- This essay will inevitably contain spoilers!
'SHOESHINE' (1946)
- A review by Richard Harrison (2006)
Shoeshine is one of those films that DVD was made for, but,
amazingly, the Eureka release is the first true issue of a film
universally considered a landmark of European cinema. The only previous
releases were both American: a swiftly-withdrawn Image Entertainment
DVD and an earlier (and rarer) New York Film Annex video, the
unavailability of which caused Shoeshine to form a legendary
reputation as one of those tantalising films that one had heard of but
could not obtain. Fortunately, the Eureka release does not merely offer
a quick snack of relief to those eager souls keen to indulge but offers
them a vast buffet of sumptuously exotic sweetmeats guaranteed to
appease their most ardent filmic desire.
The context of Shoeshine is inextricably bound to Neorealism- a
spontaneous style of filmmaking popularised in Italy whose Cinecitta
studios had been largely destroyed as World War Two intensified. Forced
out into the streets, and taking their inspiration from contemporary
events and people, were a new breed of cinema artists- Roberto
Rossellini, Luchino Visconti, Cesare Zavattini and Vittorio De Sica
among them. These directors utilised a new kind of ‘life-as-it-is’
realism and combined this with highly affecting powerful stories of
great humanity and power. Thus, the 1940s marked a golden era of
Italian cinema, one for which it will always be remembered.
Shoeshine opens with a great sense of exhilaration as boys, as
yet undefined or named, gallop through the countryside on horses.
Subsequently, we learn that they are not rich enough to own the horses
they ride but are merely experiencing brief moments of freedom before
returning to the harsh realities of war-time Italy. Our two leading
characters, Pasquale and Giuseppe, have an affinity to one particular
horse- Bersagliere, and wish to buy him outright. Here, an immediate
problem is posed for our young protagonists- they need to find money
they do not have in order to possess what they truly desire. Returning
to shine the shoes of the American G.I.s (hence the film’s title), the
boys’ speech and behaviour soon reveals the true state of their daily
lives. Giuseppe comments that his parents will not care about him and
his friend Pasquale says that ‘money has no value nowadays’. These are
boys who are neglected by their elders and hardened by the commercial
nature of wartime society- indeed, Pasquale’s parents are subsequently
revealed to both be dead- he is forced out on his own. The life that
both boys lead is one that forces children to become premature adults
and circumvent the law in order to survive. It is this that leads them
to accept stolen American blankets to try to sell to the fortune-teller
which precipitates her denunciation of them for alleged monetary theft.
It is the unfounded nature of this allegation that links to the air of
injustice that permeates the whole of the film which refuses a
Hollywood-esque sense of fairness and re-established equilibrium. Thus,
if Shoeshine had been made in America, it would probably have
ended up with the boys being rescued from a life of delinquency and
adopted into a surrogate, loving family. Shoeshine does not
utilise such a solution, however, and paints a grimly authentic
portrait of wartime Italy devoid of the niceties of a happy ending.
This basis in harsh reality is fed through a highly marked visual style
that also signifies Neorealism- in this case, after the fortune-teller
denounces the boys in a sequence dominated by ominous music and dark
shadows and they are taken away in the police van, the mise-en-scene
and framing shows their entrapment. The boys reside on the left hand
side of the frame, separated by bars from the carefree youngsters
playing in the street (right of frame) who are also brightly lit as if
theirs is a different world of equality and fairness. Then, the two
boys move toward the front of the van (and also us the audience) but
bars separate them from the front (and therefore from us). The camera
then cuts to a point-of-view shot of the bars, now in the foreground,
through which can be seen the prison. The composition of these shots
suggests the boys are trapped, not merely in the police van but in a
wider society- an adult one devoid of justice or compassion. The result
of this sequence of shots is a terrific empathy for the pair,
heightened by the tone of the music which indicates prison will be a
trying and chastening experience.
Perhaps the overriding sense throughout Shoeshine is the state
of the country as exemplified in the prison which is overcrowded with
young boys and its staff who seem (with one exception) to lack any
sense of feeling for the sheer waste and injustice inherent in such a
situation. The one exception to the corrupt officials is Bartoli, whose
narrative task it is to highlight the plight of those in the cells-
‘these boys have been in jail for months’ he states sadly, adding later
‘these are only boys’. Thus, a sense of contrast is established between
the adults and the children, an ironic gulf of social equality as the
latter are encouraged to become the former in order to prosper yet when
they do they are imprisoned whilst the authority’s seemingly endless
‘investigations’ take place. This contrast is evident in the next scene
as the boys’ food is sampled by an official and deemed ‘not bad’ and
‘passable’ whilst other adults eat loin steak and hesitate to choose
from a fine menu. De Sica includes such moments to heighten the
contrasts between what’s fair and what isn’t, the contrast strengthened
by the way the boys are treated (Pasquale is separated from Giuseppe
and placed in a different cell, the pettiness of the officials evident
as they prevent Giuseppe from giving his friend some of his food parcel
from home).
