Directed by:
Giuseppe TornatoreScreenplay:
Giuseppe TornatoreCinematography:
Enrico LucidiComposer:
Ennio MorriconeCast:
Francesco Scianna, Margareth Madè, Raoul Bova, Giorgio Faletti, Leo Gullotta, Ángela Molina, Enrico Lo Verso, Laura Chiatti, Nino Frassica, Monica Bellucci (more)Plots(1)
BAARÌA is Giuseppe Tornatore's lush and romantic reimagining of the life of one Sicilian man who grows up, marries, has children, matures and ages, compiling a rich breadth of experiences along the way. It is also the tale of a typical village and the entertaining dynamics of small-town life where everyone knows everyone's business.
Peppino, the nickname of the boy at the story's heart, is a tough little kid in the 1930s, used to the rough-and-tumble world of Baarìa (local slang for Tornatore's native Bagheria), a hot and dusty Sicilian village with one main street. His adventures are many and his memories singular: men gambling in the local square, goats eating his schoolbooks and the enchantment of silent film screenings. All of this plays out against the darker canvas of black-shirted fascists strutting in the streets, the declaration of World War II and the ecstatic moment of liberation when the Americans land on the island.
Slowly, a man and an individual are formed. In the chaotic tumult of post-war Baarìa, an older Peppino (Francesco Scianna) joins the Communist Party. Coming from a poor family and witnessing the humiliations meted out by local landowners, he feels socialism is the road to justice and a fairer world. When he falls head over heels for the raven-haired Mannina (Margareth Madè), however, her parents hold his party membership against him. As Peppino ages, success rubs up against failure, and pain mingles with happiness. In Baarìa, life can be simple or complicated, full of humor and sadness, but it is never uninteresting; it simply flows. Tornatore is in love with his world, his characters and his landscape. Everything comes alive under his touch. He has an unerring ability to summon the dreams and aspirations of a young man fighting for his beliefs, while also reveling in the exuberance and comedy of existence. BAARÌA captures the wonder of a lifetime of living. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Vincenzo Salemme
Italy
Best movies:
The Mass Is Ended (1985)
Ex (2009)
Baaria (2009)
Gabriele Lavia
Italy
Best movies:
The Legend of 1900 (1998)
Deep Red (1975)
Inferno (1980)
Marcello Mazzarella
Italy
Best movies:
Time Regained (1999)
Everybody's Fine (1990)
Fortapàsc (2009)
Salvatore Ficarra
Italy
Best movies:
Baaria (2009)
Valentino Picone
Italy
Best movies:
Baaria (2009)
Mimmo Cuticchio
Best movies:
The Godfather: Part III (1990)
Baaria (2009)
Terraferma (2011)
Tiziana Lodato
Italy
Best movies:
Solino (2002)
The Star Maker (1995)
Baaria (2009)
Gaetano Bruno
Italy
Best movies:
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)
The Consequences of Love (2004)
House of Gucci (2021)
Lollo Franco
Best movies:
Maltese (2017) (series)
Come into the Light (2005)
My mother (2010) (TV movie)
Marco Iermanò
Italy
Best movies:
My mother (2010) (TV movie)
Squadra antimafia - Palermo oggi (2009) (series)
Baaria (2009)
Orio Scaduto
Italy
Best movies:
Il capo dei capi (2007) (series)
Malena (2000)
Kaos II (1998)
Francesco Guzzo
Best movies:
Life Is Beautiful (1997)
Mon frère (1998)
The Star Maker (1995)
Domenico Centamore
Italy
Best movies:
The Best of Youth (2003) (series)
Il capo dei capi (2007) (series)
One Hundred Steps (2000)
Michele Russo
Italy
Best movies:
The Godfather: Part III (1990)
Baaria (2009)
Sword of War (2009)
Enrico Roccaforte
Best movies:
Fireworks (2023)
Baaria (2009)
Inspector Montalbano (1999) (series)
Sebastiano Lo Monaco
Italy
Best movies:
Preferisco il paradiso (2010) (TV movie)
The Octopus (1984) (series)
Baaria (2009)
Paride Benassai
Best movies:
Il figlio della luna (2007) (TV movie)
Baaria (2009)
The Young Montalbano (2012) (series)
Roberto Bonura
Best movies:
Baaria (2009)
The Sicilian Girl (2008)
Inspector Montalbano (1999) (series)
Simona Malato
Best movies:
Fireworks (2023)
Solo per Passione - Letizia Battaglia Fotografa (2022) (TV movie)
Baaria (2009)
Emanuele Gullotto
Best movies:
The Legend of 1900 (1998)
Malena (2000)
Le Songe d'une nuit d'été (1999)