La notte di San Lorenzo
| The Night of the Shooting Stars | |
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Italian poster
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| Directed by |
Paolo Taviani Vittorio Taviani |
| Produced by | Giuliani G. De Negri |
| Written by | Paolo Taviani Vittorio Taviani Giuliani G. De Negri Tonino Guerra |
| Starring |
Omero Antonutti Margarita Lozano |
| Music by | Nicola Piovani |
| Cinematography | Franco Di Giacomo |
| Edited by | Roberto Perpignani |
| Distributed by | United Artists Classics (USA) |
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Release date
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Running time
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105 minutes |
| Country | Italy |
| Language | Italian |
The Night of the Shooting Stars (UK: The Night of San Lorenzo, Italian: La Notte di San Lorenzo) is a 1982 Italian fantasy war drama film directed by Paolo Taviani and Vittorio Taviani. It was entered into the 1982 Cannes Film Festival where it won the Jury Special Grand Prix. The film was also selected as the Italian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 55th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.
The film follows several inhabitants of an Italian town during the end of World War II. Defeat is certain for the German army, and the front is retreating back to Germany, leaving a path of destruction in its wake. The Germans plan to blow up several buildings in the town, and have told all the villagers to congregate in the town's church. Approximately half of the town decides to stay, and place their trust in the church. The rest of the town dresses in dark clothing, and go out to seek the Americans, who are rumored to be nearby, liberating towns as they come to them.
The film was given a rapturous review by the critic Pauline Kael in The New Yorker : " The Night of the Shooting Stars is so good it's thrilling. This new film encompasses a vision of the world. Comedy, tragedy, vaudeville, melodrama - they're all here, and inseparable...In its feeling and completeness, Shooting Stars may be close to the rank of Jean Renoir's bafflingly beautiful Grand Illusion...unreality doesn't seem divorced from experience (as it does with Fellini) - it's experience made more intense...For the Tavianis, as for Cecilia, the search for the American liberators is the time of their lives. For an American audience, the film stirs warm but tormenting memories of a time when we were beloved and were a hopeful people."
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Wikipedia