The Taviani Brothers Collection: Padre Padrone / The Night of the Shooting Stars / Kaos

Italian filmmaking siblings Paolo and Vittorio Taviani have been collaborating on films for over 50 years, drawing from the cinematic traditions of neo-realism, literary magical realism and fantasy, and social drama. This compilation of three of their most acclaimed films kicks off with Padre Padrone, which won the Palme d'Or at the 1977 Cannes Film Festival. Adapted from the 1975 autobiographical novel by Italian scholar Gavino Ledda, the story recounts the life of a young boy in Sardinia who is pulled out of school by his tyrannical father and forced to live the almost solitary life of a shepherd while he struggles to educate himself. The Night of the Shooting Stars, a delicate and delirious tale of war and survival as seen through the eyes of a 6-year-old girl, is an epic filled with a sense of wonder and absurdity amidst the acceptance of brutality and death—a winner of the Grand Prix at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival. Finally, 1984's Kaos is an anthology film featuring four tales of life in old Sicily based on the short stories of Luigi Pirandello, and it includes an epilogue starring Taviani favorite Omero Antonutti as Pirandello. Filled with scenes of rural beauty and magical realism, the epic Kaos won two David di Donatello Awards (the Italian equivalent to the Oscars). All three Italian classics are newly restored, and presented here with a bonus interview with the Taviani brothers. Highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)