Nostalgia and landscape blend in Delpero's award-winning 'Vermiglio'

A scene from "Vermiglio" (Photo: Cinecittà)

Inspired by childhood nostalgia and memories of her father, Maura Delpero’s “Vermiglio” is a heartfelt story of one family’s experience during the final days of World War II.

Awarded the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize at the 2024 Venice Film Festival where it premiered, the film is set in the picturesque Alpine mountain village of Vermiglio during the mid-1940s. It follows a schoolmaster’s family of 10 as they navigate life on the bare essentials while grappling with the consequences after a Sicilian soldier, played by Giuseppe De Domenico, deserts the army and seeks refuge with them. The soldier’s romance with the family’s eldest daughter, Lucia, portrayed by Martina Scrinzi, unfolds against the backdrop of a provincial family caught in the traditions of a fading era.

The film begins with an intimate portrayal of the Graziadei family as they wake up to the cold light of the wintertime sun. The scene opens with three sisters sleeping side by side in one bed, while two brothers rest in opposite directions in another. Nearby, a baby gently wakes in a crib next to the parents. The next couple of scenes, in which the mother is seen milking a cow and then serving the heated milk to her children, sets the stage for an exploration of the family’s rural life in this remote location in the Val di Sole region of Trentino.

Tommaso Ragno stars as Cesare Graziadei, the strong and brooding schoolmaster and head of the family. Cesare is accustomed to being the intellectual, the instructor, the informer. Throughout the film, he is talking and other people are listening.

A scene from "Vermiglio" (Photo: Cinecittà)

The romance between Lucia and Pietro is the most compelling storyline in the film. Delpero presents the Sicilian soldier as strong and quiet like Cesare but more down-to-earth and approachable. Pietro’s silent nature coupled with the Southern vs. Northern Italian language barrier add to his mystery and allure. Cesare appears to feel challenged by the similarities as well as the differences, and he doesn’t readily accept the growing affection between this man and his daughter.

The film explores family dynamics in Italy at a time and place in which patriarchs often decided the fates of their daughters based on narrow-minded perception. Although Cesare is well-schooled, he is shaped by a physical world that doesn’t extend beyond the mountains that surround his tiny village. Lucia is viewed as destined to remain in Vermiglio, while Flavia (Anna Thaler), the youngest and most free-spirited of the bunch, is deemed sharp enough to attend boarding school.

“Vermiglio” is distinguished by its cinematography and set design. Shooting amid the captivating beauty of the Alps, cinematographer Mikhail Krichman beautifully captures the transition of natural light from harsh winter to hopeful spring, serving as both the physical and emotional backdrop for the film. Vito Giuseppe Zito’s set design sets the interior tone with cave-like taverns and primitive homes. The story is slow-moving and quiet, accentuating the grandeur of the snow-covered mountainous landscapes. These powerful elements allow viewers to abandon the present and immerse themselves in a distinctly different time and place.

When talking about the film with Cinecittà, Delpero referred to the town in which “Vermiglio” is set as a landscape of the soul, a “family lexicon” that lives inside of her. She said that making the film was an unconscious act of love for her father, his family and their small village. In collaborating with Krichman and Zito, she brings that village to life and plunges the audience into that landscape.

“Vermiglio” was shown at numerous international film festivals in 2024 and was presented at the 2025 Palm Springs International Film Festival in January. It was released in select theaters across the U.S. in December of last year and is now available to stream on several platforms, including Amazon, YouTube and Apple TV.

- Written by Jeannine Guilyard for Fra Noi Magazine. Click here to subscribe.

Comments

Federico Fellini: A Look into the Life and Career of an Icon

A Fellini family portrait “The term became a common word to describe something on the surface you can say is bizarre or strange, but actually is really like a painter working on a film,” said Martin Scorsese when asked to define “Felliniesque,” an adjective inspired by one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. The oldest of three children, Federico Fellini was born in the seaside town of Rimini in 1920. His father was a traveling salesman, so his mother was left to do the bulk of raising the children. One can argue that Fellini was born for his destiny. “You could tell that even as a child, he was different and unique. He was very intelligent, well above average. He was always the one to organize things, direct the others, make up games. He could control the other kids with just a look, said Fellini’s sister, Maddalena, in an interview with journalist Gideon Bachmann. Not only was Fellini directing the children, but he was also putting on shows and charging ...

