Voices from the South

Abstract

In his adaptation of Carlo Levi's Cristo si é fermato a Eboli (Christ Stopped at Eboli, 1979), Rosi continues to confront the problems of the South—emigration, cultural marginalization, poverty—while reclaiming its rich, forgotten culture. The film signals a shift of Rosi's style, later evident in the slow-paced Cronaca di una morte annunciata (Chronicle of a Death Foretold, 1987), an epic adaptation of Gabriel García Márquez' 1981 novel that, like Cristo, is structured as an archetypal journey back to the past. In Tre fratelli (Three Brothers, 1981), Italy's chronic political instability is reflected in the tale of a self-assured judge, an idealistic teacher, and an angry factory worker and labor organizer. Summoned home for their mother's funeral, the brothers revisit their peasant roots, confront their present, and imagine their future. The film's concluding wide shot, which unites two generations, indicates Rosi's return to ahistorical values.