Blu-ray Review: MIRACLE IN MILAN (Arrow Academy)
Here's a quick peek behind the curtain. I'm like a great many people in this world right now, I'm underemployed and scraping for every nickel I can get my hands on these days. I've got a pile of bills coming in every month that I can't really afford to pay, and with every coming month the pile gets bigger. I've got my ear to the ground for job opportunities in my field as I shamelessly pimp myself out as a part time professional to attempt to make ends meet. If you add all of that real world, real life stress to my existing depression, you've got a recipe for disaster, and I spend many days fending off anxiety attacks. I know I'm not alone, but in my head, I often am, until I come across a film like Vittorio De Sica's Miracle in Milan.
This film, released shortly after the major international success of The Bicycle Thieves, looks at the same problems from a very different angle. Whereas The Bicycles Thieves' overriding tone was quite sad and desperate, Miracle in Milan's look at the prevalent post-war poverty in 1950's Italy was overwhelmingly bright and positive. De Sica, one of the men most responsible for bringing attention to the Neo-Realism movement took this turn into very blatant magical realism, and this is the rare film that brought tears of joy to my eyes, and felt like the cinematic equivalent of a firm hug from someone who knows it will all be okay.
The film centers around Toto, an orphan found in a cabbage patch who is adopted by an old woman who soon dies, leaving him to grow up in an orphanage. Toto is released from the orphanage into the world in the depths of post-WWII reconstruction. He knows nothing of what happened to bring Italy to its collective knees, he only knows that life is good because he is alive. He sets out to make his way in the world, with an optimism that can only be born of ignorance, and in every rejection he sees opportunity. Eventually he settles in one of Milan's larger shanty-towns, where his upbeat spirit galvanizes a community of downtrodden citizens. Toto is an angel in a ratty jacket to these people, and when a big developer discovers that the shanty-town sits on top of a gas deposit, Toto and his compatriots have to fight off the big money men with whatever they have, and in this case, that is mostly Toto's angelic qualities and almost magical enthusiasm and positivity.
This film warmed parts of my soul that I haven't felt in years. Toto's unrelenting positivity and good cheer are kinetic and undeniable. The message of this film, that it's not what you want that counts, it's what you have, is so eternally true and universal that is is damned near impossible to finish the film without a smile on my face. Vittorio De Sica may have made his name with films about the struggles of poverty and the problems faced by lower class Italians, but this was a brilliant look at his own sense of humor, something which would come into greater evidence in later films like Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, and Marriage, Italian Style. While those films are not De Sica's favorites, they remain perfect time capsules of a certain age in Italy. In fact, if I had to compare Miracle in Milan to any of the De Sica films I've seen, I'd say it's pretty close to the same tone as the Yesterday segment of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.
Like most of De Sica's best work, Miracle in Milan was co-written with his soulmate, Cesare Zavattini. De Sica and Zavattini were the Lennon and McCartney of filmmaking teams, no one can touch their stuff, and together they made some of the world's finest films. In this case, the film was based on Toto il buono, a novel by Zavattini. The story doesn't really build any narrative steam until the latter part during which the land developer appears, however, the early segments do a wonderful job of establishing Toto as a benevolent character for whom goodness is a natural state. De Sica and Zavattini's impassioned plea that there is happiness to be found in even the most destitute of situations is prescient, given today's similarly desperate times.
Miracle in Milan is the rarest of film commodities, it is a ray of pure sunshine, total goodness captured on film without any hint of cynicism. This film could not be any more different from its predecessor in tone, but I'll be damned if it isn't just as affecting in the opposite direction. The fact that this film has no digital release in the US is a crying shame, and needs to be rectified, now more than ever.
The Disc:
Knowing the issues that various distributors have had with Italian productions moving to Blu-ray over the last couple of years, I was hedging my bets with Miracle in Milan. However, Arrow Academy really came through on this one, the image is hard to beat. It suffers from some of the typical image quality flaws of the time, muddy wide shots that lack fine detail, but the close-ups are absolutely gorgeous. There may be a tiny bit of artificial sharpening, but nothing that bothered me in the least. Grain appeared natural and healthy, and the films monochrome cinematography benefits greatly from the HD upgrade. The Italian language LPCM 2.0 track is quite clean and clear, and shows very little in terms of aging.
Arrow Academy have really gone the extra mile with the extras on this release. In addition to the beautiful Blu-ray of this under-appreciated gem, they've included the never before released on UK DVD De Sica film, Il Tetto (The Roof). Il Tetto is another of Zavattini and De Sica's looks at poverty, and another clever, though more realistic, comedy. The story involves a young couple looking to strike out on their own. They struggle to find a plot of land on which to build a shack, but they are turned away by police repeatedly. Italian law at the time said that once a domicile had a roof, the police could do nothing about it. So, they gathered some friends and raced through the night to complete the house, roof and all, before the cops could show up. Il Tetto is not quite as warm and fuzzy as Miracle in Milan, but it shares a lot tonally with the main feature and is a great way to follow it up. Also included are a couple of informative interviews with Vittorio's son Manuel De Sica and star of Miracle in Milan, Brunella Bovo. they both share fantastic stories about the film, it's production, and De Sica's goals. Lastly, on the video front, we get newsreel footage of the film's theatrical red carpet premiere as well as the original trailer. Also included is a booklet featuring wonderful words on the film as well as a contemporary 1951 article on De Sica from John Maddison. A fantastic package all around.
