Miracle in Milan (1951)

 Vittorio De Sica's "Miracle in Milan"


The general visual style, along with the subject matter, of Vittorio De Sica's 1951 film "Miracle in Milan" fits into the same style that is typical of De Sica's previous work. He helped establish the neo-realist movement in Italy that dealt with impoverished citizens in a post-war landscape. "Miracle in Milan" was much the same. However, "Miracle in Milan" finds De Sica experimenting with the format of neo-realism by injecting some magical realism. 

The film centers on Toto, an optimistic young man who finds himself in a shantytown on the outskirts of Milan. Toto brings the shantytown community together with his warmth and optimism and turns it into a bright, tight-knit community of people working together. When the community discovers that petroleum erupts out of the ground easily, a businessman who owns the land arrives to kick the inhabitants off, bringing the police with him. Suddenly, using the magical powers provided by an angelic dove, Toto is able to use magic to drive the police away. However, these magical powers are also used to grant the wishes of every homeless person in the shantytown, providing fur coats, elegant dresses, and other things. Once the police are finally able to get everyone locked away in a pattywagon, Toto releases them and they all fly away on flying broomsticks.

I almost can't tell if the surrealism and magical realism that is injected into the film makes the plight of our impoverished Italians that much more tragic. While watching, it felt very inexplicably dreadful, knowing that what I was watching was merely a fantasy. However, I couldn't tell if De Sica's rendition of this story was supposed to be euphoric and rallying. To me, it felt like a commentary of the nature of fantasy and reality, despite the intertwining of the two in the film's context. The magic of film is where this euphoric uprising of the downtrodden can take place. The bleak and harsh reality of realism exists only in the viewer's reality and the viewing of the film is an escape from this reality. In this way, the film reminds me of the ending of F.W. Murnau's 1924 silent masterpiece "The Last Laugh," in which the harsh realism of its character is remedied by the magical rendition of a happy ending by the film itself, in which the film lets the viewer know that only the medium of film can fix such a tragic finale. 

All in all, I very much liked "Miracle in Milan." There were many moments that I felt the magical elements became a little too silly or detracting and there were moments on the flipside that the magical elements brought about a surrealism that was completely intoxicating. The film was a very experimental piece amongst Vittoria De Sica's already accomplished work and adds a lot of flavor to his signature style.



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