Il Posto (1961)

 Ermanno Olmi's "Il Posto"

Going into Ermanno Olmi's 1961 film "Il Posto," I wasn't sure what to expect. After having watched the film, I still don't know what to make of it. I was never familiar with Ermanno Olmi or his work. "Il Posto" was Olmi's second feature-length film after switching from documentary to fictional narratives. Utilizing neo-realism that had cemented Italy as a foundation of global cinema for the past two decades, Olmi was able to elevate the aesthetic into the more tonal works that would arise from global cinema in the 1960s.

The film centers on a teenager, Domenico, who forgoes his education and travels to the big city to get a low-level job at a major corporation. While applying the job, he interacts with Antonietta, a young girl who similarly has forgone her schooling to earn money to support her mother. Domenico receives a job as a messenger and spends his time trying to find Antonietta again, despite their differing schedules. 

The main takeaway, for me, from the film is how unassuming it is. The film plods along with a sense of uncertainty, much like our protagonist. The film is very much a coming-of-age story, however, it tonally plays like someone more esoteric. The main conceit is a boy in love, but the surrounding thematic environment of the corporate elements render this main plot point moot. 

Because of this tonal imbalance, "Il Posto" is a very strange film to me. There's a quiet awkwardness to it that also somehow pointedly criticizes the coldness and alienation that comes from the integration of corporate culture into society. This is what I mean when I say that the main plot point is rendered moot. Our young protagonist is a stranger in a strange land, made only stranger by the dehumanization of an enterprise morphing its employees into faceless assets.