by Endovelico » Wed Aug 24, 2011 11:17 am
Yesterday, thanks to cable television, I had the opportunity of watching an extraordinary Italian film, Manuale d'amore, by Giovanni Veronesi. I don't know whether any of you has seen it. I may be overrating it, but it was one of the funniest, most charming films I have seen in a long time. A jewel only possible from a culture as rich as the Italian/Mediterranean one. Which made me wonder, once more, why our northern partners in the EU insist on despising us, from south Europe. The only area in which I recognize that northern Europeans tend to be superior to us is in productive efficiency. But is that enough to make them "superior"? Is making money the only valid criteria for assessing quality? How many northern European film makers would be able to attain the level of intelligence, humour and subtlety of Manuale d'amore? I'm afraid I will have to reach the conclusion that we, in the south of Europe, must part ways with our northern friends and try and find our way to prosperity without losing our souls.
A foretaste, but you would need to see it all: