FREE ON CINEGEEK.DE Il Postino

When we first see Mario (Massimo Troisi), we have to assume that he is disabled. He talks to his father, who seems to be debil too. Or just weird. In the next scene we realize that Mario is of normal intelligence, but grew up in an area where there isn't much to tell. But that's going to change... Mario lives on an island in the south of Italy where new things arrive very late, if at all. But one day Mario is hired as a temporary postman. He has only one customer, a stranger. It's the famous poet Pablo Neruda (Philippe Noiret) who fled Chile and went into exile on the island. Mario is fascinated by Neurda, who receives countless letters, especially from women. He discusses with his boss, the postmaster, about Neruda: The expelled communist rebukes Mario: Neruda is a political writer! Neither the one nor the other understands Neruda, but Mario decides on the job to visit Neruda daily - and maybe there are girls too! Slowly a relationship develops between the two. Peruda lives quietly and withdrawn with a woman, maybe his wife. Anyway, Mario notices that both love each other deeply. Mario takes every opportunity to talk to Neruda (which is very cute) and has him sign a book. Mario reads the book and says, "How can this book attract so many women? But in the end he goes through a development. He's no longer the naive postman, in the end we think we've discovered the soul of a poet in him (only that he didn't grow up in this environment). But Neruda also learns from the people on the island, whom he describes as the simplest in the world. Mario smiles knowingly - so he can't be that simple anymore. The driving force behind this quiet dreamy masterpiece is Massimo Troisi. He also co-wrote the script and took on the title role himself. Just one day after the film was finished, he died. Troisi plays Mario without ever wanting to create an effect. He doesn't seem to be making any effort, as if he's already merged with his role. Philippe Noiret is exactly the right cast for Neruda. He has this mischievous smile that made him a kind of folk actor in France. The moment others react in surprise, this smile seems to express: I knew it, I knew it! Together they turn this little big film into a meditation on fate, decency and poetry. One could almost imagine Mario being the poet and Neurda the postman. After all, Mario ultimately proves how poetry affects women by making his dream woman Beatrice (Maria Grazia Cucinotta) curious. The film is based on a novel by Antonio Skarmeta. But I don't really want to know whether it is based on real facts.