Night of the Shooting Stars Reviews

On the night of San Lorenzo (a magical evening during which many Europeans believe wishes may become fulfilled), a shooting star darts across the sky, sending a grown woman into a recollection of her childhood. As the star passes her window, she relates the events that took place in her small town during the last days of WWII: With the advancing Allies pushing the last remnants of the German army out of Italy, the Nazis enact sick and desperate revenge on the Italian civilians, staging vicious attacks on the old men, women, and children left in the villages. The members of the small town of San Miniato are divided in their opinions as to whether to remain in their village and risk dealing with the Germans, or to attempt traveling across the back roads, dodging attacks from sadistic Blackshirts, in an effort to meet the advancing Allies. One group made up of various segments of the town's population sets out on the journey, with all the old prohibitions breaking down as the people pull together in an effort to survive. An elderly peasant man with natural leadership ability is chosen to guide the group to safety. Despite a few voices of dissent, the old man brings ingenuity to his assignment and keeps the group's spirits up by showing a humane concern for all and encouraging them to watch out for one another. During the journey, he develops a romantic relationship with an aristocratic woman who has always admired him but could never let him know because of their difference in class. Once he has guided the group out of danger, however, the townspeople immediately resume the societal roles that previously divided them. The Taviani brothers, who gained international attention with 1977 Cannes Film Festival Golden Palm winner PADRE PADRONE, approached this film in much the same way as they did their earlier effort--using an imaginative combination of events and showing them as remembered by the narrator as she reminisces about the magical moments of her childhood--and came up with a dazzling, immensely popular film that earned them the Special Jury Prize at Cannes.