Happy as Lazzaro
Overview
Purehearted teen Lazzaro is content living as a sharecropper in rural Italy, but an unlikely friendship with the marquise’s son will change his world.
Backdrop
What makes this movie Worth Watching
Happy as Lazzaro subtly critiques Italy's persistent issues of social inequality and corruption, connecting historical rural exploitation to contemporary urban struggles. The film can be seen as a commentary on the lasting impact of feudalistic systems and the exploitation of vulnerable populations, even in modern society, touching upon Italy's legacy of agricultural exploitation and the struggles of its rural population.
- Adriano Tardiolo's captivating and innocent portrayal of Lazzaro is unforgettable; his performance anchors the film's magical realism.
- The film masterfully blends social commentary on class exploitation with a poignant exploration of faith, innocence, and the search for humanity in a broken world.
- Alice Rohrwacher's direction and cinematography create a dreamlike atmosphere, blurring the lines between reality and fable, making for a visually stunning and thought-provoking experience.
- The narrative structure, shifting between the rural isolation of Inviolata and the urban decay of the city, provides a powerful contrast that highlights the enduring nature of exploitation and the loss of community.
Fun Facts
- The name 'Lazzaro' is a direct reference to the biblical Lazarus, resurrected by Jesus, hinting at the film's themes of innocence, sacrifice, and potential rebirth or transformation.
- The Inviolata estate, though fictional, is inspired by real instances of isolated rural communities discovered in Italy years after they were ostensibly brought into the modern world, highlighting the historical disconnect between rural and urban realities.
- Director Alice Rohrwacher often casts non-professional actors to achieve a sense of authenticity. Adriano Tardiolo, who plays Lazzaro, had no prior acting experience before this role.
Available Languages
English
US
Title: Happy as Lazzaro
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Italiano
IT
Title: Lazzaro felice
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Pусский
RU
Title: Счастливый Лазарь
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Português
BR
Title: Lazzaro Felice
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Français
FR
Title: Heureux comme Lazzaro
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普通话
CN
Title: 幸福的拉扎罗
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Where to Watch
Cast
Crew
Reviews
‘Happy as Lazzaro’ comes and goes like an airy fable but doesn’t make as much of an impact as it wants to. Through a lack of convincing and earned pivot, its first half in realism drags down the escapism it yearns for in its second half. Its ambition is to be commended and is definitely a film that deserves to be seen, but as a whole is just verging on greatness.
- Ashley Teresa
Read Ashley's full article...
https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-happy-as-lazzaro-more-than-meets-the-eye
A tale (or fable?) of social commentary by directress and writer Alice Rohrwacher (that I first knew in the short "Le Pupille") in rural Italy with touches of anti capitalism and class division, where sharecroppers live, without knowing their semi-slavery state because of lack of knowledge. Lazzaro the protagonist, is an innocent character that is happy to make others happy, in the pureness of his heart. He doesn't know who is his father of mother just who is maybe his grandmother.
There are very few signs of when this passes you can guess the 60 or 70's till later you see a cellphone of the 90's. So this is the condition that those people lives.
They live under Marchesa Alfonsina De Luna state till one day Lazzaro meets the rebellious son of her, Tancredi, that wants to live away from the rot of his bankrupt family, so he devise a plan.
A plan that unwillingly ends ends with and event that throws Lazzaro in the future 20 to 30 years ahead. By chance or destiny he meet robbers in the now decadent rural mansion (not knowing that they are people of his past "family") and in the city where he is recognized by an old female friend (the role is played by the older sister of Rohrwacher, Alba) - the only one that sees the miracle of him not ageing anything at all (and not all broken and bloody by the event that happened so many years ago, not seen by anyone).
In this urban future he ends up living within the same ignorant and individualist clan (with some exceptions) and ends up meeting by chance the Baroness son again, decadent as ever in his dreams of richness that broke his spirit.
Not telling the end after all this spoilers, but it is sad to see Lazzaro so pure treated as nothing, unhappy by his friend status, and trying to correct things in a wrong way in his innocency (no, it doesn't have an happy ending).
A movie that may not be for everyone but that shines to see such saintness and pureness of heart among our society.
Good cinematography and choice of colors, with Kodak Super 16mm film by cinematographer DP Hélène Louvart AFC and good acting by the protagonist, the newcomer Adriano Tardiolo.
I would score this one a 8.0 out of 10.0 / A-.
Oscar Awards
Wins
Haven't Won A Oscar
Nominations
Haven't Nominated for Oscar
Media
Trailer
Official UK Trailer
Featurette
HAPPY AS LAZZARO Official Competition | BFI London Film Festival 2018
Featurette
Alice Rohrwacher on Writing 'Happy as Lazzaro' at FSLC and Returning to NYFF