Director's Cut: Solino by Fatih Akin
Director: Fatih Akin
Running time: 124 minutes
As the camera zooms out, it encompasses a sharply dressed Romano Amato (Gigi Savoia) and the plush settings of a once ordinary pizzeria. On the phone is Luigi Amato (Barnaby Metschurat) – a son, a filmmaker, who makes a last-ditch attempt at reuniting a family that had stopped being one, years ago.
Fatih Akin has used basic shades of “ardour and passion” to carry the audience through the travails of an Italian family that moves base from the quaint town of Solino, Italy to Ruhr, Germany.
One sees a transition in the colour palette as towns change, as times change. From the use of a “yellow – that is found in old stones” to the grey of Germany, a symbolism of sorts, is established in each sequence. As the family tries to find feet in a cold, unforgiving land, Romano finds himself detesting the dark of the mines. Wife Rosa (Antonella Attili) works a miracle in the kitchen as business at the newly opened restaurant thrives. Sons Luigi Amato and Giancarlo (Michele Ranieri) find themselves absorbed in the business. As time passes, and as resentment in the sons against such labour grows, Luigi decides to pursue his passion for photography and ultimately the motion picture. The passage through his childhood, to adolescence and finally to adulthood, brings into light his brother’s envy for his talent and his pursuits. Woven around events that ultimately test both brothers, they find themselves bound by a common interest that creates a temporary rift. In scenes depicting such anguish, Fatih Akin glides through conflict and tension with an ease that is also seen in his portrayal of love.
At the behest of an ailing mother, Luigi goes back to Solino to rediscover his roots. What follows, is a homecoming for Giancarlo and forgiveness and understanding to mark his return to those very roots. The film is a simple depiction of some complicated lives, some unspoken emotions, complex decisions and a pursuit of dreams that drive the sanest to extremes.
It is Solino that takes a boy to come into his own. It is Solino that helps the boy chase his dreams. It is Solino that instils in him the passion to brave all odds that life has on offer. It is Solino that helps a woman cope with leukaemia. It is Solino that breaks the ice between two brothers.
It is Solino that every son, every mother, every father, would give two thumbs up to!
Shaswati Das
[ratings]
[image courtesy: http://wikipedia.com]
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