Italianamerican

Italianamerican (1974)

*** (out of 4)

Martin Scorsese short has him and a film crew talking with his parents about their history in America. The premise of this thing doesn't sound too interesting but Scorsese's parents are great storytellers and that keeps this 50-minute film moving quite well. Scorsese's father is very funny in his storytelling and his beliefs and without question he's the highlight.

Turner Classic Movies shows this every once in a while but you can also find it on a R2 disc but I'm not sure if that's official or not.

Martin's grandfather arrived in America in 1901. My grandfather arrived in 1888, during the Great Blizzard. Martin's father recalls how Italians were treated by the Irish. During the Columbus Day parades, the Irish would make fun of the Italians, ending in a huge fist fight.

Like his father's family, my parents grew up in poverty. There were large families living in small living places. My ancestors came to America to work for a $1 a day. As a hod carrier, my grandfather carried bricks and mortar up and down ladders all day, 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. Even when he was dying from prostate cancer, he had to work, pissing blood, to support the family.

Life was not a bowl of cherries, yet my parents believed in the American Dream and worked hard, saving their pennies, to provide their children with a decent life.

If you are an Italian American baby boomer, you will relate to this film.

Sweet little documentary where Catherine and Charles Scorsese casually talk old stories of their immigration, childhood, cooking..etc Random stuff. It is one of those rare pieces of work that can put it's audience in good mood and can make us appreciate little things.

This is an intimate portrait of an era that doesn't exist anymore, and who knows whether it will come back ever again (at least in western countries). Personally the first generation born in the States from parents born in Italy should be the only one to be called American/Italian, the following one (Scorsese himself in this case) would "American with Italian roots", but that's just me... Anyway: touching discussion between Scorsese and his parents who, let's not forget, had some stints in the movie industry as actors. The dynamics between the father and the mother are so sweet and lovely that the bitterness of their experiences sits momentarily in the back row.

Love listening to them about who cooks better, who was working where, who couldn't speak English, having property on Staten Island (so to have small lot to grow some veggies), the long and harsh trip by boat.

Seeing Scorsese talking to them, eating at the table and organizing the shot is a pleasure. He was 28 if I'm not mistaken and ready to start working on Taxi Driver... what a time to be alive... This is a must see for not only those who scream "white privilege" (to maybe realize the world is not black and white... pun intended!) but also for aspiring filmmakers to open their eyes and see how much easier it is today to film and focus on a meaningful story, rather than spectacle.

I got to see a clip of this documentary when Martin Scorsese came to Providence, Rhode Island to accept an award on behalf of Brown University. We got to see a small clip from every directed film that Scorsese had made in his 40 plus year career. Out of all the films, Italianamerican got the biggest laughs and the longest applause. Having been the only Italian and the only person who did not attend Brown University that got into Brown's auditorium (the security was terrible) to see Scorsese, I enjoyed the realism that Scorsese captured by watching his parents be themselves in front of the camera. All the other Irish people who attended the event enjoyed the film as well, but not as much as me.