The Postman (1994) User Reviews

Metaphors

[jotix100 · 10/10 · 8 June 2005]

Michael Radford, an English director, ought to be given credit for bringing this beautiful story to the screen. It speaks volumes that Mr. Radford achieves a triumph with a film that for all practical purposes should have been directed by an Italian. This is a timeless story of friendship, poetry and love set in a desolated island that was to be Pablo Neruda's home in exile.

The story is a simple one. Mario Ruoppolo, a poor man without a job, suddenly applies for a vacant position that will pay almost nothing, but by becoming a letter carrier he gets the chance of meeting a man that will make a deep impression on him and who will change his life completely.

Mario, the postman, is almost illiterate. He can read and write, with only the basic knowledge he probably picked up in the island school. He is allergic to fishing, and can't make a living like his father, and probably most of his ancestors before him. It's the time after WWII in which a poor Italy is still recovering from the devastation and defeat.

Pablo Neruda, the Chilean poet, finds a rustic home in the island. He is the most famous person ever to set foot in there. Mario is in charge for bringing Pablo his packages and mail. An easy friendship develops between them. Like everyone else in the island, Mario is impressed by the foreigner. In trying to imitate his poet friend, Mario awakens to all the beauty around him and discovers love with the gorgeous local girl, Beatrice Russo.

The film's mood changes right after Pablo Neruda and his wife receive assurances they can go back to their native land. This leaves Mario in a sad state, but now that he is married, he has other responsibilities to live for. Neruda had awakened in Mario a desire to speak for himself and to seek justice.

This is a film totally dominated by the late Italian actor Massimo Troisi, who as Mario, completely captures us by just being a simple soul with no malice. Mr. Troisi is splendid in his take of this poor man who discovers beauty and poetry late in his life. Philippe Noiret, is Pablo Neruda. Mr. Noiret makes a great contribution as the man who sees beauty everywhere and translates it into poetry. Maria Grazia Cucinotta is the beautiful Beatrice, the woman who loves Mario. Renato Scarpa and Linda Moretti, play minor roles with success.

"Il Postino" is helped by the magnificent cinematography of Franco di Giacomo who captures the island in all its splendor. The music score is another asset. Luis Bacalov's tuneful background music adds another layer in this film rich texture.

This film is an excellent way to be introduced to Pablo Neruda's poetry, even if it's only for the curiosity the film will give even a casual viewer. Thanks to Michael Radford for a poetic view of this lonely place where two people meet and are changed forever.

Lovely Little Film About the Power of Words

[evanston_dad · 9/10 · 8 May 2009]

A sweet, gentle film about a quiet postman who discovers the power of poetry in winning the heart of his true love.

Massimo Troisi gives a warm, wonderful performance as said postman, while Phillipe Noiret plays the poet Pablo Neruda. The setting, a sleepy Italian village, gives the film a cozy atmosphere, and it's got a lovely score to match.

One of the rare foreign-language films to be nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award, it lost to the thunderingly stupid "Braveheart." Mel Gibson could use a little poetry himself.

Grade: A

Massimo Troisi

[Vincentiu · 22 September 2012]

his performance is essence of this adorable film. his character is so careful created that its fragility, humor, innocence, light of details are magnificent. he don't play a role but he is "il postino" . and this fact transforms entire scene. the story of Neruda exile is only arena for emotions of a small man on an Italian isle. the beautiful Beatrice is brick for his delicate happiness. Neruda himself is not exactly a mentor but a gardener. and the music, the extraordinary music, it is the soul of entire poetry. because a poetry is this movie who has as roots poems. very delicate, nice, nostalgic, melancholic, subtle, intelligent, precise, it is wonderful homage to a way to discover life as fundamental miracle. to feel the nuances of love, friendship, to be humble, modest and daring in same time, to feel gratitude as form of respiration. beautiful and impressive. touching. and unique. story of a postman. legacy of Massimo Troisi.

Art and Love

[gradyharp · 10/10 · 26 November 2011]

Having just visited the opera version of this film IL POSTINO by Daniel Catan courtesy of PBS Great Performances it is rewarding to return to the original source to honor the nidus for the inspiration for the opera. Directed by Michael Radford the film relates the heartwarming story of Mario (Massimo Troisi), a gentle and simple postman who falls for the beautiful café waitress Beatrice (Maria Grazia Cucinotta) from his village, but is too shy to speak to her. He meets the famous Chilean poet Pablo Neruda (Phillipe Noiret), and, as their friendship develops, the postman's own inner poet awakens. Soon he is able to win the love of Beatrice and even stand up for and express his own beliefs.

This is a simple story graced by sensitive performances: of not the actor Massimo Trosi died from heart failure on the last day of production of the film. It is possibly this knowledge of the loss of one of Italy's best comedic actors along with the clarity and transparency of the film's gentle message about love and art that has made it a cult film. At any rate this is a film that belongs in every movie lover's library.

Grady Harp

Wonderfully warm and charming

[grantss · 8/10 · 11 May 2020]

Mario takes up the job of postman on a small Italian island. The island has a new resident, the famed exiled Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, and he is receiving heaps of mail (mostly from women, to Mario's fascination). Mario strikes up a friendship with Neruda, who helps the not-overly-literate Mario develop his writing skills and appreciate poetry and prose. Then Mario meets a beautiful woman in the village and his new-found poetic skills are put to the test.

