Il Postino
| Il Postino: The Postman | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Michael Radford |
| Produced by |
Mario Cecchi Gori Vittorio Cecchi Gori Gaetano Daniele |
| Screenplay by | Anna Pavignano Michael Radford Furio Scarpelli Giacomo Scarpelli Massimo Troisi |
| Based on |
Ardiente paciencia by Antonio Skármeta |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Luis Enríquez Bacalov |
| Cinematography | Franco Di Giacomo |
| Edited by | Roberto Perpignani |
| Distributed by | Miramax Films |
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Release date
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Running time
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108 minutes |
| Country | Italy |
| Language | Italian Spanish |
| Budget | $3 million |
| Box office | $21,848,932 |
Il Postino: The Postman (Italian: Il postino) is a 1994 Italian film directed by Michael Radford. The film was originally released in the US as The Postman, a straight translation of the Italian title. However, since the release of Kevin Costner's post-apocalyptic film of the same name, the film has gone by the title Il Postino: The Postman.
The film tells a fictional story in which the real life Chilean poet Pablo Neruda forms a relationship with a simple postman who learns to love poetry. It stars Philippe Noiret, Massimo Troisi, and Maria Grazia Cucinotta. The screenplay was adapted by Anna Pavignano, Michael Radford, Furio Scarpelli, Giacomo Scarpelli, and Massimo Troisi from the novel Ardiente paciencia by Antonio Skármeta. In 1983, Skármeta himself wrote and directed the film Ardiente paciencia (English translation: "Burning Patience"), which he later adapted to the novel of the same name in 1985.
Writer/star Massimo Troisi postponed heart surgery so that he could complete the film. The day after filming was completed, he suffered a fatal heart attack.
Set in the year 1950, Pablo Neruda, the famous Chilean poet, is exiled to a small island in Italy for political reasons. His wife accompanies him. On the island, a local, Mario Ruoppolo, is dissatisfied with being a fisherman, like his father. Mario looks for other work and is hired as a temporary postman, with Neruda as his only customer. He uses his bicycle to hand deliver Neruda's mail (the island has no cars). Though poorly educated, the postman eventually befriends Neruda and becomes further influenced by Neruda's political views and poetry.
Meanwhile, Mario falls in love with a beautiful young lady, Beatrice Russo, who works in her aunt's village cafe. He is shy with her, but he enlists Neruda's help. Mario constantly asks Neruda if particular metaphors that he uses are suitable for his poems. Mario is able to better communicate with Beatrice and express his love through poetry. Despite the aunt's strong disapproval of Mario, because of his sensual poetry (which turns out to be largely stolen from Neruda), Beatrice responds favourably.
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