the Nobel-winning Chilean poet Pablo Neruda has been exiled to his island and can help Mario in his endeavors. The real beauty in Il Postino isn't this "Cyrano de Bergerac" story, though. This movie is about the poetic depths that Neruda inpires Mario to reach for (Il Postino is really the visual form of Neruda's poem "Poetry"). He inspires Mario to write. He inspires him to recognize the beauty of the world around him. He inspires Mario to think about the people around him and to work to help them. He inspires Mario to see the wonder of love. In short, Neruda, through poetry, teaches Mario how to love life and how to express that love. Il Postino has done for me pretty much what Neruda did for Mario in the movie. This brilliant movie can inspire a love of life and a love of poetry. I strongly recommend this movie for anyone who loves movies or literature. It is well acted, well written, and very though provoking. I also urge that people not be scared off by the fact that it is a foreign film. The subtitles are well-done, and I never really notice that I am reading the movie. Also, everything in this movie is applicable to any persons life no matter where they come from. Il Postino is a real joy.
Rating:
Summary: a visual poem
Review: pablo neruda helps an ordinary man win the woman of his dreams...and both men learn about the meaning of friendship , honor and standing up for your principles. the settings are gorgeous, the acting flawless and the message timeless. i have long been a fan of neruda's poetry. i WISH i could like write like him...
Rating: 
Summary: On Matters of the Heart
Review: With the possible exception of Shakespeare, perhaps, who can explain matters of the heart? For love can be that most elusive of butterflies, as a smitten young man discovers in "Il Postino," directed by Michael Radford. There's a bit of "Cyrano" in this tale of Mario Ruoppolo (Massimo Troisi), a somewhat unprepossessing part time mailman (he has but one customer) who falls for a local beauty, Beatrice (Maria Grazia Cucinotta), but has no idea how to pursue the longings of his heart. But as luck would have it, Mario's customer just happens to be Pablo Neruda (Philippe Noiret), a South American expatriate who is also a world renown poet recently exiled to this small island off the coast of Italy. Not wanting to make a pest of himself, Mario only very gradually strikes up an acquaintance with Neruda, while his love for Beatrice goes unrequited. Once Neruda is apprised of Mario's situation however, he begins to instruct him in the art of regarding the world around him in terms of metaphor, as well as how to thus express himself. Soon Mario is composing poetry of his own, with hopes of not only attracting Beatrice's attention, but of winning her heart. It's a warm and touching story that plays to the heart, rather than the intellect, and will capture you with it's humanity. There is nothing singular about Mario; he is nondescript, just an average guy, and it illustrates that common bond among us all, that of having wants and needs to be expressed and fulfilled-- especially with regards to matters of the heart-- for as Mario discovers, love knows no boundaries. Troisi gives a strong performance as Mario, but is almost too retiring to be effective, though his character contrasts well with that of Noiret's Neruda, whose zest for life is more readily apparent. Still, it's that underplayed sense of the "Everyman" that Troisi conveys so well that allows the audience to relate to him. Anyone who has ever yearned for the affections of that special someone will be able to identify with Mario. Ironically, it's his benign manner that makes him-- as contradictory as it may seem-- so memorable and forgettable at the same time, perhaps depending upon the emotional investment the individual viewer is disposed to make. As the poet Neruda, Noiret gives a notable performance, lending the character the sense of one who has known celebrity, yet is nonetheless still somewhat accessible. And in him you can readily perceive a true poetic nature-- though somewhat self-centered-- which gives the character credibility and makes him real. The supporting cast includes Linda Moretti (Donna Rosa), Renato Scarpa (Telegrapher), Mariano Rigillo (Di Cosimo) and Anna Bonaiuto (Matilde). A romantic film in every sense of the word, "Il Postino" nevertheless transgresses beyond the romantic and takes a somewhat anticlimactic turn that encompasses loyalty and passion to a cause, as well as love. In the end, it's a lyrical, pacific film that seeks to discern the beauty in all things, and certainly makes a statement about the nature of life and love.
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful movie
Review: This is one of the greatest movies i had ever seen and a must-have DVD. The poetic of the movie, and the impressive performance by Massimo Troisi is incredible. I couldn't stop crying when i saw it the first time.
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