Happy as Lazzaro

Happy as Lazzaro - A Lost Innocence

 Is innocence possible in our modern world? Is it a dangerous or irresponsible act? Is it lost in the past? In a simpler time? Did we lose our naiveté? These are the questions that may be raised by this magical and heartfelt tale. We see it through a dreamlike, almost childish, yet realist atmosphere masterfully crafted by Alice Rohrwacher and her playful directing style. We plunge into a beautiful and humane vision of the world that questions the way we find ourselves nowadays. In a breath of fresh air, Rohrwacher shows us a unique vision of our world and invites us to evaluate what is happening to it - a world where innocence is an endangered species, a world where the innocent man is a lone wolf in the midst of a dark industrial jungle.

 This tale is divided into two parts set in two different times, with one part set in the idyllic countryside and the other set in the decadent city. It begins in the past, in an isolated pastoral village called Inviolata - which means inviolate, a metaphor to the way this village and the people living in it haven't yet been breached by the outside world. The only connection to it is a bridge that has been destroyed during a flood, cutting the village off. The village is ruled by a terrible and cruel noblewoman, the Marchesa Alfonsina de Luna - played by Nicoletta Braschi - who exploits the villagers for her tobacco production. The protagonist of this story is Lazzaro, a young peasant so pure and good that he may be mistaken as simple-minded - played in such a simple and moving way by Adriano Tardiolo. The film starts right off the bat with incredible naivety - with the men of the village singing outside the house where the women sleep. giving support to one of the young men who is trying to court one of the young women. This is done with such moving innocence it almost makes this film feel anachronistic in the landscape of modern cinema (this is a good thing, in my opinion). There is something so simple about this film that it almost seems like it belongs to the Old Hollywood films of the 30's like It Happened One Night and Bringing Up Baby. It is incredible how Alice Rohrwacher is able to recuperate this nostalgic feeling.

 The story revolves around the improbable and unusual friendship between Lazzarro and Tancredi, the son of the Marchesa - played by Luca Chikovani, as a young man, and Tommaso Ragno, as an adult. They meet one day after Marchesa brings him to Inviolata for vacation, while she oversees the labor of her subjects. Tancredi is a bored city boy out of place in the countryside - he is a displaced character in this first part, and because of this he becomes the object of Lazzaro's fascination. He is almost like a strange mythical animal from another world. They form a bond and Lazzaro holds their friendship extremely dearly. This bond is something that will transcend time and space. 

 This first part of Happy as Lazzaro is marked by a pastoral simplicity. There is even a simplicity in the character representing evil and oppression - the Marchesa - which is a contrast to the second part. It starts when the police find Inviolata. They find the villagers completely oblivious of the social changes that had happened in the outside world. A new world comes in contact with Inviolata and destroys the social structure that had been put in place. A world where nobody is the property of nobody and where everyone is free and equal. This marks the moment when things stop being so simple - when the villagers are sent to the city to be integrated into society. Lazzaro disappears, taking with him his innocence, leaving the villagers alone in a world they don't understand and without anything to hold onto.

 A few years later, Lazzari returns to life in a moment of mystical magic. He returns to a strange world as an anachronistic fragment of a lost past. He is faced with hostility and strange looks. He finds radio towers, immigrants and refugees. He tries to find Tancredi, thinking he is still waiting for him, walking aimlessly in an alien world that he thinks works the same way as Inviolata until he finds Antonia, one of the women of Inviolata - played by Alba Rohwacher. She takes him in, desperately, seeing in him a life she has long missed. When she brings him to where the villagers are living - a water reservoir - the others act with distrust, seeing in him a ghost from the past there to haunt them, reanimating old traumas.

 An interesting aspect to note is that the condition of the villagers hasn't changed in this modern "free" world, and perhaps it has even gotten worse. They live in an old water reservoir with no money, having to steal to survive. They have no apparent reason to live, having lost the connection to their land. They may have been given freedoms, but they have been rejected and forced to live as outsiders. The figure of the Marchesa has been replaced with something vague - the banks, the new predators of this post-feudal capitalist society. This is why Lazzaro's return is so important. He is a relic of the past, a simple and perhaps more innocent time in this complex and hostile world. 

 The tragedy is that this pure goodness has no place in today's world. That is why he is anachronistic. His innocence doesn't make any sense in this world anymore. Too much has happened: too much war, too much blood has been spilled, too much corruption. This is where Happy as Lazzaro diverges from Old Hollywood. Although this film is told from the perspective of a child-like character, it has an extremely realistic message, not falling into any escapisms or simplisms. Lazzaro is rejected by modern society, being a lone wolf in it.

 Lazzaro has brought a new happiness to his friends and made their life easier. Sometimes we must delve into our past memories and nostalgia - in times where things were simpler. But we must also move on with life. That is why Lazzaro must go back to non-existence. He stops as the others continue walking home - the magic must go back to nature. And this is one of the most emotional and beautiful moments in this magical story. Innocence is rejected by modern society but it's also necessary in order for us to remain sane and head forward. And Alice Rohrwacher does an amazing job with such an incredible screenplay and the humane way she deals with these issues.

 This tale ends with an emotional punch to our guts. And with the last frame in this magical film, Alice Rohrwacher sets herself as one of the most original and unique directors of nowadays - she is that wolf running in the opposite direction of the busy traffic of modern cinema.