Author Umberto Eco passed away in 2016 and left behind a profound legacy. Davide Ferrario’s Umberto Eco, A Library of The World attempts to make sense of this legacy.
The movie mashes up genres to tell the story of its subject, combining archival footage, contemporary scenes of friends and family poring over his work, and readings of his work performed by actors. The film would work well for both devotees of Eco as well as those who aren’t as familiar with him and his works. The film isn’t pinned down as a biography or origin story. Ferrrairo instead gives us a glimpse into the author’s complex mind. It can get incredibly philosophical at times and may be off-putting for those unfamiliar with his work, but it surely is never boring.
Eco dives deep into issues of memory and modernity (a particularly profound and somewhat cerebral part dives into the different forms of memory). He discusses the works of his favorite author Jorge Luis Borges. He talks about the idea of truth, using a striking example that while some people still believe the world is flat, nobody contests that Superman and Clark Kent are one and the same.
Ferrario’s work is a sometimes labyrinthine, cerebral experience. Given its subject matter, however, that’s to be expected. Those devotees of In the Name of the Rose and Foucault’s Pendulum will find a lot to like here. The film would work best in a class about modernist writers, semiotics, and philosophy.