Italian director Michelangelo Frammartino returns with another contemplative feature on the passage of time…
Director: Michelangelo Frammartino
Starring: Claudia Candusso, Paolo Cossi, Mila Costi
Running time: 93 minutes
The first shot of Il Buco – the title, accurately, is the Italian word for hole – the camera is positioned underground, gazing up at a small area of sky bordered by rocks and grass. Cows begin to poke their heads into the frame, immediately establishing a tone of provincial pondering that continues for the next hour and a half.
The opening frame also initiates the compelling dichotomy of the straightforward, but also philosophically complex perspectives of the film. Il Buco is a historical piece, carefully retelling the story of the young members of the Piedmont Speleological Group’s 1961 exploration of a previously unmapped cave in southern Italy. But it’s very much a landscape film, captivating audiences with the sublime simplicity of its scenery and offering us an unguided chance to engage in a moving meditation.
Though it’s been just over ten years since Frammartino’s previous feature, Le Quattro Volte, there are a number of similarities between the two films. An obvious connection is that of the landscape, with both films being shot in the Calabrian countryside in southern Italy. Like Le Quattro Volte, Il Buco also adopts a predominantly nonhuman point of view. Even the slightest notion of Italian dialogue is kept unknown with no English subtitles. Instead, the audience views the world from the eyes of nature or time itself – looking out and up at the sky from the mouth of the cave, down into its 687 metre depths, or across the valley from where its home is built.
The slow-moving shots and effective sound design render the human existence as no more significant than that of nature
The slow-moving and static shots, accompanied by the long-distance sequences and effective sound design, render the human existence as no more significant than that of nature. Frammartino cleverly connects the physical with the metaphysical, encouraging the viewer to participate in questioning the meaning of life, infusing abstract and spiritual ideas.
The form and style of Frammartino’s film as a single landscape and adventure is a rarity to find, with blockbusters focused on providing multiple filming locations, multiple action scenes and continuous dialogue. By excluding commentary, conversation and context, Frammartino meets success with his cinematic sublimity of painterly-perfect shots and heart-stopping scenes.
Did you know? The film was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 78th Venice International Film Festival and won the Special Jury Prize, considered to be the third most prestigious award at the festival.
Il Buco is currently showing at Broadway Cinema until Thursday 30th June
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