10. The Tree Of Wooden Clogs
Most movies are structured along the basic lines of a stage play or novel - they feature a beginning, middle and end, around which narratives unfold and characters face conflict and challenges. Some, on the other hand, prefer to eschew these conventions and present their ideas in a different style, which is the case for The Tree Of Wooden Clogs. A prime example of late-era Italian neorealism, The Tree Of Wooden Clogs depicts life as it slowly unfolds in the Italian region of Lombard, where peasants toil in a constant struggle to earn a living and battle the elements which impact the landscape upon which they rely to survive. Using local farmers rather than professional actors, director Ermanno Olmi crafts a film which feels more like a rich, detailed landscape painting than a narrative work of art. There is a political undercurrent running through The Tree Of Wooden Clogs but this is by no means a political movie - rather, it's a compassionate examination of the banality of every day life. The realism was extended to grim scenes of animal slaughter, which the sqeamish should avoid at all costs.