To laugh at oneself is good -and cheap- therapy. To make light of some customs and clichés that we believe are important is an excellent exercise in not taking things too seriously and it is healthy to laugh out loud at familiar and supposedly significant subjects. For example, this Herr Graf often chuckles at the lower classes and their trifles
The short film "L'Illustre Attrice Cicala Formica" ( The Illustrious Actress Cicada Ant ), directed by Herr Lucio D'Ambra in the silent year of 1920, is a good illustration of what this Herr Graf is talking about. In a mere 20 minutes, Herr D'Ambra satirizes two fundamental pillars of Italian silent pictures: divas and epic films!... MEIN GOTT!. Not only that but the film calls into question and irreverently caricatures another important Italian institution: the family!!... MEIN GOTT!!,
The film tells in a humorous way of the artistic aspirations of a young and bourgeoisie fraulein who wants to become a famous actress, the most important diva of all times, although her family , especially her father, are unhappy with her artistic dreams. But thanks to her tenacity, as well as the collaboration of some servants and members of her family (they help her rehearse her roles which are taken from Roman Empire times), the young fraulein finally gets to star in a film. But the premiere will be a disaster because due to the inexperience of the projectionist, the actors in the picture are all rapidly moving backwards, causing general laughter in the audience and spelling the end of the glorious but brief cinematic career of our heroine.
Besides the ironic point of view towards epic films, silent divas and the Italian family, the film includes interesting sequences wherein we see the inner workings as well as the implicit magic of making movies. The illustrious actress Cicada has an obsession with the camera, a modern illness caused by this invention and which continues to do its damage even today throughout the world.
And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count wants to become a big aristocratic star.
Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien http://ferdinandvongalitzien.blogspot.com
