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THE BLUE PLANET

1. Director: Franco Piavoli
2. Screenplay: Franco Piavoli, Neria Poli
3. Editor: Franco Piavoli
4. Photography: Franco Piavoli
5. Music: Messa per archi di Josquin des Préz
6. Producer: Silvano Agosti
7. Production: XI Marzo Cinematografica
8. Italy
9. 90 min.
10. 1982

The slowness, the suspended awe, the almost utter absence of dialogue, the ability to ‘hear’ the silence, and the awareness of all natural events are found in each work by Franco Piavoli, along with the utmost care for details and the need to gain total control over the film, ensured by the independent production. Almost a more detailed remake of a previous short film (The Seasons, 1966), The Blue Planet is a poetic masterpiece that tells the story of life through its great natural cycles. Starting from a verse by Lucretius “Birth is repeated in all things / and life is given to no one as property, but to all for use”, and with Leopardi’s L’Infinito in mind, Piavoli builds a sensual visual and acoustic poem where man’s voice is assimilated with the voice of the other animals, of water, of the wind, and uses an evocative editing style with similarities that are sometimes contained in the sequence: blades of grass blend with hair in a beautiful love scene. The film develops on three levels. In the background, organic evolution is just hinted at - waters, plants, animals, men. On a closer level, the cycle of days and seasons. On another yet, life in its most basic traits - playing and love, work and rest, cohabitation and aggressiveness. In 2008 this film was introduced at the New York Institute for Italian Culture by a unique figure - filmmaker Godfrey Reggio, a great admirer of Piavoli.