Review of Last Victory, The

Introduction

A 2004 Best Documentary Award nominee at the European Film Awards, this documentary centres around the annual horse race in the town centre of the Italian town of Sienna. John Appel brings us the hopes and fears of one district within this town as they vie to win the annual race, Il Palio.

The film begins six weeks before the big race, and Appel centres on the district of Civetta. This district hasn`t won Il Palio since 1979 when, co-incidentally, they were last filmed. There is a palpable sense of optimism surrounding the fact that they are once more being filmed and confidence is high. We meet characters such as Edigio, 92 years old and hoping to witness one last victory before he dies, and Paolo, a young 21 year old who has the honour of being the official stable boy.

Video

Picture of broadcast quality rather than DVD standard, but then a sharp picture is not really required for this subject and on the probable budget that this sort of film commands. On the other hand, the cinematography captures the essence of Sienna and the beauty and splendour of the local architecture. The cameraman, Erik van Empel, won a Golden Calf at the 2004 Nederlands Film Festival for cinematography.

Audio

Dialogue driven documentary, all in Italian and sub-titled in English. Dialogue is still clear even if I couldn`t understand any of it. The music, composed by Wouter Van Bemmel, is suitably Italian in style and sometimes reminds me of The Godfather with its mournful tones.

Features

Text interview with director John Appel - very short, just a few pages of text at a fairly decent size so you`re not straining to read it.

Theatrical trailer

Trailers for other Metronome releases, all of which look like they could be pretty good: The Corporation, Spellbound, Bus 174, Last Party 2000 (named as `The Party`s Over` in the trailer…) and Amandla

Conclusion

I have to admit, this is something I would never have bought. I suspect this documentary has a bit of a specialised audience as well. That all said, I really enjoyed this film and found myself immersed in the midst of the Italian culture shown and also getting caught up in the pre-race hysteria and post-race reactions.

There is no narration, just running interviews with some of the people in the Civetta district - whether involved directly in the race or not. You get a really good sense of how community-driven this town, and presumably Italy, is and how much this traditional race means to everyone from the youngest to the eldest. We follow the elected Capitano around as he makes his preparations for the big day, making secretive deals and arrangements that will go with him to the grave. We see and feel the elation as Civetto draws the horse that won the previous Il Palio in the lottery that allocates the horses to each district. We sense the tension in the days and hours prior to the race and the resultant emotion at the finish. It`s all the more powerful as the camera simply lets the story unfold with no incisive or sympathetic interludes from the film makers.

At a time when this country`s traditions and sense of community seem to be deemed more and more irrelevant and out of step by the year, it is a nice feeling to immerse yourself deep into another culture for an hour and a half. You get a real sense of the community spirit that exists all year round but really comes to the fore for this annual event.

As I say, this film definitely has a limited appeal but is nonetheless very enjoyable. It`s quite simply a snapshot of a moment in history and in that sense the complete lack of commentary actually helps. I could see this film running on BBC2 or one of the digital channels quite happily where it might just attract the audience it deserves.