Great film. Wonderfully warm and charming, with a mellow style that is very engaging. Sweet plot that develops at just the right pace. The discussions between Neruda and Mario are a wonderful insight into creativity and how art is formed. The way Mario develops his creative side is also great to witness.

It does falter a bit in the third quarter or so. A certain point, about halfway through the movie, felt like a natural ending to the movie so it was difficult for the writers to develop the plot from such a high. Not that it was dull from that point on, it just didn't have quite the same ability to enthral. The ending is quite emotional though.

Great performances all round, especially by Massimo Troisi as Mario. He would go on to get a Best Leading Actor Oscar nomination for his efforts. Troisi also co-wrote the film and received a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination. Sadly, he never saw the fruits of his labours as he died of a heart attack 12 hours after filming ended.

All in all Il Postino received 5 nominations at the 1996 Oscars, including for Best Picture and Best Director, and ended up winning one, for best score.

Mesmerizing film about friendship, poetry, and love.

[TxMike · 19 October 2005]

Set in the early 1950s on a small Italian island, there are three central characters in this movie, one real and the other two fictional. The real one is Chilean poet Pablo Neruda (played by French actor Noiret who resembles Neruda quite nicely). Neruda died in 1973, but really did spend several years in exile in Italy, and really is a world-famous poet.

In this fictional story, simple and honest, but somewhat dim, 40-something Mario Ruoppolo (Massimo Troisi, who died of heart failure right before the movie was released) is the son of a small time fisherman. Mario really doesn't like the fishing, but has no job. At dad's encouragement, he finds a temporary job as a postman, "il postino." The famous poet is moving into the small village and a man with a bicycle is needed to deliver his mail daily. It pays very little in this poor village, but it is a job. And the friendship that eventually develops between Neruda and Mario changes their lives.

The third central character is pretty and sexy 20-something Beatrice (Maria Grazia Cucinotta) who works in her fiercely protective aunt's bar and restaurant. Mario admires her from afar, but Neruda's poetry gives Mario an entry. He tells Neruda later, "Poetry doesn't belong to those who write it, it is for those who need to use it."

A very charming and meaningful movie on DVD for those who don't mind reading English subtitles. Or, listen to it in Italian or French. Some of my favorite scenes were the conversations between Mario and the poet when the mail was delivered.

SPOILERS FOLLOW. Mario manages to win the affections of Beatrice through his poetry and they marry. The political climate changes in Chile allowing Neruda to return there. Mario is sad that Neruda does not seem to remember them. But he turns up perhaps 6 or 8 years later, meets Mario's young son and Beatrice, but finds that Mario had died in a rumble during a Communist rally in the square. The movie ends with Neruda on the beach where he and Mario had had so many wonderful conversations, reflecting on the beauty of the island and how it influenced his poetry. And the friendship with Mario.

Bravo Massiomo Troisi

[paul-319-935219 · 10/10 · 14 November 2018]

I've never seen him in anything else, but this performance by Massimo Troisi touches my soul. Stunning.

An unlikely friendship on an Italian island

[Tweekums · 10/10 · 15 May 2019]

Set in 1950, famous Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, is forced to leave his homeland due to his communist views. He takes up residence on a small Italian island. Here he receives so much mail that the local post office is forced to take on an extra postman just for him. This postman is Mario Ruoppolo, the son of a local fisherman who has minimal education. These two gradually form an unlikely friendship as Mario asks Pablo about poetry in general and the use of metaphors in particular. Then Mario falls in love with local woman Beatrice and asks Pablo to help him write poetry to woo her.

This film is a real delight. It is gently paced with no material that could offend anybody but it is very boring. The growing friendship between Pablo and Mario is beautifully portrayed; Philippe Noiret and Massimo Troisi are great in these roles; it is a tragedy that the latter died so soon after the film was made. The romance between Mario and Beatrice might be secondary but it is still enjoyable to watch and provides some laughs thanks to her disapproving aunt. The beautiful local scenery only adds to the charm of the film. Overall I'd definitely recommend this bitter-sweet film.

These comments are based on watching the film in Italian with English subtitles.

Two Priceless Characters

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 10 February 2010]

What a gentle, unassuming movie. When Pablo Neruda arrives on the island, exiled from his native Chile due to his political beliefs, he is a mysterious figure. Women love his work and send him mail by the bushel basket. The principle character has the job of bringing the mail to the hinterland and eventually begins a relationship with the great poet. The postman is a very simple man who really should be ignored or tolerated by Neruda. Instead, the man who loves poetry instills that love in this man who mumbles and stumbles with his words. Eventually they find themselves discussing deeper issues and the Postman begins to realize an intellectual potential. There is a comment later in the movie about ignorant people. He would never have made such a comment early on because of his own self doubts. He at first sees poetry as a way to get girls but later comes to know that he is himself a poet. I loved the wonderful acting and the gentle yet powerful nature of this film.

True love (and Pablo Neruda's poetry) conquers all

[Red-125 · 9/10 · 14 February 2019]

The Italian movie Il postino (1994) was shown in the U.S. with the translated title The Postman. It was directed by Michael Radford, an English director. Massimo Troisi, the star of the movie, is listed as collaborating director.

