Miracle in Milan (1951)
Once upon a time an old woman discovers a baby in her cabbage patch. She brings up the child and, when she dies, the boy, Toto, enters an orphanage. Toto leaves the orphanage a happy young man, and looks for work in post-war Milan. He ends up with the homeless and organizes them to build a shanty town in a vacant lot. The squatters discover oil in the land and Toto sees a vision of the old woman who gives him a magic dove that will grant him anything he wishes.
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after more than a half a century, it remains fascinating. for the atmosphere, for the fantasy, for the references to Charlot and for its status of strange social manifesto. because de Sica propose a special side of neo - realism. touching, surprising, seductive, fascinating. a game of imagination. and a fantastic result. the nice special effects, the clothes of fairy tale, the references to Charlot, the innocence, the ideal solution to a profound crisis, the Italian air and the impressive performances are ingredients for a fascinating film about dreams and miracles. a film about faith but in a special form. so, a revelation. today like in 1951. because it remands the importance and the force of small things. and that is more than a virtue.
Superlatives are in order when referring to "Miracolo a Milano" : it's not "a little gem" but a sort of crown jewel of world humanistic cinema. I personally value this comedy more than De Sica's/Zavattini's more serious/famous works such as "Sciuscia", "Ladri di biciclette" or "Umberto D.". So much fondness, warmth, understanding, positiveness - and cinematic bravura, intelligence, taste, wit .... Timeless ! Whenever I watch it, I find the movie's ending brilliantly ambiguous : on the one hand liberating and hopeful, on the other hand ultimately sad, because that joyful migration cannot lead anywhere but "anywhere out the world" ....Arrow's blu-ray offers the best print I ever saw of this cathartic masterpiece on home video format.
I just recently watched De Sica's Miracle in Milan and I must say it's a tragedy this film isn't more widely accessible. The film follows the curiously magical exploits of a grown up orphan who has just left his orphanage for the first time. His unstoppable optimism finally brings him to a shantytown outside of Milan. He helps to build the town into a thriving community, which soon comes under the fire of the property's owner. Through a miracle from the heavens, our optimistic orphan sets to help his fellow vagrants with their lives and their homes.I'm not normally one for dopey family films, so I was very happy to enjoy this. It's not dopey, it's not sappy and it's not overly sentimental. The story is told with a gentle touch that De Sica is such a master with. The film is sweet, good-hearted and touching without ever relying on the corny or the melodramatic.All in all, this film leaves you with a heart-warming feeling that only a poet like De Sica could give you. A sure recommendation.
This film is like a 1950-version of Ettore Scola's Brutti sporchi e cattivi. Less sex and less realism, but a tale with great humanism and warmth. I wouldn't call this a neo-realistic picture. It's very sentimental and more like a fairy tale, and should probably be classed as a comedy, although it deals with serious matters (a little like Chaplin or 1930-comedy). Typical Italian though, very emotional, and hard to resist except for a stone cold person. The sentimentalism is a letdown, although this picture was not meant to be a realistic drama. It's not a masterpiece like Umberto D or The Bicycle Thief. But it is a lovable and hilarious comedy, with good music.7/10