This dialogue-free Italian production is pure cinema. Director Michael Frammartino shows us images and grips our attention. He tells an epic story of life itself, weaving together tragedy, comedy and suspense. Its protagonists are an elderly shepherd, a young goat, a large tree and charcoal.
The first shot that comes on screen is a large black pile billowing smoke. What is it? It's a tantalizing image. Then we are introduced to the shepherd (Giuseppe Fuda), who has a nasty cough. As he staggers along with his goats and his energetic dog, we fear for his safety. When we witness his home remedy, we fear even more for him.
The title translates as "The Four Times" and encapsulates the lives of its protagonists in separate sections. How the lives of a man, an animal, a plant and a mineral intersect is fascinating. Frammartino has a saint's patience with the pacing and for some it will move too slowly. There is not amped up drama or action, but the pacing creates tension because it forces us to think. We think about the welfare of the old man and how he is carrying on a tradition in his village that has gone on for centuries. We think about the fragility of life as we witness the birth of the baby goat. We contemplate the intersection of humans and the natural environment when we move into the stories of the majestic tree and the birth of the charcoal.
Frammartino has created a visual poem. He communicates more with his framing and shot selection than most filmmakers say in paragraphs of dialogue. If my description makes this film seem like an inaccessible art project, I am doing the film a disservice. Frammartino uses all the filmic techniques that other great filmmakers use to tell their stories sans words. He foreshadows tragedy and paces the action to maximize our emotional involvement. In one sequence, he holds a wide shot that builds a comedic episode that harkens back to the great sight gags of Keaton, Chaplin or Tati. How does a goat end up on a kitchen table? And as I've said in many reviews before, sometimes the details of someone just doing their job can be fascinating. This film gives us a window into a rural culture and its ancient customs that have survived into the modern age.
While this is a fictional story, the approach is much like a sociological or nature documentary. Wide, long takes simply observe and allow the audience to bring their own feelings to what is transpiring. Frammartino never judges; his only statement is here is how it is. In the common, he finds profound ruminations about the circle of life. What I took away from the film is the vastness of stories on this planet. Even a piece of charcoal has a tale to tell.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