Massimo Troisi plays Mario Ruoppolo, a quiet fisherman who falls in love with Beatrice Russo (played by Maria Grazia Cucinotta). He is a humble man, and Beatrice is the most beautiful woman on the island, so everyone assumes that this will be unrequited love.

However, the great Chilean poet Pablo Neruda is living in exile on the island. (Neruda is portrayed by the French actor Philippe Noiret.) Mario enlists Neruda to be his Cyrano de Bergerac. Neruda's task is to give Mario the words by which to woo and win Beatrice.

This film is a comedy, and it's funny. However, it has a sad undertone to it. The fishermen are ignored by their political representative, who only shows up at election time. Everyone is overworked and underpaid. Communism appeals to people, but we know now what they didn't know then--life in a Communist country is not an escape from the scourges of capitalism.

Another sad point is that Massimo Troisi was an extremely sick man when he acted in this film. He was supposed to have a heart transplant, but he decided to appear in the film instead. Maybe he was just counting on good luck, or maybe he wanted to be remembered in death for this excellent movie. Troisi died the day after filming was completed.

We saw this movie on DVD. It would work better in a theater because of the glorious scenery. However, it worked well enough on the small screen.

Il Postino has a very strong IMDb rating of 7.7. I think it's even better than that. Find it and see it.

P.S. I learned about this film from a young woman named Beatrice. Her mother saw this movie, and she was so moved that she told everyone that if she had a daughter, she would name her Beatrice. That's exactly what happened.

Better than most all American romances.

[Pavel-8 · 7/10 · 17 September 2003]

"Il Postino" is a movie that received oodles of critical acclaim upon its release in 1994. While I don't think it was as good as advertised, I understand why it received such praise. In a movie world that is filled with dry and unamusing romance stories, "Il Postino" is a relatively lush and beautiful tale.

The plot is fairly simple but loaded with subtleties that allow, even encourage, multiple viewings. Mario (Massimo Troisi) longs for something more than his simple fisherman life on an Italian island, so he takes a small job as a postman, delivering mail to famed romantic poet Pablo Neruda (Phillipe Noiret), who is living in exile on the same island. Over time, they develop a relationship that is based on Neruda aiding Mario in wooing his beloved Beatrice (Maria Grazia Cucinotta).

The final act is where the film makes the leap from well-made standard fare to something greater. With a couple plausible plot developments, characters and relationships are deepened beyond a basic love story, to a place that accents everything that happens leading up to that point. I can't say much else without giving things away, but stick with the movie to the end, even if you're dragging midway through.

As you might expect from an Italian film, "Il Postino" has a very European feel. The passion of Italy is present throughout, explained through lifestyles, literal and metaphorical imagery, and the emotions of the characters. The setting is far from the bustling dollar-driven society in which Americans dwell, and a movie like this wouldn't get made in America, because the cultures are drastically different.

The film's star, Massimo Troisi, is excellent. He embodies everyman qualities exceptionally, similar to Tom Hanks, yet with more...something. Soul perhaps? He, like the entire film, is just more European, and I hope you understand what I mean by that. Noiret portrays Neruda perfectly, expressing his romantic ways through both words and actions. Everyone else is very good, although no one stands out; the overall anonymity of the cast aids the viewer in establishing culture as well.

The cinematography and the scenery it presents is often breathtaking, although not in the sweeping manner of something like The Lord of the Rings. Rather, cinematographer Franco Di Giacomo wisely chose to let the pictures speak for themselves. The elegant cliffs, white-capped waves, and rolling topography of the island gently yet firmly frame and support the story. A straight-forward tale should have suitable pictures, and "Il Postino" meets that requirement.

The film is touted as a romantic comedy, and it is, although not in the traditional sense. The comedy isn't slapstick and won't elicit bushels of laughter. But there is an underlying sense of humor laced through the whole movie, often in simple movements, tasks, or occurrences.

All of this combines to present something like a fairy tale replete with Italian heart and soul. "Il Postino" won't blow you away, but its tender lessons about life, love, and friendship will stick with you for some time, urging another viewing.

Bottom Line: A very European romance that is better than most anything Hollywood can conjure up. 8/10.

(If you like the film, get the Collector's Edition DVD; it's quite good.)

United in Friendship

[JamesHitchcock · 8/10 · 21 June 2013]

Although "Il Postino" simply means "The Postman", and although the film was at one time screened as "The Postman" in Britain, it is now generally known in English by its Italian title to avoid confusion with Kevin Costner's post-apocalyptic epic from three years later. It is loosely based upon the novel "Ardiente paciencia" by the Chilean writer Antonio Skármeta, although it transfers the action from Chile to Italy. It takes as its starting-point the fact that in the early 1950s the famous Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, in exile from his homeland for political reasons, spent some time on the island of Capri. The film, however, is not set on Capri but on an unnamed Italian island.

A young fisherman named Mario Ruoppolo applies for a job as the island's postman. As he owns a bicycle and is one of the very few islanders who can read and write he is accepted and is told that he will only have one customer, Neruda himself, as because of the low levels of literacy on the island nobody else ever receives any mail. (Were standards of education really so low in fifties Italy?)

