Film Passage Culture is a funny thing. When it comes to the national culture of any given country, the opinions and review of that culture can be in reverence and awe of the culture or it can be a complete and swift condemnation of the culture. Italian culture in particular is one culture that is either revered or condemned depending on who is doing the reviewing and what precisely is being looked at. Indeed, there is no shortage of people that look at movies like Coppola's Godfather trilogy and just stand in awe of Italian culture in general and that of La Cosa Nostra in particular. Rather than go for that sort of review and praise, the author of this report will instead focus on the words and observations engaged in during Nanni Moretti's Caro Diario. Translated, this title in English is "Dear Diary.

Moretti dancing to the classic Italian video

Analysis

Cover art for Caro Diaro

Before getting into the nuts and bolts of the scenes under review, it helps to know the aim of the film, when it was made and other important context that exists about all of the above. Indeed, the film was made in 1993 and is a clear analysis and, concurrent to that, a rather withering condemnation of how people act in Italian culture and the nasty habits and stereotypes, among other things, that are created by such animated and elitist discourse. Indeed, the author of this report sought out secondary opinions regarding the matter given that the author has no direct experience with genuine and real Italian culture within the country of Italy and in the national context of what leads people in that country to be as they are at times. Indeed, one blogger notes that the film can be seen as a "merging of several critical discourses directed at contemporary Italian bourgeoisie and intellectuals together with the social injustice that they perpetuate (Maquees, 2010).

Moretti driving his Vespa in Caro Diaro

Indeed, the film is comprised of several sections. In Vespa is the section that gives a lot of the societal and cultural context and how this has all evolved in Italy over the last one to two generations. Indeed, there was a great migration of the newly affluent Italians to the suburbs of the country and the economic boom realized during the 1960's launched off a great amount of consumerism and materialistic endeavors by those newly rich. The point of the title of this section is that Moretti is rolling through the neighborhood on a Vespa and he is seeing this first-hand. He can be seen reflecting and pondering what he is seeing and what it all means. He also reflects on his memory about his prior stomping grounds, those being the Garbatella suburb and Ponte Flamingo. However, he is clearly taken aback by what he says now. He laments the fact that the beauty and brilliance of the past has been replaced with cookie-cutter suburban homes. He openly mocks the sameness of all of the homes and the lifestyles of the people therein. For example, there is a proclivity of many of the people to mess around with videotapes and slippers, among another things. The film then uses a wide and panning shot. Shown clearly are the new and "modern" apartments that have started to crop up given the economic boom of the area and the wider country. The geometric precision and precision may be a boon and a great thing to many but Moretti is clearly not part of the fan club that likes the developmental changes going on in the area (Maquees, 2010).

There are two things that happen shortly thereafter that really drive the point home. The first thing is that there is clearly a distortion of the color and grain of the video. The hue is done in a way that is clearly intentional and it is meant to be an extension of what Moretti is thinking. Rather than having a clear shot that leaves Moretti to tell the proverbial story of his feelings on its own, the hue and grain of the film are used to further and drive home what Moretti is thinking and feeling about what he is seeing. However, there is another plot tool that used to take the mater even further. There is indeed a "film within a film" where Moretti spots a film passage in progress. It shows a group of affluent Italians sitting around. They are openly grumbling about how they lack passion and that they are entirely too passive. Once again, the hue of the film, a bluish haze, colors the scene in a way that just adds to what is otherwise going on. The film passage within "In Vespa" clearly dovetails with Moretti's overall feelings and perceptions about how society is becoming so dull, lifeless and devoid of passion (Maquees, 2010).

Moretti encounters a person driving a fancy

Rather than being about substance and national pride, it has become a devolving into consumerism of a perverse level. The aforementioned blogger notes that the amount of consumerism is at a "vulgar" level and Moretti clearly laments the pattern that is on full display. Another scene in the movie that drives this point home and then some is Moretti's review and reaction to the cinema of that same era, that being the 1960's. While this is technically a different scene than the one in which he is travelling about what has become modern Italy at the time, the film review is clearly an extension of the same feelings. As described by Ms. Maquees, "Italian culture has foregone its past refinement and desire for social justice in favor of vulgar mass consumerism" (Maquees, 2010). The second scene and set of reactions and elements of the film comes from Moretti's reaction to the work of Pasolini as compared to others that were making new films in the 1960's (Maquees, 2010).
Pasolini's Grave in Caro Diaro

As Moretti watches on, it is clear he is disgusted and taken aback by some of the things that he is seeing displayed and covered. Moretti makes a number of comments about the suburbs and style of Italy and this seems to dovetail with his love for Pasolini. A quote used by the blogger and that can be echoed here is that there was a "sacredness and poetry which the contemporary Cartesian world has lost" (Maquees, 2010). Moretti then transitions a bit and visits the grave of Pasolini. The grave is in a graveyard that is off the beaten path and the grave itself has not been kept up all that well. This becomes a metaphor for a wider neglect of what is "sacred" and thus what should be preserved and revered. As stated by Maquees, "Pasolini's neglected grave mirrors society's abandonment of fine cinema, and with it, the shunning of the poor in favor of capitalism" (Maquees, 2010).

The "scenery" as Moretti drives to Pasolini's grave

If there were a devil's advocate perspective to what is being perceived and seen by Moretti, it would be that capitalism can help advance a country in many ways. For sure, economic booms can lead to people that were poor in the past to be better off, if not much better off. However, it has to be granted and admitted that some people do nto end up succeeding or thriving despite the advances and progress of others and this is clearly something that the makers of Caro Diaro was trying to point out. When it comes to this endeavor, the portrayal of Moretti and the way in which the film is shot and portrayed is very spot-on. While some may embrace and love the new (at the time) architecture that was popping up, Moretti was clearly not a fan of the changes that were under way. Indeed, many people love to cling to the ostensible or perceived superiority of the past while others look towards a different future (IMDb, 2016).

Old Architecture Example in Caro Diaro

So much of what makes Caro Diario great is the selection of music. So much of the In Vespa section of the movie centers on Moretti riding around on his Vespa with music playing in the background. Even with the lack of spoken dialog, the actions and gesticulations of Moretti are rather interesting to watch. Indeed, he sometimes starts "dancing" on his Vespa by taking his hands off of the steering and flailing them around in a jovial way. Apparently, the pop song that is playing during this scene is a popular one in that part of the world. Other times, he veers the Vespa gently back and forth along the road. Other times he is just staring around in awe (or disgust) at what he is seeing. Something interesting about Moretti is that he engages people on the street and in their cars on numerous occasions. For example, Moretti gets off his…