Il Dono

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Il Dono

Released Jul 25

1h 20m

Drama

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3 Reviews

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Fewer than 50 Ratings

A gentle, beguiling hymn to a semi-deserted Calabrian countryside and those who stayed behind, Il Dono is a portrait of depopulation in the village of Caulonia (the filmmaker's ancestral town), which saw a dramatic decrease in inhabitants from roughly 15,000 in the 1950s to just a few hundred people at the time of the film's making. In mainly long, static, observational takes and with next to no dialogue, Il Dono pieces together the fragments of a place guided by slow rhythms and which could be described as "old world" with traditions, rituals, charm aplenty, and not a few ruins from the relentless ravages of time. Gorgeously shot on 16mm (then transferred to 35mm, and presented here in a recent digital restoration of superlative color), each frame of Il Dono is like a painting, whether a landscape, portraits of great, weather-worn faces, or still lives reminiscent of Giorgio Morandi's glass bottles.

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Beatrice Loayza

New York Times

Il Dono manages to strike a balance between damnation and idolatry of its medieval setting.

Jul 24, 2025

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Sankeerthna Vedamtam

MovieJawn

The film, which was originally released in 2003 and is almost entirely silent, does not have a conventional narrative, instead capturing moments in time and companionship in a kind of extended photography picture, a literal motion picture of life.

Aug 19, 2025

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Philip Bagnall

Loud and Clear Reviews

Frammartino brings together the sparse beauty of Kiarostami and the brutal honesty of Alan Clark in a melange that’s sometimes uncomfortable to watch, but which belies the quietness of the characters and landscape.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 21, 2025

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Stephen C

Success in 1 1/3 hours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In Italian and American English audio versions with American English subtitles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Filmed on location in Italy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/26/25

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Michelangelo Frammartino

Director

Angelo Frammartino

The Old Man

Gabriella Maiolo

The Girl

Michelangelo Frammartino

Screenwriter

Laetizia Dradi

Executive Producer

Mario Miccoli

Cinematographer

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Il dono: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

A gentle, beguiling hymn to a semi-deserted Calabrian countryside and those who stayed behind, Il Dono is a portrait of depopulation in the village of Caulonia (the filmmaker's ancestral town), which saw a dramatic decrease in inhabitants from roughly 15,000 in the 1950s to just a few hundred people at the time of the film's making. In mainly long, static, observational takes and with next to no dialogue, Il Dono pieces together the fragments of a place guided by slow rhythms and which could be described as "old world" with traditions, rituals, charm aplenty, and not a few ruins from the relentless ravages of time. Gorgeously shot on 16mm (then transferred to 35mm, and presented here in a recent digital restoration of superlative color), each frame of Il Dono is like a painting, whether a landscape, portraits of great, weather-worn faces, or still lives reminiscent of Giorgio Morandi's glass bottles.

Director: Michelangelo Frammartino
Screenwriter: Michelangelo Frammartino
Distributor: Kino Lorber
Production Co: RAI Cinema
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Italian
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 25, 2025, Limited
Runtime: 1h 20m

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