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Scenes from the lives of three peasant families, living in the same farmhouse in Lombardy at the end of the nineteenth century, are chronicled over the course of a year. Their struggles to survive are slowly revealed in a mosaic of small, but detailed incidents which poignantly capture the repetitive drudgery and occasional joys of the exploited peasant class in rural Italy. Following the tradition of Italian neo-realist cinema, Olmi drew on a large ensemble cast of non-professional actors and shot the film on 16mm in a lyrical documentary style. The muted colour and straight-on, eye-level cinematography captures the striking beauty of the Italian countryside through the seasons without diminishing or romanticising the lives of the peasants who work it. In Italian with English subtitles.
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How to watch
Stream, rent or buy via
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
316091
Languages
English
Italian
Subject categories
Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Film festivals - France - Cannes - Awards
Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Foreign language films
Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → Peasantry - Fiction
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Italy - Economic conditions
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Italy - Rural conditions
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Italy - Social conditions
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Poverty
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)