{mosimage}Vicenzo Amato and Charlotte Gainsbourg embarked in a tough trip from Sicily to USA in search of hope and a new better life.
Italian director Emanuele Crialese has created a simple but beautiful story about strength, hope and the collapse of the new world symbolized by USA against the old World of the Italian immigrants that departed to America at the beginning of 20th century in search of a new world. Vicenzo Amato is Salvatore, a very poor Italian widow who is going to try his fortune leaving his native country and embarking with his peculiar family to the brave new world. In his way he will meet Charlotte Gainsbourg, and English lady who will put the cosmopolitan touch to the group of immigrants.The journey is slow, and boring at some times. But Amato´s and Gainsbourg ´s acting skills stand out, and when they share the planes, you find the best of the movie. A plot especially interesting for the Italian and American public that surely can see now on big screen a real story made by their grandparents decades ago.
In the middle of the poverty and the hard conditions, there is time for solidarity and love, but also for the stupidity of the rules and examinations awaiting the tired immigrants after the hard journey. A situation that can be extrapolated to the present days, when it seems that the world is more and more divided between first and second class citizens, depending on the place of destination. Maybe the Finnish watchers can take some wise advice from Crialese´s film and think twice about their tough and not much flexible immigration policy. At the end, just as the main characters, we are just foreigners swimming in the middle of a milky sea, trying to reach land, in hope of a better life.
Rating 3/5