I remember the frequent mafia liquidations in the 1970´s, but I was not old enough to understand the underlying reasons for what was happening. This movie tries to combine the politics of contemporary Italy and concerns for the violence that seemed to show up anywhere - with the personal story of three brothers who have just lost their mother. This is quite a task and depending on your taste, the director may or may not have succeeded.
An old man leaves his old house in the countryside to go to the city to send three telegrams, one to each of his sons. His wife, their mother, has died. Walking down the country road, he have visions of her talking to him and waving him off as a good bye. He realizes that it is just his memory and that he is alone now.
One brother, Raffaele (Philippe Noiret), is a judge and is on an important a dangerous case of mafia murders, that could put him in serious danger of being assassinated. But he is hellbent on bringing justice to those "terrorists" who are guilty of a crime. His democratic and senses of justice pulls him immoderately towards a trial.
Another brother, Rocco (Vittorio Mezzogiorno), is deeply religious and is involved in helping young boys in a correctional home. He sees the troubles, like crime and drugs, that the youth face, when the first get in touch with society on their own.
A third son, Nicola (Michele Placido), is an "ordinary" worker. He is caught up in a strike or some other conflict relating to his work and he sort of represents the rebellious or revolutionary part of society who sees things from a groundfloor level. He is also hit by a divorce situation and taking care of his young daughter
The brothers try to reconnect with their youth and the surroundings that they were used to back in the day when they lived there. But between the lines we sense that they went away from the country side and rarely came back to visit their parents. That is just how "modern" family life is. No time for anything else than keeping the everyday wheels running.
All the while the sons are checking their old lives out, Nicola´s daughter connects with her grand daddy. She likes the adventure of looking around the old farm and see all those old tools, machines and grainaries. Grand daddy still lets his memory roll back to important incidents in his marriage with his wife, like when she lost her wedding ring in the beach sand, and they used a sieve to find it.
The brothers still seem preoccupied with their city life mentality and the problems and worries they have brought with them. They are not able to mourn the loss of their mother, since they are not really present in the now. But then they begin to think about where they are going with their ideals and how they will affect the family and the relation between the brothers. They start to discuss politics and their differences are highlighted and the falling apart of the family seems unavoidable. We see them all three stand alone crying, but in the same frame. They cry to them selves, since they are not able to connect their different understandings of the problems in the world.
Finally we see the burriel of the mother and the girl and the grand daddy go back to the old farm. We see them as metaphor for the hope that the next generation, represented by the girl, will be able to bridge the gap between the different ideals.
First of all I must give my praise to Arrow Film for the restauration job they have done with this Bluray-release. The quality is some of the best i have seen for a movie from this era. It is crystal clear and sharp (almost too sharp as they have slightly overdone the contrast). The sound is good and darker parts are still discernable in details and so on. The cinematography is fantastic. Some scenes are so well executed with such a sense of poetry and sentimentality. The shot of the old house and the old father standing in front with his dog is breathtaking. What a fantasticly beautiful old house that really is a great metaphor for a long life and a long marriage but now looking aged and worn. I love shot like that. And the wedding scene when the rain comes and people are running for cover. It is pure poetry in my eyes.
The problem i feel with this movie is the political aspects. Not that they are not handled well or are not important. But I was disappointed with the combination of htis gentle story of loss and reconnection and these rather childish portraits of political conflicts. I felt like eating a ripe and sweet orange and then mixing it with a mint chocolate. Apart they would taste fine but combined they cancel each other out and leaves a weird taste. The director is an absolute master of placing the camera and handling changes like varyinfg apertures going from light to dark area in the same shot. All this is fantastic in the farmhouse setting. But the staged symbolism of the political struggles are misfits in my opinion and it is such a pity. I understand that the director is famous for his political movies, but in this case he should have left it alone and stuck with the emotional stories of the family ... in my humble opinion. Still a very recommendable movie made by a master artist.