Although Mario has never previously heard of Neruda, and certainly has never read any of his poems, a friendship gradually grows up between the two men. Although Mario has had little formal education he is clearly an intelligent and sensitive man, and Neruda reads him some of his poetry (in Italian translation), teaching him about literary concepts such as metaphors. With Neruda's help Mario woos the beautiful Beatrice, a village girl with whom he has fallen in love, stealing some of the older man's love poems and passing them off as his own in order to win her affections.

My one criticism of the film would be that it is too sentimental about Communism, but that is perhaps only to be expected of a film from Italy, a country which at one time had the largest Communist Party in Western Europe. (In the seventies they used to win around a third of the popular vote, at a time when the British Communist Party generally consisted of three old men and a dog). Pablo Neruda is here portrayed as a kindly, idealistic gentleman, but in reality, during the forties and early fifties, he was a Communist hardliner who enthusiastically defended Stalin's dictatorship in the Soviet Union. After Khrushchev's 1956 "secret speech" he was to criticise the Stalinist cult of personality but this was due less to a change of heart than to a desire to align himself with the new official Soviet party line. He was also, at the time of his Italian exile, around twenty years younger than the character portrayed here by Philippe Noiret.

Its politics aside, however, "Il Postino" is in many ways an excellent film. There is some attractive photography of the Italian coastal scenery and a great musical score by Luis Enríquez Bacalov. What really makes the film stand out, however, are the two great performances from Noiret and from Massimo Troisi, who tragically died of a heart attack soon afterwards, as Mario. There is also a good performance from the lovely Maria Grazia Cucinotta as Beatrice. Troisi received a posthumous Oscar nomination for "Best Actor", but lost out to Nicholas Cage in "Leaving Las Vegas"; as I have never seen that film I am unable to comment on the justice of that decision. I felt, however, that it was unfortunate that there was no nomination for Noiret either as "Best Actor" or "Best Supporting Actor". Indeed, this is one of those films which make me feel that it should be possible to nominate two actors for a joint award, as Noiret and Troisi combine together so well that their joint contribution seems greater than the sum of its two parts. This is the story of a touching relationship between two men of different generations, of different nationalities, of different levels of education and of different outlooks on life who are nevertheless united in friendship. 8/10

Poetry in motion

[shankar_k · 9/10 · 9 April 2001]

A beautiful movie that does an excellent job bringing to life Neruda's love poems and how they touch the life of a simpleton postman. It inspires in one, a spiritual and sensual love for poetry. The music is intricately woven into the fabric of the story, and is surely a high point in the movie. Great cinematography, matched frame by frame with the splendid acting, especially that of Massimo Troisi and Philippe Noiret. Watch this movie if you are disillusioned with the notion of romance, and need some succour.

The movie once again reinforces my admiration for the Italian film-makers. What amazes me is their simplicity in relating a tale, and how subtly pathos is displayed in their movies. This is also evidenced in "Life is Beautiful" and "The Bicycle Thief".

Massimo Troisi

[Kirpianuscus · 20 April 2016]

the first name to associate with the film. and, at first sight, the actor who gives charm and force and light to the film. a film about an exile. and a beautiful friendship. a film about miracles and about innocence, about an unknown Neruda and about the passion to live as part of the other. Massimo Troisi has a great merit in this story of a poor man's happiness. but not the only. the music, the landscapes, the small events, the political frame, Philippe Noiret as a kind of Ovidius, far by the ordinary battle, discovering simple life are pieces who transforms Il Postino in memorable experience. a film about human links. poetic, touching, beautiful. maybe, useful.

Ah, Love!

[jhclues · 7/10 · 19 March 2001]

With the possible exception of Shakespeare, perhaps, who can explain matters of the heart? For love can be that most elusive of butterflies, as a smitten young man discovers in 'Il Postino,' directed by Michael Radford. There's a bit of 'Cyrano' in this tale of Mario Ruoppolo (Massimo Troisi), a somewhat unprepossessing part time mailman (he has but one customer) who falls for a local beauty, Beatrice (Maria Grazia Cucinotta), but has no idea how to pursue the longings of his heart. But as luck would have it, Mario's customer just happens to be Pablo Neruda (Philippe Noiret), a South American expatriate who is also a world renown poet recently exiled to this small island off the coast of Italy. Not wanting to make a pest of himself, Mario only very gradually strikes up an acquaintance with Neruda, while his love for Beatrice goes unrequited. Once Neruda is apprised of Mario's situation however, he begins to instruct him in the art of regarding the world around him in terms of metaphor, as well as how to thus express himself. Soon Mario is composing poetry of his own, with hopes of not only attracting Beatrice's attention, but of winning her heart.

It's a warm and touching story that plays to the heart, rather than the intellect, and will capture you with it's humanity. There is nothing singular about Mario; he is nondescript, just an average guy, and it illustrates that common bond among us all, that of having wants and needs to be expressed and fulfilled-- especially with regards to matters of the heart-- for as Mario discovers, love knows no boundaries.

Troisi gives a strong performance as Mario, but is almost too retiring to be effective, though his character contrasts well with that of Noiret's Neruda, whose zest for life is more readily apparent. Still, it's that underplayed sense of the 'Everyman' that Troisi conveys so well that allows the audience to relate to him. Anyone who has ever yearned for the affections of that special someone will be able to identify with Mario. Ironically, it's his benign manner that makes him-- as contradictory as it may seem-- so memorable and forgettable at the same time, perhaps depending upon the emotional investment the individual viewer is disposed to make. As the poet Neruda, Noiret gives a notable performance, lending the character the sense of one who has known celebrity, yet is nonetheless still somewhat accessible. And in him you can readily perceive a true poetic nature-- though somewhat self-centered-- which gives the character credibility and makes him real.

