Cinema has entered our homes through television, and with it comes a new way to entertain ourselves—but also to learn and understand the world. Like literature, film can take any subject and make it its own: adventure, fantasy, history, travel, current events; war and romance, love and conflict; invention and reality.
For years now, some filmmakers have taken on the world of disability, difference, hardship, and social exclusion. Overcoming the fear that audiences would stay away, repelled by uncomfortable images, they have dared to show the public real stories—stories people have actually lived. Some have created masterpieces, earning unexpected acclaim. Others have only partly succeeded and failed. There have been positive reviews, violent reactions, especially at the start.
We thought it worthwhile to address this on Ombre e Luci for several reasons. First, because the body of work is now substantial, and it helps to know how to navigate films that touch so many of our readers closely. Watching a film gives us the chance to talk together afterward, to discuss it, to criticize and approve.
We can learn about approaches, attitudes, educational methods, and therapies we might never have encountered. And we can ask ourselves how much these films matter to those who watch them—especially to people living through situations like the ones on screen.
This is an attempt, a first step. For four well-known films, we asked for reactions from four people who live the situations those films portray: two young people with disabilities, a mother, and a sister.
Their answers come from what they actually felt. Their reactions are personal and revealing—perhaps not shared by everyone. We thank them for helping us start this conversation with our readers about a difficult subject, one that will certainly grow and develop in important ways ahead.
- Mariangela Bertolini, 1997