Vermiglio
Family secrets play out in a remote Alpine village in Maura Delpero’s distinctive, award-winning wartime drama.
Image courtesy of Modern Films.
Vermiglio is the second fictional feature from Italy's Maura Delpero who had previously also made two documentaries but whose earlier work is unknown to me. It has won awards including the Grand Jury Prize at the 2024 Venice Film Festival and it emerges as a distinctly personal venture. Not only has it been revealed that this portrayal of life in 1944 in a remote village in northern Italy finds Delpero partly drawing on her own family history but it’s also the case that the directorial style is distinctively individual. In the first instance the film was to have been called The Mountain Bride but the title was then switched to Vermiglio, that being the name of the village which is the film’s key location. That change feels significant because, although we see life there through the eyes of the Graziadei family, their experiences are presented as expressing the character of that community at that time and the style of filming matches that intent.
When we meet the family, it is winter time with snow on the ground and the household consists of the parents, Cesare and Adele, and their children, seven of whom gather around the table as they eat together. Cesare (Tommaso Ragno) runs the local school while Adele (Roberta Rovelli) has her hands full with this large family. Of the children, it is three daughters who play substantial roles here and indeed it is the eldest of them, Lucia (Martina Scrinzi), who becomes the bride referred to in the original title for this piece. The other daughters who feature strongly are Ada (Rachele Potrich) and Flavia (Anna Thaler), while the only son who is more than a child is Dino (Patrick Gardner).
For the Italians the Second World War would officially end in May 1945 so the early events depicted here take place while the war is still ongoing but, even if planes may fly overhead, the direct impact of it is limited. Its main relevance to the narrative is that, while Lucia is expected to find a husband locally and remain in the village, in the event she marries a Sicilian who is a deserter from the army. This is Pietro Riso (Giuseppe De Domenico) who is being hidden in the village having come there with another soldier who virtually owes his life to him, this being Attilio (Santiago Fonderila Sancet) the son of Adele’s sister, Cesira (Orietta Notari). Attilio is suffering from PTSD and his indebtedness to Pietro encourages the villagers to accept the latter’s presence rather than to be concerned that they are harbouring a deserter. Lucia is attracted to him at first sight and it is not long before they are married.
In so far as Vermiglio tells a story, it is Lucia's life that provides something of a plot line as the film follows through into peace time and ultimately covers a period of a year or so. But in other respects the story of these months in the life of the Graziadei family exists to illustrate the outlook and views that characterised Vermiglio then. Cesare is in every sense a typical head of a family, the master of the house who makes all the decisions. Being his wife, Adele is expected to give him children regularly and the church plays a strong role in the community. Its influence contributes to young people like Ada believing that the sexual feelings that they are starting to experience are sinful and education, which might open up new attitudes to life, is something that these poor villagers can scarce afford. Indeed, it is a major issue in the lives of Ada and Flavia that both have enough ambition to want to go to college but that Cesare lacks the money to send more than one of them and will have to choose between them, whereupon his decision will have to be accepted. Meanwhile, a minor indulgence of his own lies in buying gramophone records that satisfy his love of classical music, but even this is seen by Adele is an expense that makes her life harder and for which the money coming in is too little.
Because Maura Delpero is at heart seeking to portray the community's lifestyle, she leaves certain personal dramas undeveloped. Thus the son, Dino, is portrayed as something of a wastrel but there is no real detail or exploration of this. Similarly, another village teenager, Virginia (Carlotta Gamba), is portrayed as somebody more brazen, more of an outsider and is described as being rather manly. Since Ada seems attracted to her, it might seem that some lesbian element is being hinted at, but again there is no follow-up. In some respects it can be argued that this does not matter because the various story threads are in themselves treated as decidedly secondary. Delpero directs with much emphasis on static shots of which those that are exteriors emphasise the place (Mikhail Krichman's photography makes the surrounding mountains a significant backdrop). This approach also means that the camera concentrates on settings within which the characters may move but the camera itself rarely chooses to follow them and remains rooted in the place. All of this together with scenes that are often kept short in a confining way prioritises the general portrait over the individual storylines.
Much of this is impressive and the cast play admirably and with such a deep sense of authenticity that it is understandable that some critics have been reminded of past Italian rural movies such as Olmi’s The Tree of Wooden Clogs (1978). However, if an otherwise memorable film ultimately left me feeling a bit let down it may be largely due to the timing of the film’s release. The final scenes in what is otherwise a properly slow-moving film seem a bit rushed and call out for more detail, but my main concern here is the way in which the downbeat nature of the piece takes over. At a time when the world news is so depressing audiences mainly want to be cheered up and, when a filmmaker takes the opposite course, it can seem indulgent if past miseries are presented without some relief and also without some extra justification as subject matter valid today. The recent release The Girl with the Needle was a gloomy tale set in Copenhagen just over one hundred years ago but at least it ended on a final note that was not false and seemed hopeful. Vermiglio reflects a past age with obvious concern but finds nothing to give it extra relevance in the 21st century and never moves beyond the historical bleakness that it portrays.
MANSEL STIMPSON
Cast: Tommaso Ragno, Martina Scrinzi, Roberta Rovelli, Giuseppe De Domenico, Rachele Potrich, Anna Thaler, Orietta Notari, Carlotta Gamba, Santiago Fondevila Sancet, Patrick Gardner, Enrico Panizza, Luis Thaler, Simone Benedetti, Leone Gubert, Sara Serraiocco.
Dir Maura Delpero, Pro Maura Delpero, Santiago Fondevila Sancet, Francesca Andreoli, and Leonardo Guerra Seragnoli, Screenplay Maura Delpero, Ph Mikhail Krichman, Pro Des Pirra, Ed Luca Mattei, Music Matteo Franceschini, Costumes Andrea Cavalletto.
Versus Production/Charades/Rai Cinema/Cinedora/Anonymous Content-Modern Films.
119 mins. Italy/Argentina/France/Belgium/USA. 2024. US Rel: 3 January 2025. UK Rel: 17 January 2025. Cert. 15.