The supporting cast includes Linda Moretti (Donna Rosa), Renato Scarpa (Telegrapher), Mariano Rigillo (Di Cosimo) and Anna Bonaiuto (Matilde). A romantic film in every sense of the word, 'Il Postino' nevertheless transcends the romantic and takes a somewhat anticlimactic turn that encompasses loyalty and passion to a cause, as well as love. In the end, it's a lyrical, pacific film that seeks to discern the beauty in all things, and certainly makes a statement about the nature of life and love. I rate this one 7/10.

A Love Story Between Men

[flickershows · 7/10 · 20 September 2004]

'Il Postino' is a love story between men. There's something poetic about that, in this movie about love & poetry. Neither of them is gay, mind you. In fact, a ravishing beauty (Maria Grazia Cucinotta) is the object of the title character's affection. Still, this movie belongs to Philippe Noiret and the Oscar-nominated Massimo Troisi. Noiret is a Chilean poet, exiled in Italy for his communist leanings. Troisi is the postman, a man going nowhere who comes to idolize this intelligent poet. They become friends and Noiret essentially Cyranos Troisi into Cucinotta's ample heart.

I didn't find the entire film to be heart-rending, but the final scenes add deep resonance to the material. My eyebrows were raised when the movie ended and there was a "For Massimo" credit. Troisi died less than a day after they finished shooting. It seems fitting that the end of the film is bittersweet because the cast & crew had been working with a dying man who wanted nothing more than to finish this final project. 'Il Postino' ended up grossing a boatload of money, so his subtle performance clearly struck a chord with audiences.

Troisi got all the press for his fine work, but Noiret is certainly his equal. Director Michael Radford does well to stay out of their way. I like how he didn't sentimentalize the Troisi/Cucinotta relationship. He's infatuated with her, but that diminishes a bit once he gets her. They're a fair representation of a real couple who were brought together for what might have been the wrong reasons. In fact, the film is filled with surprises. It's a quiet character study, but all the players in 'Il Postino' go through earth-shaking changes of personal proportions. And the Noiret/Troisi friendship is right at the heart of the matter.

Lyrical

[charlottesweb · 3 January 2001]

Lyrical, moving and beautifully photographed gentle comedy in which an exiled Chilean poet inspires his Italian postman to woo and marry a local girl. Massimo Troisi gives a wonderfully contained performance as the postman who learns to see the beauty in poetry and his home on an Italian island. Philippe Noiret plays the poet Pablo Neruda with the usual assuredness. It is difficult not to be moved by the simple beauty of the film.

International Masterpiece

[christian94 · 10/10 · 17 November 2007]

For all intents and purposes, this is Massimo Troisi's film and it is tragic and yet, and yes, poetic, that he died a few hours after giving this memorable, multi-layered performance. The waves are welcomed on the shore of tranquil and beautiful Capri as the final scene unwinds. Then a poem simply written on the black screen closes the tale by summarizing and succinctly depicting the essence of the movie, before a dedication is made: "To our friend Massimo" This is Troisi's film and he also participated in the fine writing with a simple but heartfelt story and exquisite dialogue. Although Troisi is also a director, this time, it is English director Michael Radford who will put all the pieces together of this timeless story and also contribute to the writing. In a way, this is the beginning of how this project becomes international and goes beyond Italy, both outside and inside the picture (althought all the action actually takes place in Capri, Italy). Argentinian Luis Enríquez Bacalov will win an Oscar for his peaceful, poignant score. I suppose that French Philippe Noiret, from Cinema Paradiso ) fame will need as little directing as Troisi in portraying real life Chilean poet and political activist Pablo Neruda. In the movie you will also hear Spanish and hear about Chile (and Sweeden, Russia, France) as if they are actual characters of the movie.

The screenplay is based on, Chilean writer, Antonio Skármeta's El cartero novel about Nobel Prize winner Pablo Neruda and a bond he forms with a postman in Isla Negra in Chile. Skarmeta had already adapted his own work for the screen (and directed it); the Spanish-language Ardiente paciencia(1983), which I would love to see eventually. Il Postino transposes the story to Italy where Neruda was given a place to stay in a villa in Capri by Edwin Cerio during his real life exile in 1952.

The tale is simple enough. A young man who does not want to become a fishermen like most men of his hometown decides to be the private postman (for pennies) of popular poet that lives in exile in a near-by villa. Intrigued by this famous figure, he starts to awkwardly ask questions about poetry and a genuine friendship develops between them.

Mario, the postman, is lovestruck by Beautiful Beatrice (Scicilian Maria Grazia Cucinotta) and runs to the man who seemingly woes hundreds of women with words, but her ultra-catholic aunt may end up being a bigger obstacle than his lack of romantic banter. Beyond the typical love story that is more of a backdrop to the tale of friendship is the appreciation for poetry and in art to express the beauty of life. In fact, in a way it is also Pablo Neruda's film. The real life poet who's poetry is used in the movie and who's life inspired the character that is so central to the story, to the small town to Mario's growth as an individual. He who can barely read and write, and says that he wants to be a poet just like his friend and idol. Very inspirational. A true work of art in every aspect. I cannot sincerely think of a bad thing to say about this one.

