The Ark of Disperata

I saw this film last night as part of the Denver Film Festival. The film screening was actually held at the University of Denver rather than a festival venue so the crowd was different than usual for the festival. The director spoke to us before and after the film and it was lovely to hear his personal story behind the making of the film including the fact that most of his actors are "regular folks." The south cape of Puglia is a poor, down-trodden place where, as the director says, "men stand outside bars." Poetry, nature, politics the pope and the mafia all exist here and at times they are in perfect harmony.

Who would expect something interesting happening from the little town of Desiderata (literally desperate)? As a result, Desiderata is desperate for a new event something to shake its slow daily life. Two brothers with a criminal record had planned to give this city a grand robbery. When the first theft went wrong one of them is sent to jail. There, he among other prisioners had a weekly class of literature and poetry with Desiderata's mayor. After being released from jail, he starts his work of spreading poetry and the capacity to fly through words to Desiderata's inhabitants. He changes his brother criminal life inspiring him to praise and sing the beauty of their land and people. "La Vita in comune" brings the best of the atmosphere of Italian movies: a good story, a beautiful place where common people face daily conflicts where one can read words of poetry and humanity.