Torneranno i prati

Among cinematic depictions of the Great War, Torneranno is not a definitive film, but it is nevertheless a stark visual poem and timely homage to the 100 years since the start of that terrible conflict. At just over an hour long, it says just what it needs to say in gorgeous, color-drained shots of the Italian Alps, with the menace of the enemy (Austrians) never seen, but always felt. That Olmi's own father fought in the war (and Olmi now lives in this precise area) adds poignancy to the film.

Beautiful take on WWI through the eyes of a trench that seems to be last place on earth -- not really a place filled with fighters or soldiers, but desperate men waiting for the end. Some bombing scenes really makes sure we are watching a war drama, but the entire composition is way more complex -- it's a chronicle on life and death, on how the horrors of violence turn young men into old men, on how who goes to war dies twice, as that young liutenant says in a monologue near the end.

Sadly just a movie that I didn't really connect to. Didn't know where it wanted to go. The imagery is very beautiful though, and yet again we get to see clearly how extreme WW1 was. Terrifying.