La Ricotta
I currently have a list of things to do before Pip arrives, and everyday I am working on this list because there are only a few days left! On days like these, I don’t actually feel like watching movies at all, and that actually reminded me of the fact that I was in a similar situation when I watched “La Ricotta”. It was basically the result of an optimization problem: How can I spend the least time watching something with the least effort while feeling very accomplished (i.e. having seen something I wanted to see for some really good reason)? Well, “La Ricotta” was shown at the Berlinale this year and it was on Youtube and it was short and a pleasant film. All of these made it the perfect choice – it satisfies my desire for a short film which also made me feel successful (in having seen another Berlinale film).
The danger of this kind of almost utilitarian thinking is that I tend to not take these films for what they are, and just focus on what I get out of them. I wasn’t emotionally open to let “La Ricotta” make me laugh or cry or even think too much. In concept, the film is absolutely fantastic, and I remember that I was amused while I saw it, but the movie is actually so much more. It’s comical and tragical at the same time, its humor is very black but there is also so much humanity in the absurdity of its sad ending scene. While I was most unimpressed when I saw the film, thinking about it in retrospect and about how the film crew made fun of our lovable, bumbling protagonist who is protecting his family, I am overcome with sadness and distaste for humanity. I thought the story was very memorable. As I said, I think the concept of the film is an amazing gem, but I am not sure if I was just personally not so fond of its execution (there is so much going on in this short little film) or if I simply was not in the mood for it.
I don’t like Pasolini enough to go to the exhibition on his life at the Martin-Gropius-Bau, but I certainly always am interested in seeing his name and indeed, “La Ricotta” was a worthy watch. Perhaps I should check out his Decameron? He he he.