First Class Males

[writers_reign · 25 August 2004]

What are the odds of a great French actor, kept fully employed in France, starring in two of the most successful and internationally popular Italian movies of all time. What a parley for Phillipe Noiret, Cinema Paradiso and Il Postino. Reading through just the first batch of comments one is almost hoping for a negative reaction to temper the praise - and of course it is there to be found, there is, after all, one in every platoon. It's also ironic that one finds oneself searching for superlatives to describe what is essentially bone simple; what, after all, is more basic than friendship, however unlikely and/or mismatched the participants are. It's almost embarrassing to watch the amazing Massimo Troisi doing shy, doing humble, doing simple in the best sense of the word. This is acting of the highest order and in some of their scenes together Philippe Noiret, no slouch by any means, does well to hold his own. Cynics - and I like to think I have a healthy streak of cynicism in my own make up - may well question the odds against a simple, barely articulate fisherman's son living in a remote backwater metamorphosing into an erudite public speaker after a short exposure to a world-class poet but wiser heads are happy to put cynicism on hold and wallow in the elements - music, scenery, local color, the human condition and most of all great acting - that fuse together seamlessly and make this a must-see movie. 10/10

Troisi's premature swansong

[johno-21 · 8/10 · 21 February 2010]

I had never seen this film before but recently saw it as part of a library film series. Directed by Michael Radford it earned five Academy award nominations and won Best Original Dramic Score for Luis Enriquez Bacalov. This was a low budget film but went on to become the highest grossing non-English language film for a long time. shot on location on the Italian islands of Salina and Procida and wonderfully photographed by Franco Di Gialomo this is the story of an unemployed and unmarried man Mario Ruoppolo (Massimo Troisi) reaching middle age years and is offered a small job as a postman with only one customer, the exiled Chilean communist poet Pablo Neruda (Phillipe Noiret) who is staying on the island. Mario and Pablo develop a warm friendship which leads a new confident Mario into writing poetry himself to woo local beauty, the barmaid Beatrice Russo (Maria Grazia Cucinotta). Basically a two actor film with a great cast in Troisi, Noiret and Cucinotta with great support in small roles from Linda Moretti as Neruda's mistress Donna Rosa and Renato Scarpa as Mario's boss. Nice costume design by Gianna Giss and production design by Lorenzo Baraldi. A fictionalized account of a brief 1952 stay on the island of Capri by Neruda written by Radford, Troisi, Furio and Giacomo Scarpelli and Anna Pavigano from a story by Antonio Skármeta set in Argentina during Neruda's exile there. This is a touching story and very well rendered. It is visually artistic and dramatically poetic with touches of smart, light comedy. It is painful to watch knowing that it's star, Troisi, filmed this against doctor's orders and ultimately ended up dying of a heart attack immediately after the principal filming. You can see him sweating in almost every scene even when he is not riding his bicycle and none of the other actors are sweating. For his health the director should have shut down or slowed production or recast him. A lot of work went into this for a small film and it paid off on the screen and at the box office. I would recommend this and give it an 8.5 out of 10.

Poetica Paradisio...

[ElMaruecan82 · 8/10 · 1 September 2019]

Michael Radford's "The Postman" follows the sweet and engaging friendship between a seemingly dim-witted postman named Mario Ruoppolo (Massimo Troisi) and the famous Chilean poet Pablo Neruda in an Italian island near Sicily. I could call the friendship unlikely but what would have been unlikely was for Neruda to dismiss a man like Mario, why would a man who's been exiled from his homeland reject a man himself? Rejection is the ugly fruit of judgment and judgment is a perversion of rationality, which is itself estranged from poetry.

Because poetry isn't an exercise of intellect but the expression of a rare ability to see the secrets of life through the many images it provides us. We admire beaches and their angry waves, w contemplate stars in their solemn stillness, we feel the caresses of breezes on our necks, we taste wine with the same delight that we touch the beloved one's delicate skin, and yet when it comes to express feelings as deep as love and passion, to materialize them into words, most of us are left powerless. But a poet is someone capable to transcend these very barriers of communication, using among many tools, metaphors, though for the cynical minds, they'd be called tricks... and Neruda a manipulative expert rather than a poet.

The film is set in the early 1950s, a post-war climate where the Communist views still prevailed in Italy, but rather tactfully, the film never associates the artist's talent with his political views, but with his growing friendship with a man who seems incapable to formulate clear thoughts when we meet him. Mario's relationship with his father and his new boss are made of a lot of respect but a few words, in fact, Mario's gestures precede the words, it's like speaking is a torture to him, making his friendship with an eloquent literate man more fascinating. Troisi is intriguing first but this is one of these performances where the speech pattern speaks deep truths about the character, like Karl in "Sling Blade" or Rocky Balboa. Troisi was suffering of a heart condition and waited for an operation when he made the film, he died shortly after, and sadly, maybe his condition affected his performance.

