Review – The Red and the Blue
Whoever said that all high-school dramas ought to be damming, finger-jabbing films with moral outrage and deep-seeded messages? Is it really such a crime to make a simple film that tells a story, without trying to convince everyone to light up some torches, grab a few pitchforks and rage against the machine?
Directed by Giuseppe Piccioni and based on a book by ex-teacher Marco Lodoli, Il Rosso e Il Blu (The Red and The Blue) is a bit of a by-the-numbers high-school drama that follows three teachers in various stages of their career – Professor Prezioso (Riccardo Scamarcio) is the young upstart, Professor Giuliana (Margherita Buy) is the hardened principal, and Professor Fiorito (Roberto Herlitzka) is the jaded veteran who’s just about given up. Prezioso wants to save his students and open their minds up to all the possibilities and wonder they’re capable of, and is enamoured by one student in particular. Giuliana has risen up the ranks and is now principal of the high school, and whilst the future looked bright fifteen years ago, she’d settle for a few extra dollars in the budget and a couple less recalcitrant kids to deal with. Fiorito has given up, and no longer cares about the system, or the school, or the students, and is determined to go out on his own terms. There’s also Adam (Ionut Paun), a Romanian immigrant trying to find his feet in a strange new world and Enrico (Davide Giordano) dealing with his family, or lack thereof.
Whilst this sort of story has been told a million times, this is an initially interesting portmanteau of teaching, and some of the issues that plague the education system, showing three ‘stages’ of what Lodoli presumedly experienced in his career. But save for one soliloquy it’s all a bit too superficial, the three/five main story arcs are too quickly dealt with.
This film doesn’t set out to be ground-breaking, however, and makes no claims of greatness: it is merely a retrospective of an educator’s career, and is simplistically and smartly done so. It’s a little dry, a bit bittersweet, and a little slapstick in places, but overall you’d call it A Decent Film, which is actually rather impressive with some of the dross that’s being churned out these days.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daYpHhUdBSQ&w=400]
