1860 (I mille di Garibaldi). 1933. Directed by Alessandro Blasetti.

(6/4/00)

I found this film tedious and hard-to-follow. I think that it was designed for an audience that was familiar with the historical background. A lot of information is conveyed through an offscreen narrator and it is just too much to absorb.

One thing that puts me at a disadvantage with films such as this is that I just can't get interested in battle scenes. I can't concentrate on them. They just don't interest me. 1860 climaxes with a battle and the rest of the picture has to do with the events leading up to the battle. So it was pretty much lost on me.

The film does have a qauint, picturesque quality. Most of it was beautifully photographed outdoors. It has something of the feel of an old historical painting. But it is devoid of any interesting characters. Even the hero who goes to bring word to Garibaldi isn't very interesting.

Do we ever get to see Garibaldi? I'm not sure. When Garibaldi decides to go to Sicily there is someone who might be him, but I wasn't sure. There is a pan later on which seems to be from Garibaldi's eyes. It would certainly be a disappointment if we didn't even get to see the hero, but if he was there he had such little presence that I didn't notice him.

There are a couple of somewhat interesting scenes, such as when the hero arrives at Garibaldi's headquarters and hears that he isn't planning to go to Sicily. And then when he learns that he is. Amidst all that there is an interesting pan around a room that has been evacuated. And I enjoyed the scene where the hero meets his contact and they do a bit like recognition codes in spy movies. "I think I know your mother." Person looks down. "I think I know your father." Person looks up. "My name is ..."

A few interesting moments, but that isn't very much. This film is mainly memorable for its period costumes photographed in outdoor locations. I really couldn't get into it.