Padre Padrone (1977) Reviews

Based on an autobiographical book by Gavino Ledda, Padre Padrone is filmed in Sardinian, a regional Italian dialect. The film concentrates on a young, barely literate shepherd boy, who lives under the thumb of his tyrannical peasant father. Rescued from his family--and his isolated lifestyle--when called for military service, the boy eventually emerges as a brilliant scholar. Filmmakers Paolo Taviani and Vittorio Taviani have always displayed an uncanny knack for perfectly capturing the manners, mores and thought processes of Southern Italy's working poor. Though the protagonist's father is clearly the villain of the piece, the Tavianis endeavor to understand and explain his point-of-view and the traditional values that have compelled him to treat his son so harshly. Filmed in a stark, straightforward fashion Padre Padrone went on to become the first film ever to win both the Golden Palm and the International Critics' Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi