Zielen van Napels

I have been seeking to purchase a DVD of Monnikendam's documentary but have had some difficulty getting one shipped to the US. I saw this at the American premier at the Washington, D.C. National Gallery of Art and it was fantastic.

The film we saw included English subtitles, but a large portion of it was in Neapolitan dialect (the remainder, in Italian). The images and music were powerful. For an outsider Dutch team, the interaction with the locals throughout the poorest and richest districts of the city was impressive. The film follows a crew as they travel throughout the Mediterranean port city, carrying with them the image of a Caravaggio painting, which they use to question the people living in each of the districts. One of these districts is the housing zone for the gypsies, which the Vatican has recently issues a note about, pointing out that these people have a right to life in the manner in which they choose, just as we do.

I am commenting earlier than intended (I would have liked to have seen it a second time) in response to the inappropriate and inaccurate post from the gentleman from Vancouver. Naples is not just another "X" city, nor would there be anything wrong with documenting artistically the beauty of the world's greatest cities. I highly recommend getting your hands on this DVD or catching it at a film festival.