Father's Day 2017

Today is Father's Day in America and the TV listings indicate that a number of favorite films depicting fathers will be aired. The relationship between a father and his children is one of the most frequently used themes in world literature and drama. 

We find it in ancient epic poems like the Odyssey and the Aeneid. Jesus dealt with if in the famous parable of the Prodigal Son. Shakespeare Hamlet is based on the hero's loss of his father, and King Lear explores the relationship of a father with his three daughters. Dostoyevsky's great novel "the Brothers Karamazov" is all about a father and his sons.

One of my favorite depictions of the relationship of a father and his son is in the great Italian classic, Pinocchio, written in the late nineteenth century by Carlo Collodi. It immediately became a huge hit in Italy and its worldwide popularity continues to the present day. In the story the father, the carpenter Gepetto, actually carves a puppet out of wood although it is a very unusual piece of wood that seems to have a mind of its own.The bachelor carpenter views the puppet as his own son but almost immediately the son takes off on a series of wild adventures.

About fifteen years ago Roberto Benign, the great Italian comedian, directed his own version of the story that far exceeded the older Disney version. It was a  huge hit in Italy but was not well received in America. Critics panned it and it was not helped by a dubbed version that could not include Benign's great comic voice.

Maybe the American public couldn't stomach a Pinocchio that was so far removed from Disney's darling little puppet boy. After all, Carlo Collodi's original Pinocchio is the Italian Huck Finn. He is an impudent, mischievous rascal who refuses to be tamed or civilized and can never stay out of trouble no matter whom he betrays or hurts. On his first day after being fashioned into a puppet, Pinocchio runs away from home, gets Gepetto thrown into jail, and smashes a pedantic little cricket (Disney's famous Jiminy Cricket) with a hammer for presuming to give him good advice.

Fortunately, this great film is available on DVD or youtube but it is important to view the original Italian language version with subtitles. I 've watched the Italian version with grandchildren and they loved it. I’ve shown it to groups of educated seniors and they’ve loved it. 

The touching reunion of father and son is one of the highlights of the film. Here is a link to a brief video of their reunion. Pinocchio has just been swallowed by a huge fish and discovers that  Gepetto has also been swallowed while searching for his wayward and long lost son. Or see below for the clip.

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Father's Day

Today is Fathers Day. Is there any more difficult job than the one faced by fathers today? On this day our society pays lip service to fathers but on every other day they are mocked and vilified. Everywhere around us we see men abandoning, and abusing their children, and even urging that their children be aborted. Let's pray today that fathers will deny themselves, and take up their cross and do their work.

Here is a little prayer for fathers;

            Our Father in Heaven, we thank you for all the fathers on earth who,

            like St. Joseph, accept the responsibility to care for and love their children.

            May you strengthen them with the kindness, patience and wisdom they need

            to encourage and guide their children.

            May they be supported by a steadfast wife, a caring family and good friends.

            Most of all, may they know that you and you alone are the source of all that is

            good and truly valuable in this world.

 "For what does it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, but ruin or lose himself?


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Roberto Benigni's Pinocchio

                                                

                    

Although a huge hit in Italy, Roberto Benigni’s film version of Pinocchio, disappeared after a brief run in New York back in 2002.

What happened? I heard that the reviews were bad but at the time my favorite movie reviewers either didn't see the movie or brushed it aside as not even worth a review. Even so, given Benigni's worldwide stature, why did the distributor give up so readily?

I immediately suspected foul play. Perhaps, Hollywood was taking revenge for the way Benigni took over the Academy Award gala on the night he won his Oscar for “Life is Beautiful.”

Or maybe the critics couldn't stomach a Pinocchio that was so far removed from Disney's darling little puppet boy. After all, Carlo Collodi's original Pinocchio is the Italian Huck Finn. He is an impudent, mischievous rascal who refuses to be tamed or civilized and can never stay out of trouble no matter whom he betrays or hurts. Even before he is fashioned into a puppet, he is such an ornery  piece of raw wood that his original owner gives him away to poor Gepetto. On his first day after being fashioned into a puppet, Pinocchio runs away from home, gets Gepetto thrown into jail, and smashes a pedantic little cricket (Disney's famous Jiminy Cricket) with a hammer for presuming to give him good advice.

With the release of Benigni's Pinocchio on DVD we now have an opportunity to see that Benigni plays Collodi's puppet to perfection. He was made for the role. From the first moment we see him bounce into life in Gepetto's workship Benigni is entirely believable as the puppet boy. He plays the role with all of his characteristice innocence, bragadoccio, and feeling. 

Moreover, he has made a wonderful, magical movie. His wife, Nicoletta Braschi, again appears with him this time as an incredibly beautiful blue fairy or "fata."  The cinematography is equally beautiful and the special effects are spectacular. The opening scene with the Blue Fairy's carriage being drawn by hundreds of mice sets the tone of the whole movie as an enchanted adventure.

The DVD comes with two versions of the movie. One is in the original Italian with subtitles, and the other is a substantially shortened dubbed version. The dubbed version probably explains the commercial failure of the movie in America. Benigni's great comic voice and expressions have been replaced with a voice that sounds like a precocious American pre-teen. I guess the distributor thought that the subtitled version would not work with American children.

I watched the Italian version with my 12 year old grandson and he loved it. I’ve shown it to groups of educated seniors and they’ve loved it. Too bad, most American children and adults will never see this movie classic.