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Movie Memories
The Starry Night of Tuscany
Long ago me and my friend went to see La Notte di San Lorenzo by the Taviani brothers. The movie is set at the Italian countryside in the final days of the Second World War. Some villagers are running from Fascists through picturesque rural Tuscany.
Even though the theme of the film is dark and depressing Paolo and Vittorio Taviani have made a film with serene beauty. Especially vivid in my mind is a scene where the villagers have gathered around a camp fire in a forest. They are trying to think up new names for themselves, and one young man says he wants to be called Requiem.
He didn't know if that's a name, but he had always sung Requiem on Sundays at the church. He thought it was beautiful. On the background you could hear Offertorium from Verdi's Requiem.
Beautiful.
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