I had never seen Miracle in Milan before reviewing it for Arrow Academy, and now I will never forget it. I cannot recommend this film highly enough.
This film, released shortly after the major international success of The Bicycle Thieves, looks at the same problems from a very different angle. Whereas The Bicycles Thieves' overriding tone was quite sad and desperate, Miracle in Milan's look at the prevalent post-war poverty in 1950's Italy was overwhelmingly bright and positive. De Sica, one of the men most responsible for bringing attention to the Neo-Realism movement took this turn into very blatant magical realism, and this is the rare film that brought tears of joy to my eyes, and felt like the cinematic equivalent of a firm hug from someone who knows it will all be okay.
The film centers around Toto, an orphan found in a cabbage patch who is adopted by an old woman who soon dies, leaving him to grow up in an orphanage. Toto is released from the orphanage into the world in the depths of post-WWII reconstruction. He knows nothing of what happened to bring Italy to its collective knees, he only knows that life is good because he is alive. He sets out to make his way in the world, with an optimism that can only be born of ignorance, and in every rejection he sees opportunity. Eventually he settles in one of Milan's larger shanty-towns, where his upbeat spirit galvanizes a community of downtrodden citizens. Toto is an angel in a ratty jacket to these people, and when a big developer discovers that the shanty-town sits on top of a gas deposit, Toto and his compatriots have to fight off the big money men with whatever they have, and in this case, that is mostly Toto's angelic qualities and almost magical enthusiasm and positivity.
This film warmed parts of my soul that I haven't felt in years. Toto's unrelenting positivity and good cheer are kinetic and undeniable. The message of this film, that it's not what you want that counts, it's what you have, is so eternally true and universal that is is damned near impossible to finish the film without a smile on my face. Vittorio De Sica may have made his name with films about the struggles of poverty and the problems faced by lower class Italians, but this was a brilliant look at his own sense of humor, something which would come into greater evidence in later films like Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, and Marriage, Italian Style. While those films are not De Sica's favorites, they remain perfect time capsules of a certain age in Italy. In fact, if I had to compare Miracle in Milan to any of the De Sica films I've seen, I'd say it's pretty close to the same tone as the Yesterday segment of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.
Like most of De Sica's best work, Miracle in Milan was co-written with his soulmate, Cesare Zavattini. De Sica and Zavattini were the Lennon and McCartney of filmmaking teams, no one can touch their stuff, and together they made some of the world's finest films. In this case, the film was based on Toto il buono, a novel by Zavattini. The story doesn't really build any narrative steam until the latter part during which the land developer appears, however, the early segments do a wonderful job of establishing Toto as a benevolent character for whom goodness is a natural state. De Sica and Zavattini's impassioned plea that there is happiness to be found in even the most destitute of situations is prescient, given today's similarly desperate times.
Miracle in Milan is the rarest of film commodities, it is a ray of pure sunshine, total goodness captured on film without any hint of cynicism. This film could not be any more different from its predecessor in tone, but I'll be damned if it isn't just as affecting in the opposite direction. The fact that this film has no digital release in the US is a crying shame, and needs to be rectified, now more than ever.
The Disc:
Knowing the issues that various distributors have had with Italian productions moving to Blu-ray over the last couple of years, I was hedging my bets with Miracle in Milan. However, Arrow Academy really came through on this one, the image is hard to beat. It suffers from some of the typical image quality flaws of the time, muddy wide shots that lack fine detail, but the close-ups are absolutely gorgeous. There may be a tiny bit of artificial sharpening, but nothing that bothered me in the least. Grain appeared natural and healthy, and the films monochrome cinematography benefits greatly from the HD upgrade. The Italian language LPCM 2.0 track is quite clean and clear, and shows very little in terms of aging.
Arrow Academy have really gone the extra mile with the extras on this release. In addition to the beautiful Blu-ray of this under-appreciated gem, they've included the never before released on UK DVD De Sica film, Il Tetto (The Roof). Il Tetto is another of Zavattini and De Sica's looks at poverty, and another clever, though more realistic, comedy. The story involves a young couple looking to strike out on their own. They struggle to find a plot of land on which to build a shack, but they are turned away by police repeatedly. Italian law at the time said that once a domicile had a roof, the police could do nothing about it. So, they gathered some friends and raced through the night to complete the house, roof and all, before the cops could show up. Il Tetto is not quite as warm and fuzzy as Miracle in Milan, but it shares a lot tonally with the main feature and is a great way to follow it up. Also included are a couple of informative interviews with Vittorio's son Manuel De Sica and star of Miracle in Milan, Brunella Bovo. they both share fantastic stories about the film, it's production, and De Sica's goals. Lastly, on the video front, we get newsreel footage of the film's theatrical red carpet premiere as well as the original trailer. Also included is a booklet featuring wonderful words on the film as well as a contemporary 1951 article on De Sica from John Maddison. A fantastic package all around.
I had never seen Miracle in Milan before reviewing it for Arrow Academy, and now I will never forget it. I cannot recommend this film highly enough.
Do you feel this content is inappropriate or infringes upon your rights? Click here to report it, or see our DMCA policy.
