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Miracle in Milan
Overview
A foundling protects a strife-torn Italian village in Vittorio De Sica's entertaining modern fable, MIRACLE IN MILAN. The purity and cheerfulness of young Toto (Francesco Golisano) inspires the squatters in his shantytown to improve their lives. When the greedy landowner (Paulo Stoppa) discovers oil beneath the shantytown, he attempts to expel the vagrants with his personal police squad. The effort is foiled by Toto who gets help from a magical dove that can grant wishes. But gratitude turns into greed when the beggars use Toto and his bird for their own material gain.
Awards:
1951 - Cannes - Palme d'Or - Winner
Main Cast & Crew:
Vittorio De Sica - Director
Emma Gramatica
Francesco Golisano
Paolo Stoppa
Guglielmo Barnabo
Brunella Bovo
Anna Carena
Alba Arnova
Flora Cambi
Virgilio Riento
Arturo Bragaglia
Details
- Format: Blu-ray
- Run Time: 96
- Color Format: B&W
- UPC: 715515270717
- Genre: MYSTERY / SUSPENSE / THRILLER
- Rating: NR
- Release Date: April 2022
Movie Reviews
Synopsis:
Once upon a time, in the story of Vittorio De Sica's MIRACLE IN MILAN, an old woman, Lolotta (Emma Grammatica), discovered a young child in her cabbage patch. She cared for him until her death, at which time the boy, Toto (Francesco Golizano), was placed into an orphanage. When Toto is released from the orphanage at 18, his generous, unruffled, amiable nature inspires shantytown squatters to improve their huts and enjoy the beauty of the world. But as they begin to rebulid, digging into the ground, the squatters strike oil. This discovery causes the landowner (Paolo Stoppa) to evict them, as he wants the oil all to himself. A private police force attacks the squatters, but the old woman, Lolotta, drops down from heaven to give Toto a magical dove which repels the police. The squatters celebrate by requesting wishes from the dove. Each wish is more grandiose than the previous and when a vagrant asks for the sun to rise, angels arrive to reclaim the dove. Without the dove's help, the police easily overwhelm the vagrants. As Toto and his friends are carted off, Lolotta appears again with the dove, offering Toto and the villagers a last chance at safety and happiness. Based on a novel by Cesare Zavattini, this charming film combines sharp editing and stylized mise-en-scene to create a unique and socially conscious fairy tale.
Notes:
De Sica's second effort as a producer-director, MIRACLE IN MILAN, received international acclaim--the film won the grand prize at Cannes, and was declared the best foreign film of the year by the New York Film Critics.
While many impose a social, religious, or political meaning on the film, De Sica maintained that it was a simple fable about the triumph of good over evil.
Reviews:
"What's striking is how political the film-making still seems, despite the mood of whimsy." - 05/01/2006 Sight and Sound, p.90
4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]his playful '50s fairytale conjures Chaplinesque charm from a whimsical romance, a wealth of sight gags, and enchantingly low-fi special effects." - 06/01/2012 Total Film
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