The Man Who Will Come

Colour, 35 mm
Italy, 2009, 117 min
Section: Horizons

Synopsis

Winter 1943. Everyday life on the farms gracing the slopes of Monte Solo near Bologna is defined by grueling labor, insufficient food, and the repeated "visits” of German soldiers who take what little the villagers have. But for eight-year-old Martina nothing is more important than anticipating a new life – she stopped speaking years ago when her baby brother died, and now she looks forward with silent hope to the birth of a new sibling. But the world keeps changing during the nine months that her mother is pregnant – the German soldiers become more aggressive and partisan commandos are being organized in the woods. And on the very day Martina gets a new baby brother the suspense culminates: SS units slaughter more than 700 women, children, and elderly people. This absurd and barbaric act has come down in history as the Marzabotto Massacre. Director Giorgio Diritti reconstructs the event with a feeling for the natural cycle of life and the values of country people in order more forcefully to emphasize the absurdities and "inappropriateness” of war.

About the director

Giorgio Diritti (b. 1959, Bologna) learned the craft of filmmaking while collaborating with a number of Italian creators (Carlo Lizzani, Lina Wertmüller), primarily Pupi Avati. He organized several castings for films shot in the Emilia-Romagna region (e.g. Fellini’s The Voice of the Moon), and has also worked with Ipotesi Cinema, an institute directed by Ermanno Olmi, which organizes training for young filmmakers. As a writer and director he has shot documentaries, short films, and television series. Diritti debuted with the short A Sailor’s Hat (Cappello da marinaio, 1990), and his first feature, The Wind Blows Round (Il vento fa il suo giro, 2005), nominated for five Italian national awards (David di Donatello), was presented at a number of festivals including Karlovy Vary in the section entitled The New Generation of Italian Film.