'Vermiglio' Review: A Visually Mesmerizing and Powerfully Potent Historical Family Drama
What if I told you that one of the year’s finest dramas – one that can be seen as a familial soap opera – takes place in a remote Italian mountain town set in 1944? Oh, yeah. Maura Delpero’s family drama Vermiglio, which marks Italy's official submission for the Best International Feature category at the upcoming Oscars, is one of those films that immersed me so strongly, my ADHD ass didn’t check my phone for the time!
Image copyright (©) Courtesy of Janus Films
NR
Runtime: 1 Hr and 59 Minutes
Production Companies: Cinedora, Charades, Versus Production, Rai Cinema
Distributor: Janus Films/Sideshow
Director: Maura Delpero
Writer: Maura Delpero
Cast: Giuseppe De Domenico, Tommaso Ragno, Martina Scrinzi, Roberta Rovelli, Carlotta Gamba, Orietta Notari, Sara Serraiocco
Release Date: December 25, 2024
A respected schoolteacher named Cesare (Tommaso Ragno) and his large family reside quietly in Vermiglio, a remote mountain village in the Italian Alps, at the end of World War II. His household is thrown for a loop when a Sicilian deserter, Pietro (Giuseppe De Domenico), arrives in town, saving one of the community's own. Initially, the neighborhood people discriminated against him because of his Sicilian background, but the family took a liking to him, specifically the eldest daughter, Lucia (Martina Scrinzi). Pietro and Lucia start a wholesome romantic affair and eventually wed. But when tragedy strikes, the sanctity of the household and the social standing of the family's name are at stake.
We Live in A [Mountain] Society
It’s worth mentioning that Delpero has Vermiglio ancestry, as her father's childhood in the titular mountain served as the inspiration behind the film. Delpero pours that family tree passion onto the film as her vision meticulously replicates the period while deconstructing the culture within the town. For that period, Vermiglio was a bubble where talks of war were fleeting and gossip and closeness to God were the currencies that affected everyone's social standing. Through the lens of Cesare's family, Delpero elaborates on the social caste system in which Vermiglio operates. It’s wildly intoxicating, making you feel like you're there yourself.
The cinematography by Russian DP Mikhail Krichman also gives the titular mountain an intriguing texture. His picturesque wide shots often capture the tenderness between the family's dynamic or the loneliness the characters experience at certain times. Each lingering shot of each family member as they navigate the mountain creates an immersive feeling. And Krichman's framework makes every establishing shot the equivalent of a pop-up book display. It's that beguiling.
Because the Vermiglio bubble is located in the Alps, the lines between the omnipresent aura of war and the small village normality blur due to the singular occupations everyone had or lack of activities to do that didn’t pertain to small-town village stuff. For example, Cesare is the village’s only teacher, fueling his ego. Nobody questions how he confines children and teens (like 8- to 18-year-olds) to one classroom nor asks about the mockup being 50% his kids – that he either favorites or humiliates — and 50% everyone else. Delpero illustrates how easy it is to be prestigious considering that most of the men in the communities are illiterate drunks.
When Pietro is introduced and the wholesome romance between him and Lucia unfolds, Delpero slowly reveals other aspects of mountain living, such as how its size can make you feel lonely, and the social pressures and values that women face, as contextualized by Lucia in the back half. The poor girl becomes non-verbal, looking like Pim at the end of the Smiling Friends pilot. As well-developed as the story is up to that point, feeling so viscerally connected to her and the kids in their family, its hopeful resolution involving the sensation of touch welled me to tears.
All in the Family
With a family count close to the Cheaper By the Dozen crew, set during a time when pumping out nearly a dozen eggs – a few being “cracked” along the way – was the status quo, Delpero flexes her pen by fleshing out each member. The highlight of her magnification is on the girls – the eldest, Lucia, offbeat teenager Ada (Rachele Potrich), and precocious pre-teen Flavia (Anna Thaler) – and the older angsty brother Dino (Patrick Gardner), who resents his dad for good reasons.
Each kid has a fascinating personality and affectionate love towards each other, which makes them all seem so real and coats the film in a tender atmosphere on certain occasions. Their distinctive arcs are strengthened by their camaraderie with one another. Though most of the narrative is centered around Lucia and her life-changing romance that goes through biblical-like hurdles, I was enamored with Ada's story, for it is one with a subtle queer subtext that amplifies her "middle child" position at every turn.
Delpero's script balances surprising humor and shocking drama, stemming from the dynamics between them, with patience in making each slice-of-life moment flourish.
Many New Stars Are Born
Vermiglio marks the debut of the majority of the ensemble, except Tommaso Ragno. Delpero enlisted many local kids, and they all put on some of the year’s best performances. That includes Martina Scrinzi as Lucia, who is subtle but powerful in her portrayal of light and grief. The empowering, independent, coming-of-age display involving guilt, self-resentment, and curiosity is portrayed by Rachele Potrich as Ada. Finally, Patrick Gardner's angst and kindness towards his brother and mother render Dino a sympathetic character. They deliver performances based on expression, requiring no spoken words to convey the weight of their emotions, and they're excellent. I hope they have a future in Italian cinema. I can see them all becoming stars.
Vermiglio is a visually mesmerizing and powerfully potent historical family drama about the ripple effects a war vet and a teacher’s daughter’s romance has on a socially high-class family, fueled by Maura Delpero’s compassionate direction and a stellar script that makes this a time capsule that deserves to be seen on a big screen.
Rating: 4/5
