La noche de las estrellas fugaces (Reino Unido: La noche de San Lorenzo , italiano : La Notte di San Lorenzo ) es una película italiana de drama bélico y fantástico de 1982 dirigida por Paolo Taviani y Vittorio Taviani . Fue escrito por Giuliani G. De Negri, Paolo Taviani, Tonino Guerra y Vittorio Taviani. [1] Participó en el Festival de Cine de Cannes de 1982 , donde ganó el Gran Premio Especial del Jurado . [2] La película fue seleccionada por Italia como su entrada a la Mejor Película en Lengua Extranjera en la 55ª edición de los Premios de la Academia , pero no fue aceptada como nominada. [3]
La película comienza con una madre contándole a su hijo dormido una historia de su infancia. La historia cuenta cómo los deseos se hacen realidad cuando ocurre una estrella fugaz. Ella procede a contar la historia de la ciudad italiana en la que vivió. Un hombre y su prometida embarazada rápidamente se casan en la iglesia. Después de su boda, la familia de la novia tuvo una mini celebración. La película sigue a varios habitantes de un pueblo italiano durante el final de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. La derrota es segura para el ejército alemán y el frente se retira a Alemania, dejando un rastro de destrucción a su paso. Los alemanes planean volar varios edificios de la ciudad y han dicho a todos los habitantes que se reúnan en la iglesia de la ciudad. Aproximadamente la mitad del pueblo decide quedarse y depositar su confianza en la iglesia. El resto del pueblo se viste con ropa oscura para pasar desapercibido en la noche. El hombre se unió al grupo de retiro mientras su esposa y su madre permanecían en la iglesia. Salen en busca de los estadounidenses que se rumoreaba que estaban cerca, liberando ciudades a medida que llegan a ellos.
The bishop wants to say mass with the townspeople in the church. He finds only two pieces of bread for communion. One of the townspeople mentions that she has a loaf of bread. The bishop asks her, and the rest of the congregation, to divide up their bread so he can bless it and use it instead of the standard host. While he is performing communion, the Fascists explode a bomb in the church, resulting in panic, people fleeing, and many casualties. One wounded girl is seen being carried outside by her mother. It was the man's wife. The bishop tries to help carry the woman, but he realises that he caused the deaths. As the mother continues to carry her, the husband returns from his group to be with his wife, but it is too late to save her.
The man returns to his group and they continue their trek. They pass a field where partisans are harvesting the grain. The partisans share their complaints that they're replacing the grain stolen by the Fascists. The group had learned on the road that the partisans can help transport people safely to a city away from the Fascists. The group helps the partisans harvest grain. During the day, the group must hide from German planes that fly over at midday while they are threshing. Cecilia, who is telling this story, reveals that, at that night, the shooting stars occurred, but the people were so caught up in the pain and fear that they forgot all about it. In the afternoon of the next day, the group is discovered by a small group of Fascists. Both sides sustain casualties, but at the end the Fascists run away. Cecilia watches a Fascist kill her grandfather. As the Fascist comes after Cecilia, she repeats a nonsense rhyme that her mother had taught her to say whenever she is afraid. As she says the lines, an ancient warrior appears with a spear and a shield. The warrior throws the spear and pierces the Fascist's stomach. As the Fascist looks up in surprise, a line of ancient warriors appears and throw their spears, killing the Fascist.
The remaining members of the group survive the fight and find a farm willing to host them. That night, Galvano, the elderly leader of the group, and Concetta share a room, leading them to reveal that they have had feelings for each other since they were young. The group wakes up to the news that the region has been liberated by the U.S. Fifth Army. As they celebrate their new freedom in the rain, they decide to head home.
The mother tells her sleeping son to remember the lines of the rhyme, then the mother is revealed to be Cecilia, the child in the story.
The Night of the Shooting Stars has an approval rating of 79% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 14 reviews, and an average rating of 6.9/10.[4]
The film was given a rapturous review in The New Yorker by the critic Pauline Kael, who wrote, "The Night of the Shooting Stars is so good it's thrilling. This new film encompasses a vision of the world. Comedy, tragedy, vaudeville, melodrama - they're all here, and inseparable...In its feeling and completeness, Shooting Stars may be close to the rank of Jean Renoir's bafflingly beautiful Grande Illusion...unreality doesn't seem divorced from experience (as it does with Fellini) - it's experience made more intense...For the Tavianis, as for Cecilia, the search for the American liberators is the time of their lives. For an American audience, the film stirs warm but tormenting memories of a time when we were beloved and were a hopeful people."[5]
The film was entered into the main competition of 1982 Cannes Film Festival where it won the Grand Prix. In July 2018, it was selected to be screened in the Venice Classics section at the 75th Venice International Film Festival.[6]
In 1954, the 10th anniversary of the massacre, the Taviani brothers had directed the documentary San Miniato luglio '44, which attributed the bombing that happened in their home town to the withdrawing German troops.[7][8] However, at the same time the documentary came out there were already opinions and reconstructions of the events, coming from witnesses of the bombing, that the massacre had not been caused by German troops, but were the result of collateral damage from American artillery.[9] Subsequently, several investigations of the Massacre of San Miniato established that American artillery collateral damage was the real cause. When the 1982 film was shown, its disproven contention caused significant backlash.[10]
Existing music used in this film includes
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