The purpose of the pair being imprisoned is, of course, to draw from
them the truth regarding unlawful behaviour and the names of those
involved. The sequence where this is actually done recalls the savage
treatment of Manfredi in another Neorealist classic, Roberto
Rossellini’s Rome, Open City (1945), as Giuseppe is taken from
Pasquale’s view and, as far as Pasquale knows, viciously beaten. In
reality, and in a technique resembling cinema itself, Pasquale is only
shown a part of the whole- he logically infers that the Chief is
hurting Giuseppe even though we know the boy is elsewhere. As Pasquale
betrays Attilio (Giuseppe’s brother), the soundtrack becomes mournful,
symbolising as much as anything the change in the boys’ relationship
that the betrayal will create- things will never be the same again.
Even though the narrative drive (a hierarchy of knowledge and
unavoidable betrayal, ironically through a sense of extreme loyalty),
has been firmly established, De Sica is not afraid to offer little
vignettes of life in prison to show the base injustice of life in
wartime Italy, particularly for the young. An example of this is the
boy whose mother cannot see him, so sends a stranger. The
cinematography and mise-en-scene combine to show the expectation
shattered- the boy’s hopes are dealt such a blow that his eyes well up
with tears in a truly affecting moment. Such vignettes are dotted
throughout Shoeshine’s structure, and combine with great effect
to the overall impact of the film.
Throughout the majority of Shoeshine there is also an
over-riding sadness: following Pasquale’s enforced betrayal of Attilio,
Giuseppe fights his former friend in the courtyard then in turn causes
Pasquale to suffer by becoming an accessory in an underhand plot to
plant a file in Pasquale’s cell. This time, however, the beating is
real- Pasquale is hurt, and Giuseppe cries for it to be stopped. The
violence of the beating is to be seen in the marks on Pasquale’s back
in the scene in the showers yet the friendship between the two boys is
resurrected as Giuseppe supports his old friend (Pasquale) against his
new friend (Arcangeli) as the two fight. The result of this brawl is
isolation for Pasquale, and a downturn in the fortunes of both boys.
De Sica’s film moves on from bad to worse, from prison to court. The
connotation of a law court is one of justice but this fails to
transpire. Instead, despite the lawyer’s reference to ‘children who are
all alone’ there are fines and imprisonment for Giuseppe, Pasquale and
Attilio. Thus, the incarceration in prison, once of an uncertain
duration, is made firm- and it prompts the boys’ attempted escape,
ironically during a cinema showing that includes a newsreel entitled News
From The Free World. This sequence is extraordinary for it
presents, on the one hand, a sheer desperation (in the escape) yet, on
the other, a heart-rending sadness (a boy called Raffaele is trampled
in the chaos and later dies). The mid-evening escape features stunning
cinematography as the day draws to its close with the escapees still on
the run- it is in many cases a flight for their very lives.
Pasquale’s own escape plan becomes a result of Giuseppe and Arcangeli’s
burst for freedom, but he is armed- they are not. Ultimately, midst an
idyllic pastoral setting on a bridge in the country, far away from
familiar surroundings, Pasquale strikes Giuseppe who falls from the
bridge, hitting his head on the rocks below. Then, as Pasquale cries in
heartfelt anguish for his friend watched by the motionless authorities,
Bersagliere slowly trots off. This ending, as unexpected and relentless
as it is, does not attempt to offer a solution to the downtrodden
nature of wartime Italy, nor a comforting solution to the problems of
youth. Instead, it presents a possible reality- a believably logical
sequence of events to highlight what could (and did) go on. Of course,
the irony is that the horse leaves the boys- its slow trot into the
night contrasting sharply with the opening of the film which is filled
with light and gaity, expectation and excitement.
The print quality of Shoeshine is excellent and sharp, whilst
the extras add significantly to the overall experience. These include a
very accessible, user-friendly commentary from Professor Bert Cardullo
and a superb 24 page illustrated booklet which includes reviews by
James Agee (1947), Pauline Kael (1961) and comments made by De Sica
himself back in 1955. In summation, the DVD is a model of committed
dedication- Shoeshine has finally received the treatment it
deserves which enables everyone to discover its many charms and its
incandescent beauty.
Shoeshine is available on DVD from Eureka as part of their
‘Masters of Cinema’ series.
Eureka website
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