Singing Behind Screens

"Cantando dietro i paraventi" tells the story of a woman who takes the leadership of a group of pirates which was once at the orders of her dead husband . Olmi got us used to the mix of epic fable and historical tale but this time he also expresses his personal views on storytelling through an explicit use of a theatrical representation . All aspects of cinematography are at very high levels in this movie : excellent photography (the hands of Fabio Olmi are a big promise for Italian cinema) , beautiful sounds and striking dialogs even though in the Italian version the Chinese actors are not superbly dubbed . Everything is very well mixed together and the spectator truly has the feeling to live in one of those ancient oriental fables . I personally think this title doesn't achieve the formal perfection of "Il Mestiere delle armi" or "L'albero degli zoccoli" but is still very enjoyable and well made reminding me the more poetic version of Olmi that we've seen in "Il segreto del bosco vecchio". Surely one of the best movies of 2003 .