Happy as Lazzaro

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Laura H Thought-provoking film open to interpretation. Overlong and takes its time. Fairytale or fable? Depressing. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 11/24/25 Full Review g j Mopey, meandering and mostly dissatisfying Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 05/09/25 Full Review Alec B You'd never expect a movie that features both social commentary and magical realism to feel this grounded and reserved and yet Rohrwacher finds a way to pull it off. Even more impressive is that the mid-point of the movie features a number of startling twists in the narrative that happen organically. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/05/24 Full Review Eric P A contemporary version of Candide (or, at least, indebted to Candide, a youth's journey, an innocent/fool's journey, both wry and sweet). Beautifully filmed, well executed all around. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 10/03/23 Full Review isla s I really liked this film. I found Lazzaro a quite endearing figure - he's a quiet, introverted type and he has a sort of naive charm to him - he with the large (and seemingly un-blinking) eyes. I felt frustrated by those who chose to exploit him (if but only mildly) and indeed, exploitation is certainly a relevant theme in this film, as well as tolerance perhaps. I liked/respected the simplicity aspect of it. It has a positive feel about it. I thought its good as a piece of social commentary. Its quite a charming film in general, I thought and so I'd recommend it. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Ken R Happy As Lazzaro – The Smell Of A Good Man Tuscan-born writer/director Alice Rohrwacher has created an Award-winning allegorical observation on how the average person stumbles along, following the ruling classes orders of the day. Most live without stopping to analyze the derogatory impact, this almost hidden manipulation, has on our everyday understanding of the true meaning of life. Curiously, the writer based part of this strange story on a factual newspaper story! The manipulation of the poorer classes by greedy conglomerates - fleecing workers for a pittance in return for endless hard labor. How empty modern lifestyles can offer little more benefits than those of the slave workers, too often pushing the good in humanity to obscurity. It's not a film for everyone and many viewers may miss important messages within this thoughtful work – perhaps one reason could be because they blindly accept the hidden economic controls, enforced on the world's working classes. ‘Lazzaro' is both enigmatic and silently devastating to any viewer prepared to consider how the world's bankers – pervade every aspect of modern life - often reducing it to rubble for struggling nations. It's little coincidence this film comes to its haunting conclusion inside a bank! It's a longish tale (2 hrs) so needing a patient, discerning audience. It could possibly have conveyed its thoughtful message in less time but those attuned to reading between the lines of our everyday news media - will be quite willing to take the journey. Fascinatingly the filmmaker is able to convince the viewer to accept quite jarring, bizarre twists, as if we trust somehow they are taking us towards a meaningful outcome. Sought after French cinematographer Hélène Louvart provides the darkly probing visuals. There is an interesting piano soliloquy that plays out here and there but the film has no score composer. Performances are uniformly good, making this a treat for those who like to think about their entertainment – the sensitive viewer might find the final scene one not easily forgotten (aided by a Wolf and some Italian folklore) Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 10/22/21 Full Review Read all reviews

Happy as Lazzaro

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