Singing Behind Screens

aka: Cantando dietro i paraventi
Italy 2003, 98 minutes
Dir. Ermanno Olmi
In Italian with English subtitles
Genres: Foreign Cinema, Drama / Epic, Girl-centric

Topics: Swashbuckler.

Feat. Bud Spencer, Davide Dragonetti

Aroview: Visually opulent Italian epic directed by Ermanno Olmi (THE TREE OF WOODEN CLOGS) set in coastal China and centred on a plucky widow who takes her husband's place as the head of a group of pirates on a mission of revenge.

This legend is presented as a fable-like fairy-tale, told from a brothel stage, that slowly slips into its live-action dreamscape. An ambitious, moralistic piece of cinema that somehow compels the viewer to look beyond the questionable dubbing to the message at its heart.