Still this made his performance even more affecting, as a man suffering inside, condemned to passiveness, incapable to act beyond his own intellectual skills, and the role even more tragic in its authentic vulnerability, from Mario's struggle to obtain one cordial exchange of words with the poet, to his despair when he tries to seduce the beautiful Beatrice Russo (Maria Grazia Cucinotta), the woman he fell in love, and also his lack of eloquence when he confronts the liberal big shots who harangue the crowds with big promises. Mario is a man with a political conscience, reinforced by the presence of Pablo Neruda and can't handle the way lies can blind conscience. He count on Neruda's presence to enlighten people the way it enlightened him, in fact, everything in Neruda gives him power to overcome his limitations, Mario both uses and benefits from poetry.

But all the good things come to an end and when Neruda gets back to Chile, something is clearly missing in Mario's life. He lost the one man who could understand him. And so the idea in "The Postman" might be that some things are bound to be misunderstood or create misunderstandings between people, poetry or politics are part of opposite poles of the same spectrum, one uses beautiful words to express ideas but too beautiful to inspire trust, another use more accessible words to better reach people, both poetry and politics can reach one heart, but when it comes to the masses, it's a lost game. A central character is Beatrice's aunt (Linda Moretti) who sees in Mario's poems an attempt to get her niece on bed, what starts with words ends with hands but then later she trusts the new mayor and get into financial trouble for that.

Politics are like the antithesis of poetry and maybe Mario and Pablo became friends because they developed a true political conscience through poetry, a sense of justice and truth less dictated by the books of Marx or the theories of Lenin, but the beauty and harmony that reigns in nature. When Mario is caught plagiarizing his master, he claims that poetry should be used by the one who needs it, Neruda finds his view rather democratic, he might not share it but he respects it. And that's the charm of the friendship between these two men, the two remain secrets one for another, and for the viewer and yet their friendship is a platter on which are displayed touching aspects of humanity: soul generosity, love, passion, curiosity.

The story starts with Mario delivering messages to Neruda, all from female admirers, and at the end, it's Mario who delivers the most important message about life to his own 'master'. Troisi was magnificent in his posthumously Oscar-nominated performance but Noiret deserves praises as the gentle soul who could see beneath his rough and banal surface, a soul set on fire and passion. He's all approbation and helpfulness and only at the end, we see how far from the confident successful man he was. Maybe it takes sad eyes to be poet, joyful eyes are too busy to see the real world, and it's only at the end that the poet realizes how much he's learned from his friendship. Noiret is such a compelling actor, a man of towering presence and droopy eyes, a body that speaks authority but eyes that are all gentleness, a man we want to follow until we might realize he's been following us, like his Alfredo in "Cinema Paradisio".

And the world is such a "paradisio" with so many images to offer, a poet can die old or young, it doesn't matter, some might not even have enough of a life to become poets.

Burning Patience

[lee_eisenberg · 10/10 · 10 June 2007]

Right after I saw "Il postino" in 1995, I got really into Pablo Neruda, and I read the novel "Burning Patience", on which the movie is based. While I will say that I liked the book better - they set the movie twenty years earlier than the original story happened, and they set it in Italy - I won't deny the movie's power. Not just in showing the friendship between humble postman Mario Ruoppolo (Massimo Troisi, who died the day after they finished filming) and Neruda (Philippe Noiret), but also how it looks at post-WWII Italy and how the people were trying to put their lives back together. In that sense, Mario's burgeoning love for Beatrice may be a sort of allusion to Italy's eventual resurrection from its destruction in WWII. I think that my favorite scene was Mario recording the various sounds; I would say that it displayed his full artistic potential that he had developed through his friendship with Neruda.

But anyway, it's a really great movie, the sort of thing that gives you new faith in life and love. What happens at the end certainly mirrors what happened in Chile right before Neruda died. I recommend it to everyone.

Engrossing character study about two men and their connections to two separate women, as well as the poetry that forms the core of their own friendship.

[johnnyboyz · 8/10 · 14 November 2010]

Michael Radford's tender and rather sweet film, The Postman, is a really quite blinding tale of a man, without either much of a life or very many happenings in and around his existence, going out of his way so as to spawn some. The film is a ground zero character study working its way up, centring on one man and coming to gloriously flesh out his relationships with two people in the form of a mentor and a love interest using the item of poetry, and poets in particular, as a focal point or anchor around which to revolve the ever shifting lives of these half a dozen-or so people. The central character is a certain young man named Mario Ruoppolo, played by Italian actor Massimo Troisi whom died shortly after the film was completed and is one of only seven people to have won a Posthumous Academy Award for acting, which he won for his portrayal of a character named Mario. His life in the early part of the 20th Century on an island off the coast of Italy lies seemingly dormant; a living with his father, whom spends his days at sea fishing for a living, whilst inhabiting a scruffy and run down house on the cliff-side which cannot even produce water from a tap when desired, the situation; with a postcard from some brothers whom have arrived in America offering a brief insight into a supposedly better life.

Determined to get on track, the softly spoken; delicate and slow moving Mario shifts off to a local post office so as to apply for the advertised job of delivering letters and mail, locally. On another tangent, that later will become intrinsically linked to that of Mario, a controversial poet from South American nation Chile of true to life existence named Pablo Neruda (Noiret) arrives in Italy having been exiled. His demeanour arrives by way of a newsreel sequence at a picture house, footage which the locals and us watch and listen to simultaneously establishing a set-persona of the man and his controversial, Communist infused existence of writing poetry crash-landing on this small Italian island, much to some of the locals' anger but to the glee of others. The early perceptions of the man are meant to be relatively concrete; he inhabits a beautifully placed but isolated red-washed villa on a separate cliff edge, before plodding Mario comes to form a bond with the poet upon delivering his many letters and from whence the film garners its catalyst so as to play out.

