- San Gottardo is first and foremost a film about emigration, the exodus brought about by the construction of the two tunnels - the railway tunnel (1872-1882) and the road tunnel (1969-1976). People migrated from one country to another, from one civilization to another, and different social mores and customs were confronted with one another. The film takes place between the unveiling of two monuments: it begins with the unveiling of the monument dedicated to the tunnel workers in Airolo, and it ends with the unveiling of the Escher monument on the Zurich Bahnhofstrasse. In between the two unveiling, the film depicts the essence of that which lay behind the veiling cloth.—Imagofilm Lugano
- "San Gottardo" is first and foremost a film about emigration, the "exodus" brought about by the construction of the two Gothard tunnels - the railway tunnel (1872-1882) and the road tunnel (1969-1976). People migrated from one country to another, from one civilization to another, and different social mores and customs were confronted with one another. My intention was to show the parallels between the two tunnel constructions and to make economic, financial and social comparisons. Documentary and acted sections are interspersed. History - the past - is interpreted by actors in almost static image sequences. The present is depicted by documentary film sections. We filmed the tunnel workers daily during the period of a month, and attempted to depict their work, their free time, and their problems. The workers subsequently viewed the rushes and discussed it with us. Later, the same documentary film workers acted some parts of the workers of the last century in the feature film sections. This mixture between professionals and lay actors was very important to me. The film takes place between the unveiling of two monuments: it begins with the unveiling of the monument dedicated to the tunnel workers in Airolo in 1932, (incidentally, this is a film rarity, a kind of early Swiss newsreel which was rescued from destruction by the Swiss railways official) and it ends with the unveiling of the Escher monument on the Zurich Bahnhofstrasse, (Alfred Escher was the founder of the bank "Swiss Credit" and promoter of the Gothard Railway Company). In between the two unveiling, the film depicts the essence of that which lay behind the veiling cloth, and the way in which the construction of the Gothard tunnels was determined by both the bourgeoisie and the working classes.
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