Ornella Muti: Four decades of Acting and Still Going Strong

Ornella Muti was born Francesca Romana Rivelli in Rome in 1955 to a Neapolitan father and an Estonian mother. She began her career as a model during her teenage years and made her film debut in 1970 with La Moglie più bella (The Most Beautiful Wife). Her follow-up role was in the 1971 film, Sole nella pelle (Sun on the Skin) in which she played the daughter of wealthy parents who runs off with a hippie they don’t approve of. The film offers a telling journey through Italian society in the seventies with the political climate, the breathtaking seaside as well as the styles and cars of that time. Much of the film is set amid the sunny Italian seaside and succeeds in capturing the innocence and beauty of first love. Muti made her American film debut in 1980 with Flash Gordon . She played the role of Princess Aura. She’s appeared in two other American films, including, Oscar , which was directed by John Landis and featured Don Ameche, Chaz Palminteri, and...

Iconic scenes from 'Totò, Peppino e la malafemmina' highlight Italy's North-South divide

If you’re in the mood for a quintessential old-school Italian comedy, look no further than “Totò, Peppino e la malafemmina.” Directed in the mid-1950s by Camillo Mastrocinque, the film has stood the test of time. Starring two of Italy’s most beloved comic actors, Totò (Antonio De Curtis) and Peppino De Filippo, it is widely regarded as one of the country’s most iconic comedies, showcasing mid-century Neapolitan humor. The film also features a young Nino Manfredi at the beginning of his prolific six-decade career. “Totò, Peppino e la malafemmina” is the story of two simple, old-fashioned brothers from Naples, Antonio and Peppino Caponi (Totò and De Filippo respectively), who embark on a trip up north to check on their young nephew Gianni. Gianni has moved to Milan and fallen for a seductive nightclub dancer named Marisa (Maria Luisa Mangini, aka Dorian Gray), whom they refer to as a “malafemmina,” meaning a “bad woman” or femme fatale. Believing she is corrupting him, Totò and Peppino ...

Anna Foglietta: Actress and Activist with Old School Elegance

One look at actress Anna Foglietta in her any of her roles, and the Golden Age of Italian cinema comes to mind. Among Italy’s most sought-after actresses today, Foglietta brings to the table a classic eloquence of yesterday while representing Italy’s modern woman. Born in Rome in 1979, Foglietta began her career in 2005 with a role in the RAI television series La squadra . Her character Agent Anna De Luca had a two-year run on the series as she was transitioning to cinema with Paolo Virzì’s 2006 ensemble project 4-4-2- Il gioco più bello del mondo . Since then, she has become one of Italy’s most diverse actresses, transforming herself into interesting, layered characters for comedies and dramas alike. Aside from a small part in Anton Corbijn’s 2010 film The American starring George Clooney, Foglietta’s work began reaching mainstream American audiences in 2015. As Elisa in Edoardo Leo’s 2015 comedy Noi e la Giulia , Foglietta showed her funny side playing a goofball pregn...

The Life and Work of Monica Bellucci

Monica Bellucci as Malèna Born in Umbria in 1964, Monica Bellucci is one of the most recognizable faces of international cinema. But she didn't always have her sights set on the spotlight. She went to college to study law and modeled to pay her tuition. Her success in the fashion world coupled with the offers that were pouring in to appear on the big screen eventually took over, changing her fate. Bellucci made her on-screen debut in the 1990 television movie, " Vita coi figli." Just two years later, she scored her first American role in Francis Ford Coppola's "Dracula." In addition to her native language, she speaks fluent English and French, which has made for a smooth transition from Italian to international cinema. Stateside, she has acted in blockbusters such as "The Matrix-Reloaded," " The Passion of the Christ" and " The Sorcerer's Apprentice." She has also appeared in several French films, a...

Italian Cinema Today

Search This Blog