Everything seems to be wrong with Giuseppe Tornatore's most recent film, Baarìa. Indeed, everything that's wrong with Tornatore's films in general is concentrated in this movie about a boy, a mother, a father, a family, a town, a workers' party, a mountain, a dream, a cow, and some goats. Tornatore is famous for directing what many believe is an art house classic, Cinema Paradiso. But what he should be known for is making movies that are long, bloated, and packed with people who are all mouth and arms. Baarìa is mostly about this shouting business. Every Italian in this movie is loud and expressive. And every situation—crossing a street, sitting at a table, eating pasta—is combustible enough to explode these poor people right to the tops of their voices (arms and heads flying in every direction): "WHERE ARE YOU A-GOING????!!!!" "I'M A-GOING A-THERE!!!!" "WHY ARE YOU A-GOING A-THERE????!!!!" "BECAUSE THAT IS A-WHERE A-THERE A-IS!!!!"

The film is also about the transformation of a small town into a big and modern city—a transformation that's planned by a blind man and some corrupt politicians. The message at the end of the movie? The Italian Communist Party is as bad as any other political project or agenda. Indeed, the whole film is an attack on the principles of the workers' party and the aspirations of Italy's underclass. The leaders of the party are always betraying the people, and the people (the peasants and proletarians) are always betraying themselves. (Even a blind woman can't be tricked into voting in the interests of her own class.) No one on the streets has any real power; the city (wealth) is built by blind forces. When will Tornatore stop making movies? SIFF Cinema, Fri 7:30 pm; Sat 2, 7:30 pm; Sun 2, 4:45, 7:30 pm; Mon–Wed 7:30 pm.