Vermilion by Maura Delpero is presented today, September 2, 2024, in competition at the Venice Film Festival (LIVE STREAM HERE).
This is the second film by Italian director Maura Delpero and tells a love story in wartime.
But the film also explores much more than just a love story: it analyses how women have found themselves in roles they did not choose, all because of deeply rooted social norms.
After having signed the direction of the acclaimed MaternalDelpero returns with a cinematic work that sees in the cast Tommaso Ragno, Giuseppe De Domenico, Roberta Rovelli, with Sara Serraiocco and Martina Scrinzi here in her first role.
Vermilion will be released in Italian theaters distributed by Lucky Red. The film is produced by the Italian film production company Cinedora, the French Charades and the Belgian Versus Production.
The plot goes far beyond the love story
The movie Vermilion tells the story of the last year of the Second World War, 1944. The main protagonist of the film is an entire family that will see a refugee soldier arrive. And, ironically, this family will lose its peace at the moment the rest of the world finds it again: as soon as the war ends, for the main family things will not go as expected…
Four seasons, one year, the last year of the war and all the changes that 365 days can bring, from the womb of a woman that grows inexorably (with a new creature inside) to the adventures at sea towards unknown lands. Anything can happen in a crucial year like 1944. Anything, even death, followed by rebirth.
Told in four chapters, each set in a different season, the film Vermilion takes the audience to immerse themselves in a remote Italian mountain village. World War II is coming to an end. The conflict seems to have never touched this place, but something will happen and an unexpected arrival will change everything.
The young Sicilian soldier named Pietro (played by Giuseppe De Domenico) carries his wounded comrade, Attilio, to his mountain home. He makes a good part of the journey home with his wounded comrade on his shoulders.
Peter is hailed as a true hero and everyone at home celebrates him, proud of him.
The newcomer is a very rare presence in those places, because very few foreigners arrive in the small village. Furthermore, he is Sicilian, so he is seen almost as a “foreigner”. He will attract the attention of Lucia (Martina Scrinzi), the eldest daughter of the village teacher (Tommaso Ragno). The two will fall in love, however, unleashing a series of events that will shake both the mountain village and a small town in Sicily.
in-depth analysis
Venice 2024, the 5 Italian films and actors in competition
A film that goes beyond the usual love story
Without taking anything away from the good old love stories, it must be said that Vermilion exceeds the usual love story to present itself as something very different from a merely romantic film.
The plot brings to light ancient forms of misogyny, closed-mindedness and intolerance, showing how these inevitably lead to tragic outcomes.
Topics such as tradition and gender roles are explored, as well as highlighting how the impact of war reaches even the most isolated places. All themes that are unfortunately very current, in short.