Baaria - A Porta do Vento

Giuseppe Tornatore is a great director who is able to capture the characters, the setting and, in fact, the time period perfectly. He does this in Baaria, which is actually a follow-up to his film Cinema Paradiso. However, I feel like he took the template and just tried to fit new characters and destinies into it, which didn't work out so well this time. (22/06/2016)

A two and a half hour treat that will delight the eyes, ears and senses. After Malena, Baaria is actually the second Tornatore film I've seen, and I have to say that it simply blew me away. A mosaic of stories, many characters, a Sicilian village changing over decades and its inhabitants changing with it. Fantastic images, beautiful Morricone music, the landscapes, cute moments (painting a church fresco, visiting a movie theatre), dramatic (the communists) and touching (viewing the film boxes, going to war, the ending) episodes, good actors and millions of extras. The only thing it was lacking was a more coherent plot... And for that (so far) I can't give more than an honestly earned four stars.__P.S. Did the lead actor also remind you of a cross between Robert De Niro and Richard Gere? (15/09/2010)