THE ICICLE THIEF (1989)

Nichetti's film ( 'Ladri di Saponette' is the Italian title) is both an affectionate homage of 1940s neorealism and a critique of the effects of consumerism, and particularly Berlusconi's media, in 1980s Italy. Russ discusses the social historical background to the making of this film before we talk about Nichetti's background in circus, children's TV and adverts in addition to film directing. The film within the film is repeatedly interupted by TV adverts and cuts to a family watching at home until characters from one medium/story spill into the others. Comic moments are highlighted - definite spoiler alert for this one - before talking about influences from silent slapstick cinema in particular.Participants:Russ Kilbourn, Professor of Literature and Film, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario (Canada) http://rjakilbourn.com/Ken Barrett, visual artist, writer, podcaster and former neuropsychiatrist (UK) http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/The film: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097702/ Theme music: Tarantella composed by Stephen Brown.Portrait print by KB.A Brainland Collective production.#brainlandcollective #capolavoropodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.