Episode #97: Mediterraneo
Listen to Episode 97 of the Podcast here while you enjoy the show notes.
SUMMARY - Mediterraneo takes place during World War II. A small company of Italian soldiers are stationed in isolation near a Greek island. While patrolling the seemingly abandoned village, their ship is blown up and they lose radio contact. After they are trapped, the women and children cautiously reemerge and the soldiers try to build a relationship with the locals.
Screenplay by Enzo Monteleone; Directed by Gabriele Salvatores; and released in Italy on January 31, 1991.
COMING ATTRACTIONS
We watched the VHS copy that was released in 1992 and it had two previews: Straight Talk
and Captain Ron. Both were probably the most entertaining part of the night
FILM DISCUSSION
This movie won the Oscar, so we're going in with a certain expectation and it didn't live up.
Even when dealing with a comedy, starting with a quote gives off this strange pretentiousness.
Plot wise, there isn't a lot to really get into. Within the 90 minutes of running time, it's about 20-30 minutes of worthwhile progression.
The banter with the crew has a little improvisational feel but nothing really tickled our funny bone. Time does make comedy tougher.
But most of the jokes were situational and incredibly telegraphed, like this guy being oblivious to the very loud plane landing behind him
We know that Siskel & Ebert walked out of this movie as they both hated it and refused to officially review it.
Our pure speculation was that it might have something to do with the extreme whitewashing of Italy's role in World War II.
Maybe it was the kind of gross way the sexuality of the movie was handled in general.
Or maybe it was the lack of any worthwhile characterization.
It was all such a bland experience that really we couldn't find a whole lot to talk about other than list off films that were more deserving of nominations.
Awards Talk: Oscar Winner for Best Foreign Language Film. At the Italian Golden Globes, it won for Best Score and was nominated for Best Film. At the David di Donatello Awards there were many nominations, but won for Best Sound, Best Editing, and Tied with Towards Evening for Best Film
TRUE CRIME & POP CULTURE
This week we don't have any true crime to talk about so we jump right into music.
Here are your Billboard new releases as of Feb 2 1991
81. I’ll be by your side - Stevie B
83. Who said I would - Phil Collins
87. Mother’s Pride - George Michael
88. My Side of the Bed - Susanna Hoffs
89. Secret - Heart
92. Together Forever - Lisette Melendez
93. Ride the Wind - Poison
This movie is loosely based on a book. Here's some information about the author https://www.1stdibs.com/creators/renzo-biasion/art/
We talked about how Siskel & Ebert famously walked out of their screening. While we still don't know the specifics as to what exactly made them do so, we were able to find this home video of an interview while Ebert waited for a book signing.
https://mediaburn.org/video/chicago-slices-raw-roger-ebert/
RANKINGS & RATINGS
Nikki 1-5 star scale - 1 out of 5
Jon 0-4 star scale - 1 out of 4
Would you watch it again? - Not a chance. We really don't understand why this movie was nominated, let alone won, the Oscar. We found this to be unfunny, boring and lacking enough plot. We've seen some great international films for this project so far and we would watch all of those, including "Millions," before touching this again.
If you want to watch Mediterraneo, as of this recording in January 2023, it’s available on VHS, Imported DVD. Check your local listings.
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