The film comes to form a learning process for that of Mario, a deconstruction of an item or art-form that he'd almost certainly heard of in the past but very rarely thought about above a certain level. The same can be said for that of Chilian poet Neruda in regards to the fondness and acceptance the town come to have of him after he and his wife and their bond with a number of people come to forge, a relationship much richer than what he has experienced back home or, you feel, in most other places. Romance appears to want to bloom between Mario and local girl Beatrice (Cucinotta), the daughter of a traditional, hard-up Catholic woman whom owns a tavern within the vicinity; the spying of her playing a game of rather erotically charged flick-rod football in said tavern complete with thrusting of the mannequin players and hammering home of the goals more than enough to have Mario smitten from then on in.

But the film is ultimately about the relationship or bond between two men going on around their separate relationships with Beatrice and Pablo's own female partner whom later becomes his wife. It would be untrue to say that the film at all feels less of an accomplishment when certain events transpire and the once central unification of Mario and Pablo is broken up; rather, the ties they have to one another during the film's early scenes are just more interesting, as is the chilling finale involving the two, than any sub-plot to do with either men and what happens between them and their women. Mario's attempts to court a young local girl and the noticeable placing of Pablo's own female partner predominantly off screen and away from the action for most of the time might render the relationship between Mario and Pablo one of a homo-erotic nature. Much later on, a Paris based interview with the poet some years later has Mario read on with keen interest as to whether he or anyone from the town are mentioned; the camera darting around from face to face of those reading with Mario in a kind of panic or nervous excitement or lusting requirement for purifying fulfilment in the form of notifying them, predominantly the notifying of Mario.

The convenience in having come to have known a master of poetry of a romantic sort, somebody that feeds off of a belief that all women love romantic poetry and that it is the key to pertaining to a relationship, works very much in Mario's favour. His gradual learning of how to construct it, the encountering of terms and words such as what a metaphor is gradually come to form the nucleus of the first half of the film; a fitting sequence on a nearby beach sees Pablo gradually reveal himself as he readies to swim in a physical sense as Mario comes to reveal a spoken metaphor for the very first time as, on another occasion, he gradually forms an opinion of a short poem Pablo comes up with on the spot. The film's attention to finer things such as these, an including of sequences in which characters must first come to master the basics of an art or activity so as to garner entry onto another plateau so as to put what has been learnt into action, feels wonderfully prominent, resulting in Radford's film being thoroughly worthwhile.

Pure poetry

[pioneerlythere37 · 9/10 · 24 February 2019]

I love poetry. Yeah, I'm one of those pretentious snobs who is notorious for loving pretentious movies, and I don't hesitate to admit it. Proudly. Okay, no, I don't really think that of myself--no pretentious person thinks they're pretentious....Wow, I'm just digging myself deeper.

Forgive my ramblings. If there's one thing you won't find in "Il Postino" it's ramblings. Instead, you'll find poetry. Metaphors, symbolism, language...love. That's what poetry's all about. I would know, I write very corny poems in my free time.

But if you don't like reading poetry...well, "Il Postino" is about as close as you'll get to visual poetry. It's not that there are a bunch of static, serene scenes, or anything like that. The poetry is in the way the characters interact, communicate...and just be humans.

Films like "Il Postino" are quite effective reminders about the value of friendship and the gift of communication. Don't like slow, tranquil movies? Fine, don't watch "Il Postino". If you do, then get your hands on the movie ASAP.

Charming and attractive film full of feeling and sensitivity

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 24 April 2020]

It deals with a agreeable story allegedly based on real events about a timid villager (the sick Massimo Troisi, all-too apparent from his gaunt intervention), son of a local fisher, who winds up the personal postman of poet Pablo Neruda (Philippe Noiret) who is exiled from his intimate Chile, granted asylum by the Italian goverment, and who finds himself living in the tiny Italian community of Black Island, Isla Negra. Meanwhile, the postman falls in love for a beautiful barmaid (Maria Grazia Cuzzinota) .Then the poet attempts to help him win her with words.

A dramatic and amusing film with a simple plot, including several touching and moving scenes . Inspired by by an incident in Neruda's life, it is an engaging mingling of sunny romance and easy humor and takes hold from the start and never lets s go. Much of its seductive attraction derives from the exellence of the leads . Nicely played by Philippe Noiret as the beloved poet and giving a powerful acting. The shy postman finely performed by Massimo Troisi, but he was gravely ill, needing a heart trasplant during the making of the movie and he passed away day after was completed, in fact, the picture is dedicated to him. This is a sympathetic and bittersweet movie with a few characters but vey well described and wonderfully played . Being based on the prestigious novel titled Burning palace by Antonio Skameta.

It contains an enjoyable musical score by Luis Enrique Bacalov that won Academy Award. The motion picture was well directed by Michael Radford who has directed a few but good films, such as : Another time another place, Nineteen eighty four, White mischief, B Monkey, Dancing at the blue iguana, Ten minutes older the cello, The Merchant of Venice, Flawless, among others. Rating 7/10. Better than average. Worthwhile seeing. Essential and indispensable watching.