Il Postino (The Postman) • The Next Reel

Massimo Troisi had a driving passion to make The Postman, so much so that he put medical care off to get it made. This lead to his death immediately after principal photography, but his passion project was able to be seen by the world. But would it have the success story it has if it wasn’t for the Miramax marketing machine? Hard to say, but we don’t think so, despite it being an absolutely adorable film. Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we continue our Foreign Language Films Nominated for Best Picture series with Michael Radford’s 1994 film The Postman (Il Postino).

We talk about the nature of foreign language films being left out of the Best Picture race from the early 70s to the mid 90s and why that may have been. We also talk about the nature of the Best Picture award and what a film should have intrinsically to get that nomination, but how marketing efforts really led to shifts there. We discuss Troisi’s passion for this film and how it pushed him to get it made, regardless of his health. We look at the nature of a biographical story and why including Pablo Neruda in this film doesn’t make it biographical. We chat about the power of Neruda’s poetry and why it works so well in this film. We touch on Radford as a director and Luis Bacalov’s incredible score. And we look at other films that were left out of the Best Picture race.

It’s a beautiful and heartwarming film. Maybe not Best Picture material, but certainly something that warmed both our hearts. We had a great time talking about it so check it out then tune in to this week’s show! The Next Reel – when the movie ends, our conversation begins.

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