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Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

Good movie but grossly overrated

Excellent, a Must See

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

"Padre Padrone" ("Father Master" in Italian) is inspired from Gavino Ledda's autobiography. The book provides invaluable insight on living conditions and bigger-than-life anecdotes. Remarkably, the movie transforms this authentic account into a metaphor on traditions, indigence, knowledge, emancipation and growing up.The movie only adapts selected passages of the book as usual (notably because of length), but interestingly adds a few scenes: men arguing and promising to leave Sardinia during the religious procession, Gavino peeing from the truck taking them away, Gavino and Cesare speaking Latin in the tank, etc. Logically, these scenes have a strong visual and symbolic impact. Also, the father's role is more developed in the movie and we perceive how he thinks: he is a victim of the system like Gavino, even though they fight back differently. *** WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS ***The metaphorical dimension is first expressed by the presence of Ledda himself at the beginning and at the end: the movie is hence put into perspective; we understand it carries a message. The actual life of Ledda is almost an allegory in itself: mostly alone when he was a child with limited communication possibilities, illiterate, he ultimately becomes… a famous linguist.The movie illustrates this journey with different symbols. First with silence: a bell rings when he is alone in the mountains, but also in military class. He hence remains lonely despite being surrounded by people, because he does not understand. Silence is also depicted by the fact Gavino cuts his lips twice: once to pretend he was attacked, once precisely to remain mute.Progressively, Gavino breaks free from his muteness and communicates. This initially comes through non-verbal means: music. He initially tries to play Strauss' waltz on his accordion… and another shepherd in the mountain answers with a flute. He then catches it on his radio, and thus passes the army test. Later on, he whistles Mozart's clarinet concerto after his father destroys the radio.He eventually learns Italian and articulated communication. He finally is able to answer back to his father. Interestingly, the speech he voices to him from his bed is memorised: this reminds of the father's speech at the beginning in school, which is memorised as well. The meaning seems to be: one can progress and learn, but can never completely relinquish one's heritage. Other illustrations of this topic: the movie starts and ends at school, when Gavino is young; Gavino does not understand the class at the army, as his father did not understand the olive purchaser's speech; Gavino recites word from the dictionary, as his father recited multiplications; when Gavino comes back to the village, he is afraid his father will strike him, just like he was before in the mountains; his father forbids him to eat and locks the food closet, just like he did in the mountains; Ledda says at then end: "I might abuse my new privilege, as my father did".Indeed, everywhere traditions are enduring and difficult to escape from. In the kitchen, the father wants to strike the adult Gavino with a stick… just like the shepherd stroke Sebastiano in the mountains. After the father violently hit the young Gavino, he sings a Sardinian tune… which will be repeated during the religious procession when Gavino is adult. Additionally, at this fabulous procession, the young men carry a heavy statue that we visualise as the father: they are dominated by traditions in different forms (religion, father, master).The resulting general psychological tension is visually expressed by instability: even when shots are fixed, the camera (apparently hand-held) always moves slightly. Traditions are a succession of prohibitions: don't leave the sheepfold, don't talk to other shepherds, don't eat unless you work, don't speak Sardinian in the army. Growing up, more than transgressing these, is being able to bypass them: respectively becoming an adult, learning music, studying, learning Italian.The movie has a universal dimension. Nobody bears a name, apart from Gavino, Cesare (the true friend) and Sebastiano (the mountain legend): the father, the mother, Gavino's sisters and brothers, other children and adults. This lack of identity is highlighted by the young men during the religious procession: "We have no name, we are just the padrone's this and that". It is not just Ledda's story: we see other children and adults with the same issues and desires. The shots on the children's faces at the beginning and at the end (with their inner thoughts at the beginning) are striking. These thoughts are horrible, like the ones Gavino's family has near Sebastiano's deathbed, yet we understand them: it is how necessity forces people to think. Some scenes are spectacular, for instance when the father fights with Gavino in the kitchen. It plays on different levels. Abstract: close shot on hands washing, on a hand hitting the red table to have food. Symbolic: father and son fight in obscurity, expressing their subconscious desire to get rid of each other; it is the dark conflict between tradition and emancipation. Ironic: they fight as Mozart's beautiful music plays; afterwards, the mother sings. Ambiguous: when Gavino fetches his suitcase afterwards, he first ignores his father, then puts his forehead on his leg. He still loves him despite everything. And his father first wants to caress his head, then strike it. We unexpectedly move on to the next scene, so will never know what actually happened, but it does not matter: the father's emotion stays suspended between love and hate. The following shot is magnificently nostalgic: we silently drive away from the village, looking backwards. This subjective view echoes the scene when Gavino previously left at the back of the truck: we now leave with him, apparently forever. In summary, "Padre Pardone" is gripping, with social, psychological and symbolic reach. Be warned, it is violent: harsh living conditions, harassment, child abuse, bestiality. However, it progressively delivers an optimistic message: through education and hard work, one can escape one's condition.

I saw this movie more than 20 years ago, but I have never forgotten it. There is no need for me to repeat what others have said about the plot. Let me just say that the film's use of natural sound is astounding. An illiterate boy is isolated from other people, so he develops a unique understanding of the world's noises. I appreciated the film's critique of paternalism, but even more, I was profoundly moved by the story of a peasant boy who manages to overcome his isolation and fear of his father and learn to read and then to study linguistics.I am going to buy a copy of this movie for my grandson who is studying film at a university. Despite the fact that he is a young and urban American, I think he will appreciate the humor, the innovative techniques and the themes of this remarkable film.

This film was laughably bad. The adults in the film are all brutish savages, and the plot line was non-existent. Apparently, a kid is pulled out of school to work for his father as a sheep herder, and suffers abuse at the hands of the man (who, judging from the film, couldn't have had an IQ much higher than 3). The next thing you know, the kid is about 18 and is still trying to figure out a way to run off. Horribly acted and, unlike movies of the same genre (Acla) this film was so pathetically scripted that you couldn't even care about the characters. A complete and utter zero.If you're looking for a "Mystery Science Theater" type experience where you can sit around with some of your buds and laugh at a truly horrible movie, then 'Padre Padrone' is the one for you!

This film made in the late seventies in Italy describes a rural family in the island of Sardinia. One year later, another film on agrarian society, "L'albero degli Zoccoli", also made in Italy, was a smashing success. The success among the italian audiences was attributed to a nostalgic remembrance of agrarian societies and lifestyle, also seen in Bertolucci's "1900". This film had a profound effect in many third-world countries. People from Turkey and from Madascar that came from rural patriarcal families whose economy was based on sheep farming saw this movie as their life manifesto. The struggles of the young son as he grows in his father's sheep farm are depicted in Taviani's style of symbolism. Notable is the army buddy that is a medical school graduate played by Nanni Moretti, who eventually became one of Italy's current leading film directors. See this movie with "Banditi a Orgosolo" (1960) if you can find it.