Posto, Il (1961)

"Il Posto" (called "The Sound of Trumpets" in the US) is a quiet, sadly humorous movie about the dehumanization of two people who obtain "a job for life" in a major Northern Italian corporation.

Domenico ((Sandro Panseri) and Antonietta (Loredana Detto) are two young adults who meet when both of them apply for a job in Milan. There is definitely a chemistry between the two, and, when both are hired, we expect that their relationship will progress.

The progress of this relationship is confounded when the two are assigned to different buildings, with different shifts and different lunch breaks.

We become aware--before the protagonists do-- that the promise of "a job for life" is a double- edged sword. With the job comes the realization that white collar workers here become cogs in a machine in which boredom and stifling repetition rule.

See this picture because it's a small, quiet, neorealist gem. (Olmi went on to direct "The Tree of Wooden Clogs," one of the finest movies I have ever seen. This early movie shares the quiet, observant quality of Olmi's later masterpiece.)

In 1928, King Vidor directed a terrific silent film, "The Crowd". It was about a young couple who live in a big and impersonalized city and it portrays their struggle to maintain their sanity in such a world. In so many ways "Il Posto" is like an updated Italian version of this silent classic.

Ermanno Olmi directs this movie is a sparse and almost documentary style--with very subdued performances and a heightened sense of it just being everyday life. There is no pretty soundtrack, the lighting is often very naturalistic and the acting is very simple and low-key. Some may dislike this, as it does make the movie much slower and less exotic than a typical film--even a typical Italian film. I see it as a further evolution of the Italian Neo-realism style of film making--something that can be super-effective.

Domenico and Antonietta are two very young people (to me they appear about 17) that seek out jobs at a mega-company--one that is very bureaucratic and impersonalized. They not only interview for the jobs but go through very exhaustive testing until they learn that they do have jobs. Much of the film portrays all the many steps needed to obtain the jobs. Unfortunately for Domenico, the job he wants as a clerk is filled, so he takes a job as an office boy until something better is available.

For 93 minutes the film tells the story of these young people. However, there really are never any fireworks or excitement--just a straight telling of this period in their lives. Not surprisingly, the young and not particularly flashy actor and actress that starred in this film had very limited film careers--Loredana Detto (Antoinetta) only appearing in this film and Sandro Panseri (Domenico) only having three credits. They just seemed like ordinary folks--a strength in this movie but not something that will usually cause an acting career to flourish.

Overall, this is a well-made but not particularly exciting film. I can respect the subdued style but wish the film had just a bit more energy--though I can understand that would have most likely not been the sort of film they had envisioned. Its mundane nature IS the point of the film--that life can be very ordinary and monotonous. It just makes for a tough viewing experience, however. If you are very patient, the film is well worth your time.

Domenico is a young man in a working class family with his parents and younger brother. With the need for money, he decides to climb the corporate ladder. The pay is low and the term is expected to be a lifetime. He joins a large group applying to join the joyless, bureaucratic world. He falls for fellow applicant Antonietta "Masetti". Her family is also in need and it's their first job. The aptitude test is a maze of Kafkaesque hurdles. The young neo-couple gets two jobs in different departments. There is no place at the clerical position for Domenico who becomes a messenger but he spends most of his days waiting at a desk in the hallway.

Ermanno Olmi is a lesser-known great Italian director. He's overshadowed by his more famous compatriots. That does not mean that this movie is any less than the great cinema of that Italian era. This portrays a young man on the verge of a long journey which may not go anywhere professionally and go everywhere personally. It gives a memorable vision of the corporate world. The young love has an adorable awkwardness. These are kids trying to be adults. It leaves the movie with a realism of post war Italy and a surrealism of the new emerging corporate culture. This is a great movie.