A fine humanist lesson

Ofelia 2022-03-20 09:02:23

Maybe it is just me, but I was filled with conflicting emotions of sympathy and annoyance, towards the main character, Umberto D., throughout the movie. Maybe that's what Lu Xun means by "mourning his misfortune, angering him without arguing". The old man is vain, petty, and hopelessly inept, an entirely believable little bureaucrat thrown out of familiar territory, even though his perils move us into tears, as we witness this thin and unfirm frame shivering in the cold wind, abandoned by all by his faithful little dog, and lost in the inevitable hazard of old age, without any sense of security.

Upon reflection afterwards, this conflict of emotions, and my embarassment about it, testify to the great power of de Sica in creating a melodrama without over-sentimentalizing, which is a rare achievement. We are so dulled by sugar-coated Hollywood weepies that we often forget unfortunate people are, like all of us, less than perfect. Perfect paragon of a victim only exists in escapist melodrama and soap operas. Whether we can navigate through the petty annoyance in human relations to deliver our help to the weak, is a true test to our humanity.

And films like "Umberto D." get us closer.

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Extended Reading
  • Anais 2022-03-28 09:01:08

    4.5. This is the story of a stubborn old Korean fan who will participate in the protest against the annual change and waste medical resources! (Having worked as a civil servant for 30 years, isn't that referring to the former fascist dynasty? XD) Pity and hate coexist. What can't be put down is dignity. The characters are so well written, and the ideas are also successfully injected into the movements and postures. . Generally like "Bicycle Theft", the layout, structure, and final hook are more powerful. Even if the whole film has something that is not average and outdated, such as the soundtrack is too full, the ending is too much (if you know how to accept it, there is a feeling of being blackmailed - or if you think about it from another angle, it is a person who does not want to die but uses it to die) The old man who asked the audience for a film...), the selling point is too obvious (the old man and the dog), the performance of the silent film... The cinema downstairs, De Sica's usual medium refers. The part where the maid wakes up is particularly interesting (Bazin mentioned it), which is different from the fact that all (superficially understood) realism in "Bicycle Theft" exists for the sake of drama. This part has nothing to do with the front and back, cut off the chain of the plot and open up the realism Sex, purely for the audience to see and feel.

  • Laila 2022-03-26 09:01:10

    NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MAN

Umberto D. quotes

  • Umberto Domenico Ferrari: Listen, you need to leave as well. There are lots of jobs in Rome. Don't stay here.

    Maria, la servetta: She'll kick me out the minute she finds out I'm pregnant.

    Umberto Domenico Ferrari: Can't you go back to your hometown?

    Maria, la servetta: My father would beat me.

  • Maria, la servetta: Will we meet again, Mr. Umberto?