Ciao, Professore!

This movie was quite interesting, especially to me, an education major. My favorite character was the little girl who kept telling the teacher "intimate and personal" secrets. I also liked the chubbier boy. The best scenes were when between the teacher and the individual students. They really showed how deeply he cared for the students, how he was really ready to go the extra mile to help these kids become educated. This was put in perspective by the "Letter." It seems that students who fell behind stayed behind and no effort was really made to keep them in school despite the raised age minimum for schools. This maestro made sure that all students were in school and then made education attainable for them. He spoke on topics that the students could understand and were relevant to their everyday lives.

One of the many issues that this film raised was the differences between the north and the south. The teacher could barely understand what the kids were saying. The principal even called him a "racist" because of his criticism of the southern school system. The janitor got very mad when he rang the bell to dismiss school because he believe that the teacher thought that he could run everything because he was from the north. The differences between region of Italy is very clear in this film and even had more subtle implications when Caterina moved from her small town.

Stylistically, I noticed a few things. The camera had very fast cuts whenever the kids talked to the teacher as a group. This added to the chaotic feelings that the teacher had. A lot of what the children said were prejudiced or dirty ideas, and this camera action made the ideas seem more widespread and overwhelmingly rooted in the minds of southerners.



Overall, a very complex and fascinating film.


Ciao, Professore!


(1992/1994 US)
Director:
Lina Wertmuller
Writers:
Alessandro Bencivenni
Leonardo Benvenuti
Cast
 Paolo Villaggio ... Marco Sperelli
 Isa Danieli ... The Principal
 Gigio Morra ... Custodian
 Ciro Esposito ... Raffaele
 Dario Esposito ... Gennarino
 Maria Esposito ... Rosiella

Plot Summary
 An Italian Northerner is accidentally sent to teach third grade in a small, impoverished, and troubled southern village. He must first find his students, who are busy working and then struggles to teach them in a rundown school. Both the teacher and the students impact one another in positive ways and change their outlooks on their surroundings and the rest of the world.