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blincrepeau
IMDb member since February 2011
Reviews
Vito Bonafacci (2011)
Vito's story is one of conviction, repentance, and conversion
18 February 2011 - 1 out of 2 users found this review helpful.
A Review of the Film Vito Bonafacci
- Bob Crepeau
The title character in John Martoccia's film Vito Bonafacci is a rare example, at least in our time, of a person suddenly jolted into a quest for spiritual truth and the meaning of a previously unexamined life. Here is a story of wrenching inner struggle and conversion, a theme comparable to such powerful films as Tender Mercies, On the Waterfront, and The Mission. In fact, Vito's flashbacks to his youth, the sad state of his present life, and the possible horror of an unrepentant death remind one of Scrooge's one night transformation in the Dicken's classic.
Though similar to the above in theme, Vito Bonafacci employs its own unique style of presentation. Set within the richness of the Italian-American community, we realize as we journey with Vito on his quest for truth and meaning, that both European and American cultures rest on the foundation of traditional Christian values. Also, the authenticity of the characters in the film is strengthened by the actor's own Italian roots. Mike Rizzo, the car washer, and Father Dellos, for example, had only to be themselves to become completely believable characters.
Paul Borghese as Vito is outstanding as he accomplishes the most difficult task of communicating mental and spiritual conflict very effectively in a variety of ways. Vito's wife, the barber, the maid, the grandfather, the gardener, the young priest, and the nun each contributes to the authenticity not only of character, but of setting, plot, and theme as well. Vito's dead mother's admonitions continuously prod his soul searching through much of the film. The selective use of Italian with subtitles is most effective.
Mention must be made of certain technical elements that heighten the film's impact. Vito's angry rejection of his sumptuous breakfast near the film's opening scenes and his humble but eager reception of spiritual food near the end provide both dramatic contrast and a structural framework for the entire film. The unities of time and place are carefully maintained as we travel with Vito on his "long day's journey into light."
A number of excellent transitional devices sensitively connect various scenes. One example is when the camera rises in a grove of tall pines and then gradually fades into the magnificent interior of a Catholic church where it slowly pans downward from the arched ceiling to a nun in prayer. Finally, carefully chosen scenes of nature on the grounds of Vito's estate provide the viewer with brief interludes to absorb and contemplate the profound implications of what Vito is experiencing.
The central themes of this powerful film might best be summarized by citing three quotes - one ancient, one modern, one eternal:
The unexamined life is not worth living.
- Plato
We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started, knowing it for the first time.
- T.S. Eliot
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest.
- Jesus
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