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Sharron Bassano's avatar

just watched La Notte again. A beautiful film that played better when I was young and hip, and less so now that I am, well, neither of those. Best line in the film? The writer philosophizes about the art of writing, "This lonely task of painstakingly joining one word to another absolutely cannot be mechanized." The industrialist he is speaking to asks, "Are you sure about that?" They couldn't even imagine... Also, in my opinion, Monica Vitti ran away with the film, far outshining the two leads. Thanks, Charles, for reminding me about this film.

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Charles Schifano's avatar

I'm glad to read that you enjoyed it—that's great. There's a lot to discover in the film, and it does reward rewatching, especially when there's time between viewings as you described.

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Sharron Bassano's avatar

Very interesting, Charles. I need to reflect more on this sentence: To believe that style is distinct from substance is to ensure that you have neither substance nor style. It rings true to me, but I don't quite have it yet. It has been years since I watched the film La Notte. I lived in Milan in 1991 and formed some very negative opinions of the place -- unfairly, no doubt. I see La Notte is available streaming. I will watch it again in view of your comments. If you are especially fond of spare dialog, let me refer you to an excellent Icelandic film "Everything in the End". I was absolutely mesmerized and watched it three times. Beautifully filmed, scripted, edited and cast.

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Charles Schifano's avatar

Milan seems to either attract or repel people—like many places, of course. Having a negative reaction doesn't seem too unusual, though I have had a very different experience myself. Thank you for the comment and the recommendation, Sharron.

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