Personally, I think Italian neorealism captures the bleakness and unpredictability of poverty amongst the most marginalized of societies better than any other genre. These are tough but beautifully made works of art featuring fully realized characters (often portrayed by real people instead of professional actors), real locations, relatable social commentary, and looser narrative conventions.
Buy Shoeshine (Criterion Collection) Blu-rayThere are many classics of the genre that remain indelible such as Rome, Open City; Ossessione; Nights of Cabiria; Umberto D.; and especially Bicycle Thieves. One that I have always been interested in seeing is Vittorio De Sica’s Shoeshine (1946), which seems all the more innovative considering that it is told from the point of view of children.
The plot concerns two boys, childhood friends Giuseppe (Rinaldo Smordoni) and Pasquale (Franco Interlenghi, set out to raise the money to buy a horse by shining shoes. They find themselves suddenly on opposite sides when not they only get caught up in a robbery and then sent to a harsh juvenile detention center.
The film seems like a very engaging and totally stirring masterpiece that allows children’s lives to be both heard and seen, considering that the ones that usually get hurt the most during times of great struggle are children, and Shoeshine definitely sounds like it gets it right.
Making its long-awaited debut on Criterion and now available on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD editions, I’m sure that the film will be a revelation to those who have seen it and to people (including me) who’ve never had the chance. The supplements also sound nifty. They include Sciuscià 70 (2016), a documentary by Mimmo Verdesca made to mark the film’s 70th anniversary; a new program on the film and Italian neorealism featuring film scholars Paola Bonifazio and Catherine O’Rawe; a radio broadcast from 1946 featuring director Vittorio De Sica; and a trailer. There is also a new essay by film scholar David Forgacs and “Shoeshine, Joe?,” a 1945 photo-documentary by De Sica.
If you love and admire Italian cinema (including neorealism), then this release is definitely for you. Thank Criterion for bringing this type of real filmmaking back to life.
Other great releases:
A Confucian Confusion / Mahjong: Two Films by Edward Yang (Criterion): A new two-film set featuring stories of devil-may-care attitudes of people during a time of change in Taipei that the late, great filmmaker was so renowned for.
Bring Her Back 4K UHD/Blu-ray (A24): The recent horror hit that tells the sinister story of a brother and sister who uncover a bizarre ritual at the secluded home of their new foster mother (Sally Hawkins).
Through and Through Blu-ray (Radiance Films): A stark, dizzyingly made portrait about a marginalized couple in 1930s Karlow whose humiliation and financial derangement lead them to commit a brutal series of crimes. Read my review.
Harvey 4K UHD/Blu-ray (Universal): Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Mary Chase, Jimmy Stewart gives one of his greatest performances as the thoughtful Elwood P. Dowd, whose lifelong companion is Harvey, a six-foot tall rabbit that only he can see. When his concerned sister Veta Louise (a delightful, Oscar-winning performance by Josephine Hull) decides to have him committed, a wacky series of events ensure.
Blaxploitation Classics Vol. 2 4K UHD (Shout Factory): A new volume including more cult classics front the golden age of 1970s black cinema. Includes Foxy Brown, Friday Foster, Cotton Comes to Harlem, Bucktown, Slaughter, and Slaughter’s Big Rip-Off.
