Christ Stopped At Eboli (1979 - Italy)

Stars: Gian Maria Volonte, etc.

Directed by Francesco Rosi

(In Italian language with English translations)

In 1935, an Italian painter-cum-doctor-cum-anti-fascist political assignee was exiled in a small uncivilized hilly town of Eboli. He temporarily stays and sleeps in one of the resident's house and meets the townspeople along the way. He unexpectedly changes the quiet neglected poor town by helping them of their problems that some of the resident doctors and politicians do not 'offer services' of. The townspeople had thought that he was 'sent by God' as they have thought he created a miracle around them.

Based on an autobiographic novel by Carlo Levi, I just realized that the main protagonist was one of the famous villain in the first two Sergio Leone spaghetti-Western movies (namely A Fistful of Dollars and For A Few Dollars More). I'm sooo used to his veery ugly persona in the ol' Clint Eastwood movies that I'm stunningly amazed he plays quite the opposite and quiet performance in this movie. It's hard to determine at first because he's dirty ugly in the Western films but he's tidily mild-mannered in this movie.

Now about the entirety of the film: it's slow-paced and may probably bore plenty of audiences. But the best part of it was the excellent scenery of the hills of Eboli that while watching it you'll feel what life was over there. It reminds me of those early young Don Vito Corleone scenes in The Godfather Part II with all of the Italian language, gesture, and film location, that sounds quite similar to that famous Mario Puzo film.

I'm not sure I can recommend this to anyone, but if any of you likes or is used to any of the old Luchino Visconti movies, you may try this one out. Best comparison I can get for the right audiences of this film.