Rent Il Postino (1994)

A real gem - Il Postino review by MM

Don't miss this lovely film - a moving story, beautifully acted with wonderful Italian scenery - a 'slow' movie of authentic human interest.

Wonderful film - Il Postino review by PL

A wonderful film. Touching, nostalgic, brilliantly acted.

This should be very high on your list of must-sees.

Fantasy Island - Il Postino review by Steve

Sentimental Italian romance written into the real life exile of the poet, Pablo Neruda. The Nobel laureate was exiled from Chile by General Pinochet, who later had him killed. But this is a fantasy. He never lived on a beautiful island off the Bay of Naples nor assist in the courtship between a lovelorn Italian postman and a curvaceous local beauty.

And the exile happened in the 1970s. As well as relocated to Italy, the historic events are moved back to the '50s with the nation at the lowest point in its postwar economic decline. The politics is muted but there remains a faint echo of the contemporary appeal of Communism and how it was ruthlessly extinguished, including by the Mafia.

For a film in the Italian language this was a huge success in English speaking countries, maybe for its warmth and gentle humour. There's a once in a lifetime role for Massimo Troisi as the self-effacing postman and Philippe Noiret is a felicitous match as the wise poet. Maria Grazia Cucinotta has little to do other than look sexy and very Italian....

The problem is there's no third act and it runs out of story well before the fadeout. But it revived interest in love poetry, and Neruda. And with the gorgeous photography, the astonishing touristic locations, the period atmosphere and sincere performances- with a twist of melodrama- it brought a little old fashioned romance back into the multiplex.