Day by day

Il villaggio di cartone (The Cardboard Village)

// 2011 // Couleur // 87'


Swiss première

An old priest (Michael Lonsdale) stands by helplessly while the church to which he has devoted his whole life is dismantled. In a Christian world that has forgotten the meaning of welcome and solidarity, the house of God has become useless. But the same evening, a group of illegal immigrants finds refuge in the empty building, which is transformed into a vast living crèche, the film’s sole stage. It is these refugees, hunted down by representatives of the law, who become the church’s real ornaments and restore meaning to the priest’s mission. “I became a priest to do good,” says he. “But to do good, faith is no use. Good is stronger than faith.” … as well as the last rampart against stupidity and state oppression, that can lead to totalitarianism. This is Ermanno Olmi’s – among the last of the great Italian film-makers – clear message.
In a film whose shattering esthetics convey a profound message, Olmi is indignant and wonders about hypocrisy and the meaning of religious action in today’s world.

Ermanno Olmi