Le quattro volte

Since premiering last year at Cannes, where it won Best European Film in Directors Fortnight, Michelangelo Frammartino's magical film has won the hearts and minds of moviegoers and critics across the world. Set in a rustic Calabrian village seemingly unchanged since medieval times, Le Quattro Volte (the literal translation being 'four times') is inspired by philosopher Pythagoras' belief in four-fold transmigration - from human to animal to vegetable to mineral. The main characters are an old goat herder and his dog, some snails, a brick, a kid, a tree and a charcoal kiln. This explanation fails, however, to impart the beauty, humour and originality of Frammartino's film: neither fiction nor documentary and almost wordless. Reminiscent of György Pálfi's Hukkle (SFF 2003) and Robert Bresson's 1966 classic Au Hasard Balthasar in its style and cinematic power, Le quattro volte is a mesmerising and not-to-be-missed cinematic experience.

Screens with Charcoal Burners  

This film is classified MA15+.