Oh boy, so far from the golden age of Italian Realism and de Sica still had the touch!
I loved this film. I even forgot it was filmed in the least aesthetically-appealing era of cinema.
At least the French and Italians rediscovered Art Deco around this time:
I also fell out of my chair to find not one...
...but two models of streetcars used today in San Francisco.
The transit company had them refurbished and they run daily up and down Market Street.
They even have machinists on staff to manufacture fresh parts when they wear out.
They weren't running today during the parade.
I don't know if non-residents understand the huge importance of the celebration today. There is, of course, the Pride Parade each June and I think there is also a parade on St. Patrick's Day. And that's it. There is no parade for Christmas and certainly not one for the Fourth of July. To throw a confetti celebration for which people will line up 30 deep is a special holiday in San Francisco.
A group of misfits, dismissed by most of their colleagues, who go on to win the championship is something most citizens of this city can identify with and support. The players in street clothes look just like people I see everyday. The other teams looked as though they were staffed with off-duty cops. By the way, the crowds lining the streets were so full of joy, they were even cheering the police in charge of crowd control. This truly is a special day.
Una Breve Vacanza (1973)
aka A Brief Vacation
directed by Vittorio de Sica
2 comments:
There's a scene in Anthony Mann's T-MEN where Dennis O'Keefe and his undercover partner go to the Detroit Public Library to research the Vantucci Mob, a counterfeiting ring. The lobby of the library looks just the same as it does today, but what's really startling is the streetcar in front of the library itself, Detroit hasn't had streetcars since the late 1950s. You're fortunate to still have streetcars in Frisco, it's Detroit's love of the automobile that put an end to ours.
I remember reading once that it was the greedy rubber companies that hastened the change. They would sell more tires if there were more cars, trucks and buses than trains. I wonder if the WPA should've put the emphasis on laying tracks instead of building roads.
And the street cars look gorgeous and all, but boy do they create a racket! Rubber tires are much quieter.
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