Although the film is set in World War II, it shows us a peaceful world on a small island. With the humorous color of comedy, the author expresses the strange and insipid experience of the protagonist through a group of daily life pictures: the friendly atmosphere between the Italians and the Greeks; the brag and jokes of the soldiers; the friendship and conflict between the soldiers relationship (Farina fell in love with a prostitute, so he threatened to shoot anyone who dared to touch her again; the operator fell in love with a sergeant); smoking marijuana into a fairyland prank, etc. Santi has a new girlfriend - a mule, who insisted on taking it on the boat when he returned; the two brothers smiled goodbye to the pregnant shepherdess holding a big belly, etc. It is the performance of this real and delicate life scene that allows us to see another life scene far away from gunpowder and war, as well as the friendship and friendship between people.
Salvatore was surprised by the award for his film. Salvatore is said to have been nervously hiding in the bathroom before the Oscar winners were announced. He thought that the winner of the Best Foreign Language Film award was Zhang Yimou (Zhang Yimou's "Raise the Red Lantern" also competed for the award in the same year). Because his film did not achieve great success when it was released in Italy, while Zhang Yimou's "Raise the Red Lantern" aroused great repercussions when it was released in Italy, not only winning the audience, but also the film critics. 's praise. So when he heard his name, he was moved to tears.
Salvatore is a talented young director. Like many of the new generation of filmmakers working to revitalize Italian cinema, he was also exploring a path, but unlike others, he did not follow a purely commercial path to cater to foreign markets; nor did he, like some "68" Molecules” (filmmakers who experienced or heard about the social upheaval that swept across Western Europe in 1968 and were keen to portray this historical period) indulged in reminiscences or self-blame. He chose a subject far from real life in Italy, showing his detached attitude that he had no intention of getting involved in meaningless attacks on Italian past and present politics, and he believed that what was important was the discovery of one's own value, even in the "abandoned" Under the specific historical background of "the", it is also possible to discover the meaning of existence in the obscurity and the ordinary. He joked that his film is dedicated to the "fugitives". He believes that at some point, "only by transcending history and reality can we find ourselves, and only by transcending the times can we discover new worlds."
When Salvatore showed this historical theme, he did not play with modern film techniques, but tried to innovate on the basis of inheriting the excellent tradition of domestic films. From the film, we can see that his unpretentious performance style, touching and real details, and humorous comedy situations are reminiscent of neo-realism movies. Therefore, some people regard this style of film as a phenomenon of "return of neorealism". In a sense, "Mediterranean" touched the hearts of the audience with its simple and friendly love between people, and it can also be said to be one of the traditional expression methods of neorealism. But Salvatore did not stop at this traditional style of expression. Although he was based on the background of World War II, he used the young people in the 1990s who yearned for peace and comfort, and they treated love, friendship and happy life. to express the life and behavior of a group of people in the 1940s. The picture is beautiful: the blue sea, the green island, and the ancient chapel not only make people enjoy the beauty, but also make people feel the things that happen and are active in this peaceful and beautiful land and many lifelike characters. Unforgettable. Perhaps, it is because of this innovative film language and life philosophy that he won this "accidental" Academy Award.
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