User Reviews

This extraordinary film by Paolo Baroni and Paolo Benvenuti creates its own particular—and strikingly beautiful—cinematic world. In contrast to many of today's shaky, rough-and-tumble pictures with rapid edits and over-dark scenes, 'Puccini and the Girl' is confident in its experimental yet classical visual language; many of its surprises are subtle. One example: we see a train at a station; there is a zoom out; the zoom is slow; then we find we have been looking at this train through the window of a car. The year is 1908. Society will see a transition from trains to automobiles. Though the film speaks of Giacomo Puccini, his love life, and the opera he is currently composing—'La fanciulla del West', opera lovers are advised that it is not a biopic of Puccini which has fully-orchestrated opera excerpts on display. The main location of the film is Puccini's house; the lake – and Nature – surround it while the characters (carefully researched, based on fact) strive to restrain their desires. This is a superbly crafted movie. There is a lot to savor here. A great deal can be learned about the art of cinema by watching 'Puccini and the Girl'. I cannot wait to see it again. – Lance Tait