Dante / Neruda 5 - Il Postino (Movie & Questions)
"Poetry doesn't belong to those who write it; it belongs to those who need it." Mario Ruoppolo
Il Postino - Movie & Questions: And so we get to this wonderful film that ties the entire unit together (something that I strive for with all of my movie picks). There is Neruda, there is Dante - there are poems and metaphors. The sublime ending of the movie will be echoed in a project that the students will do as well (you can find the project at the end of the movie questions, but I am also planning on giving it a page of its own on this site).
Here is what I write at the beginning of the Movie Questions Handout: The first time I saw this movie I was spending the summer in New York City. I was a student at a summer institute on the Renaissance at New York University. My friends and I couldn’t get over the connections that the movie had to what we were studying: Dante, metaphors, poetry, as well as the connections that it made to each of our lives. As you watch the movie, keep what you’ve recently studied close at hand. Let the connections flow and ebb like the tide on Mario’s island…
As with all of my Movie Questions (see my page on them) - there are questions to be answered immediately while watching the movie - and more thoughtful questions (mini-essays) to be answered on their own for homework. While most movies - and movie questions are over 3 days - this will be finished in two periods - though I have often stolen the last five minutes of our Neruda Lesson - so that we can fit it into that time frame.
Lesson Overview
Il Postino Movie Questions
(see my page on Movie Questions). These questions tie so much of the Unit together and also begin the students last project of the year (which will get continually postponed until it can't anymore). The questions to be answered immediately (while they are watching) are in plain type - while the questions that are to be answered at home (each one a kind of mini-essay) are in italics. I also include this sad postscript at the end of the questions: "the leading actor, Massimo Troisi, one of Italy's most beloved comics, died at the age of 41 the day after principal photography was completed. He had delayed a necessary heart transplant in order to finish what had been a pet project long in the making… Working with his lead actor no more than two hours a day, director Michael Radford ( "1984" and "White Mischief" ) had to accommodate Troisi's increasing physical weakness. Many scenes were arranged so that Troisi wouldn't have to stand up or do much more than speak his lines… "
Here are the instructions from the handout (found below): "Consider the following BIG idea as you watch the film: The idea of what a metaphor, just really is – listen to the poetry and keep your eye on the ball. Questions – To be answered in complete sentences (not typed) and turned in on a separate sheet of paper. The questions in italics may require more thought and you may not want to finish them while actually watching the film. But do think about them. All questions are due this Friday on a separate sheet of paper. Work on each part as we finish.
As you watch, keep a couple of things in mind – one of them is –How does what Marji (later Marjane) experiences have to do with the Ancient City of Persepolis (think of our discussions). The second idea is – how does the media of film (and animation) differ from the graphic novel – just as the graphic novel differs from plain unillustrated text. Have your opening poems out as well."
Something Beautiful About This Place
Most of my World Literature Students are seniors - and like most seniors they don't yet have an appreciation for how special our school is - and has been for them. Just like Mario and his island. Like Mario, this project asks them to create a short audio recording of their favorite things about our school that makes it special for them. They then took those recordings and posted them - and we listened to them at the end of the year. Here are the instructions from the handout (found on the last page of the Movie Questions):
This assignment is a homage to Il Postino, to our school, and to those things that make our lives bearable and special. In this assignment you will create a short two - three minute sound recording of those things that you are most fond of and that have contributed to the best parts of your stay at our school. You should think of sounds that are both dramatic and subtle (that I believe is the key). Think of Mario and his choices (big and little waves, the church bell [with priest], the sound of the wind through the brush, the cloudless starry night over the island). He even included the bittersweet sad sound of his father's fishing nets. Do not listen to earlier audios that students have done – it will only interfere with your own creativity.
It really is a great project to wrap things up - and it has taught me a lot about my students and my school. I will create a page on this site, just dedicated to this project.
The Movie - Il Postino
Here is the description taken from Amazon (the film is only available as a DVD at the moment): "Cheered by critics and audiences everywhere, IL POSTINO (THE POSTMAN) is the record-breaking Academy Award(R)-winning (Best Dramatic Score, 1995) romantic comedy that delivers heartfelt laughs! Mario is a bumbling mailman who's madly in love with the most beautiful woman in town ... and who's too shy to tell her how he feels. But when a world-famous poet -- Pablo Neruda -- moves into town, Mario is inspired. With Neruda's help, he finds the right words to win the woman's heart! This unforgettably funny comedy proves that passion ... with some artful deception ... can win the most improbable love!." Actually - that is only 1/2 the film - the rest...well you need to see it.
Handout (Movie Questions)
Most Recent Handout
PLEASE NOTE (FOR THIS HANDOUT) - the immediate questions are NOT boldfaced, but the at-home thoughtful questions are italicized. The handout also includes the instructions for the "Something beautiful about this place..." Handout. If you've seen the film - the connection with the project should be apparent.
The year that we were remote - I showed the movie remotely and I reduced the number and intensity of the questions.
Remote Enhancements
It is more than possible to watch films together with your class - usually that means having the video you are watching on your computer and sharing the screen with students. You can also keep the comment window open to share things with them (just don't get too distracting). You can also see if they are paying attention or not. I did exactly this with this film. I've included the version of the Movie Questions that I gave during the Pandemic above.
In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway: Another of my original books that I taught. I remember when I first started teaching, asking a colleague if he thought it was a good book to teach - I had just read it in my college class a few months before and was blown away by its beauty, elegance, and the loose connections that existed between the stories. He told me to teach what I liked and that I believed was great literature for the students. I never forgot that - about this book, or about anything that I taught. In Our Time was originally taught directly after All Quiet on the Western Front - and we would begin with "Soldier's Home" (which has already been taught by this point - right before The Things They Carried - as way of an introduction to that novel). I also remember calling the main character in "Soldier's Home", Paul Baumer (from All Quiet) instead of his given name, Harold Krebs. But he may as well have been called Ernest Hemingway.
What Came Before: Dante / Neruda 4 - The Poems of Pablo Neruda
Thoughts on the Lesson
When I first saw this film - when it first opened - and I was in New York City spending the summer with the most wonderful people in the world, I was completely blown away - and knew that I would be using it in my classroom. It is not just that it brings together poetry and Dante and Neruda - it also is one of the gentlest, most optimistic movies - in my opinion, ever made.