“Poetry doesn’t belong to those who write it; it belongs to those who need it”
Release: 1995
Runtime: 1 hour, 48 min
Genre: Drama, Romance
Language: Italian/Spanish, English subtitles
MPAA Rating: PG
Starring: Philippe Noiret, Massimo Troisi, Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Renato Scarpa, Linda Moretti
Amazon Link: Il Postino

SYNOPSIS: Seeking refuge from an arrest warrant on this small Italian island, the exiled Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda (Philippe Noiret) helps a simple man, Mario Ruoppolo (Massimo Troisi), find new purpose and joy through the beauty of poetry. Mario is simple man, resigned to the monotony of life on a quiet Italian island. All that changes with the arrival of Neruda, who suddenly becomes the island’s resident celebrity.

Based on the novel “Burning Patience” by Antonio Skarmeta, the movie details the life of Mario Ruoppolo who yearns for more than a fisherman’s life and dreams of better things.

Life in the simple fishing community takes on new meaning for Mario when he accepts a job as a postman for a single address, that of the famous Pablo Neruda. Everyone else on the island, we are told, is illiterate. Mario must bicycle to see Neruda at a remote hilltop outpost the writer shares with his wife, whom he treats grandly and addresses as “Amor.”

At first, Mario’s expeditions to see Neruda are cautious and polite, with Mario engaged in amusing rehearsals for each brush with greatness. Then the postman begins to grow bold. He’d like a better autograph than the “Regards, Pablo Neruda” that his first request elicits.

Touched by the younger man’s guilelessness, the poet is moved to show Mario that life on the island doesn’t need the services of a visiting poet: It already has a poetry of its own.

There’s a romantic subplot about Mario’s insistence that poetry have some practical application beyond the expression of one’s soul: For Mario intends to use poetry to win himself the beautiful Beatrice (Maria Grazia Cucinotta), who’s not much of a reader but likes being compared to a butterfly. In the process of winning her over, Mario uses a few of the Neruda’s lines to great success.

Eventually, Mario marries Beatrice and all seems to have ended happily. Unfortunately, the movie then proceeds through a series of tragic events culminating in Mario aligning himself with the Italian communists and participating in a fatal protest rally.

“The Postman” would be sickeningly sentimental if it hammered home its message too insistently. But in fact, the story is expressed with gentle grace, and it is tempered by the nuances of simple friendship between two people who both revere its own grace.

Note: There is a hint of Cyrano de Bergerac to this story, in that Mario relies on his friend’s words to seduce his love until he gains confidence in his own voice.

Awards Notes:
1995 Academy Awards Nominations
Best Picture of the Year
Best leading role actor – Massimo Troisi
Best Director – Michael Radford
Best Original Score – Luis Bacalov
Best screenplay based on previously published media – Anna Pavignano, Michael Radford, Furio Scarpelli, Giacomo Scarpelli, Massimo Troisi

Goozlepipe Rating:Really Liked It

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