A movie that will touch every heart - Movie Review :Happy As Lazzaro

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From the very start the movie reminds me of “The Wonders”, a film by the same director, as both feature a vivid description of the simplicity of rural life and the country dwellers’ crudeness in appearance and behavior; there are, for example, kids running freely about unattended while their parents are busy working for a living. Long shots are used quite often to show the vastness of the open fields in which the people appear as merely tiny dots. There are also close shots of the grains during harvesting time, all typical of the farms in different seasons with intensive work in progress. This is probably one of the director’s favourite styles, preparing the audience for a poetic village prose. 

“Happy As Lazzaro”, however, is more than a simple country folk story. The plot is well organized to cast light on the wide gap between the rich and the poor. There is great emphasis on the poverty of the farmers as evident from such details as a shared light bulb, the meager shares of food on a celebrative occasion and the shabbiness of the lodgings. This well serves the purpose of exposing the problem of severe labour exploitation in the form of illegal share-cropping.The farmers are unknowingly victimized to the extent of being constantly unpaid for their work and are submissive to Marchesa Alfonsina de Luna, the queen of cigarettes, who interferes with even very small details of their lives such as a couple’s marriage plan.

The same problem exists when the movie undergoes a change in time and in the background. The victims are now the poor urban dwellers who are egged on to compete for jobs by minimizing their wage demand. On the other hand, there is repeated mentioning of high prices of goods, suggesting the possibility of the rich taking advantage of the underprivileged. 

“Happy As Lazzaro”, however, is not a tragedy. Quite on the contrary, the country folks are often seen to be very cheerful, laughing over a trifling matter and brushing off ill luck with just a sneer. And it is amidst these simple country folks that Lazzaro, the chief character, draws gradual attention. Though the Masques remarks on his “being exploited by the exploited”, always being ordered about and doing endless jobs, usually hectic and even risky ones, he never utters a word of complaint. In fact, as the movie name suggests, he is always wearing the same smiling face, impressing the audience with his innocent and angelic nature, loyal to his friends and always ready to offer help.

To audience with Christian beliefs, the name Lazzaro is somehow reminiscent of Lazarus, the poor man at the gate of the rich man in Jesus Christ's parable related in the Gospel of Luke. It is perhaps the director’s actual intention to refer to this Bible story to point out the fact that the rich who treat the poor with injustice will suffer evil consequences. On the other hand, the name may also refer to the Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead on the fourth day after his funeral. Such a reference is also reasonable, considering Lazzaro’s “resurrection” years after he had fallen to his death off a cliff. Even with the religious aspect aside, the message is quite clear that the gap between the rich and poor is a stubborn problem regardless of time and place.

With a theme so solemn, the film on the whole mirrors the realities of life and is very rationally convincing. The audience are taken quite aback, however, when it takes a dramatic turn, shifting forward in time, thus ending up being an imaginative story. There are, therefore, incidents and cases not easily understandable such as the edible plants in the vicinity and the chapel music audible from a great distance. And Lazzaro still sees his friends in their former appearance though they have grown a lot in actual age. Has Lazzaro been reborn with a kind of supernatural power? And what is the wolf doing in the city? Though wolves are said to have long haunted the village, posing a threat to the fowl, their appearance in town is a mystery, especially that of the one seemingly related to Lazzaro’s death and rebirth.

There are indeed questions left unanswered. And what actually happens can be a topic initiating much discussion. This is perhaps what makes the movie more inviting. One can always view the movie the second, or even the third time, just to find out more about the mystery surrounding the fate of Lazzaro and his friends. 

All in all, this is a story that will touch every heart and has a special appeal for audience who enjoy films that go in strange and unexpected directions.