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The Circumstance

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The Circumstance
ItalianLa Circostanza
Directed byErmanno Olmi
Screenplay byErmanno Olmi
CinematographyElvidio Burattini
Edited byErmanno Olmi
Production
company
Distributed byItalnoleggio Cinematografico
Release date
  • 1974 (1974) (Italy)[1]
Running time
96
CountryItaly
LanguageItalian

The Circumstance (Italian: La Circostanza) is a 1973 Italian drama film written, directed and edited by Ermanno Olmi.[1] The film was screened at the 1974 San Sebastián International Film Festival, where it received a special mention.[1][2]

Plot

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Laura, a lawyer who comes from an upper-class Milanese family, leads an altogether placid life. After witnessing an almost-fatal motorcycle accident near her family's country home, she becomes obsessed with the young victim, leading to a series of flashbacks and introspective instants that probe the bourgeois life she leads.

Cast

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  • Ada Savelli as Laura
  • Raffaella Bianichi as Silvia, Laura's daughter
  • Gaetano Porro as Laura's husband
  • Massimo Tabak as Tommaso, Laura's second son
  • Mario Sireci as Beppe, Laura's eldest son
  • Barbara Pezzuto as Anna, Beppe's wife

Reception

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Critic Derek Elley titled The Circumstance a "romantic highpoint in Olmi's oeuvre" and "his most accomplished piece of work."[3]

Legacy

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The Circumstance was screened at Film at Lincoln Center in 2019 as part of a retrospective on Olmi's work.[4]

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "La Circostanza". Cinematografo (in Italian). Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  2. ^ "22 edition. 1974 Awards". San Sebastian Film Festival (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  3. ^ "THE CIRCUMSTANCE". Cleveland Institute of Art. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  4. ^ "The Circumstance". Film at Lincoln Center. Retrieved 3 March 2024.