The lush, breathtaking beauty of the Alps, shot with painterly grace in natural light from frigid winter to redemptive spring, provides the physical and emotional backdrop for Maura Delpero’s visionary film “Vermiglio,” which won the Silver Lion at the 2024 Venice Film Festival
This singular portrait of an expanding family, set in the small, mountainous village of Vermiglio during the final days of World War II, follows a series of dramatic and consequential events following the arrival of a taciturn Sicilian soldier (Giuseppe De Domenico), who hides out in the town after deserting from the army
While there, the soldier develops a romance with the family’s eldest daughter, Lucia (Martina Scrinzi)
“Vermiglio” depicts the lives of a provincial family in a remote village suspended in time by the mores of a fading era
By evoking stories from his own family’s past, Delpero creates a deeply personal and human tale that recalls the great neorealist movement in Italian cinema, but through Lucia’s perspective, “Vermiglio” feels distinct and fresh
