Nanni Moretti's critique of Italian bourgeoisie in Caro Diario

Film Passage

Culture is a funny thing. When it comes to the national culture of any given country, the opinions and review of that culture can be in reverence and awe of the culture or it can be a complete and swift condemnation of the culture. Italian culture in particular is one culture that is either revered or condemned depending on who is doing the reviewing and what precisely is being looked at. Indeed, there is no shortage of people that look at movies like Coppola's Godfather trilogy and just stand in awe of Italian culture in general and that of La Cosa Nostra in particular. Rather than go for that sort of review and praise, the author of this report will instead focus on the words and observations engaged in during Nanni Moretti's Caro Diario. Translated, this title in English is "Dear Diary.

Moretti dancing to the classic Italian video

Analysis

Cover art for Caro Diaro

Before getting into the nuts and bolts of the scenes under review, it helps to know the aim of the film, when it was made and other important context that exists about all of the above. Indeed, the film was made in 1993 and is a clear analysis and, concurrent to that, a rather withering condemnation of how people act in Italian culture and the nasty habits and stereotypes, among other things, that are created by such animated and elitist discourse. Indeed, the author of this report sought out secondary opinions regarding the matter given that the author has no direct experience with genuine and real Italian culture within the country of Italy and in the national context of what leads people in that country to be as they are at times. Indeed, one blogger notes that the film can be seen as a "merging of several critical discourses directed at contemporary Italian bourgeoisie and intellectuals together with the social injustice that they perpetuate (Maquees, 2010).

Moretti encounters a person driving a fancy car in Caro Diaro

The forays of Moretti as he moves around clearly shows his hatred and disfavor towards what Italian society is devolving into. Rather than being about substance and national pride, it has become a devolving into consumerism of a perverse level. The aforementioned blogger notes that the amount of consumerism is at a "vulgar" level and Moretti clearly laments the pattern that is on full display. Another scene in the movie that drives this point home and then some is Moretti's review and reaction to the cinema of that same era, that being the 1960's. While this is technically a different scene than the one in which he is travelling about what has become modern Italy at the time, the film review is clearly an extension of the same feelings. As described by Ms. Maquees, "Italian culture has foregone its past refinement and desire for social justice in favor of vulgar mass consumerism" (Maquees, 2010). The second scene and set of reactions and elements of the film comes from Moretti's reaction to the work of Pasolini as compared to others that were making new films in the 1960's (Maquees, 2010).

Pasolini's Grave in Caro Diaro

As Moretti watches on, it is clear he is disgusted and taken aback by some of the things that he is seeing displayed and covered. Moretti makes a number of comments about the suburbs and style of Italy and this seems to dovetail with his love for Pasolini. A quote used by the blogger and that can be echoed here is that there was a "sacredness and poetry which the contemporary Cartesian world has lost" (Maquees, 2010). Moretti then transitions a bit and visits the grave of Pasolini. The grave is in a graveyard that is off the beaten path and the grave itself has not been kept up all that well. This becomes a metaphor for a wider neglect of what is "sacred" and thus what should be preserved and revered. As stated by Maquees, "Pasolini's neglected grave mirrors society's abandonment of fine cinema, and with it, the shunning of the poor in favor of capitalism" (Maquees, 2010).

The "scenery" as Moretti drives to Pasolini's grave

If there were a devil's advocate perspective to what is being perceived and seen by Moretti, it would be that capitalism can help advance a country in many ways. For sure, economic booms can lead to people that were poor in the past to be better off, if not much better off. However, it has to be granted and admitted that some people do nto end up succeeding or thriving despite the advances and progress of others and this is clearly something that the makers of Caro Diaro was trying to point out. When it comes to this endeavor, the portrayal of Moretti and the way in which the film is shot and portrayed is very spot-on. While some may embrace and love the new (at the time) architecture that was popping up, Moretti was clearly not a fan of the changes that were under way. Indeed, many people love to cling to the ostensible or perceived superiority of the past while others look towards a different future (IMDb, 2016).

Old Architecture Example in Caro Diaro

So much of what makes Caro Diario great is the selection of music. So much of the In Vespa section of the movie centers on Moretti riding around on his Vespa with music playing in the background. Even with the lack of spoken dialog, the actions and gesticulations of Moretti are rather interesting to watch. Indeed, he sometimes starts "dancing" on his Vespa by taking his hands off of the steering and flailing them around in a jovial way. Apparently, the pop song that is playing during this scene is a popular one in that part of the world. Other times, he veers the Vespa gently back and forth along the road. Other times he is just staring around in awe (or disgust) at what he is seeing. Something interesting about Moretti is that he engages people on the street and in their cars on numerous occasions. For example, Moretti gets off his bike and speaks to the man in the red Mercedes, the expensive sports car screen-capped earlier in this report. Moretti also passes by a more common looking car and has a discussion with a man that gets out of that car. In another clip, there is a young couple walking down the street along a red brick structure and Moretti approaches them as well and has a dialog with them (IMDb, 2016).

Sometimes the camera follows Moretti from behind or in front of him very closely. Other times, there are shots that are clearly meant to capture the architecture of the area. Much of the architecture is of the old style, like the one above. However, there are other scenes where the idea is clearly to show the new architecture and just how different it is (IMDb, 2016).

New Architecture Example in Caro Diaro

Indeed, there are two main situations that are portrayed. Sometimes, Moretti is the focal point. Other times, the scenery is the focal point. Other times still, there is a pointing to the oddity of a situation. For example, one of the scenes with the Mercedes shows a wide shot of the car and Moretti on his Vespa. The shot then closes in and shows Moretti angling his bike backward towards the car and a discussion then ensuing, as mentioned before. However, not all of the fun is on the Vespa. When Moretti is in the market and sees the dancing woman on the television set, he literally starts dancing in the store and goes so far as to using hand motions and drinking his beverage as he does so. The camera shot zips back and forth between a close shot of the television with the female dancer and Moretti's mimicry of the scene. It is clear that the passion and culture of prior Italian trends have his heart and he seems to be very happy has he is dancing in a silly manner in a public restaurant/market. However, he does not have a care in the world and continues to dance away. There is no sign of onlookers gawking at him or anything but one could certainly imagine people being taken aback by Moretti's rather flamboyant behavior (IMDb, 2016).

Conclusion

Caro Diario and the In Vespa section of the same drive the point home that cultures evolve and shift and this is especially true when there are economic booms and capitalism in full swing. While it is indeed unfortunate that some people fall through the cracks when everyone else is thriving, it is still encouraging to see Italy be where it was in the 1960's given what was going on a scant generation before during the tyrannical behavior of Mussolini not to mention the other Axis powers. That being said, culture does seem to devolve and get muddied up a lot when there are such shifts. There is most certainly good and bad and Caro Diario does give pretty good elements of both.