Polvere di Napoli

This is a disjointed mishmash of five unconnected vignettes which shows that Italian cinema is more or less beyond resurrection. It may be possible that their best does not reach our shores. It is also understandable that this film has not been distributed commercially. After the first day's showing word of mouth publicity would close it down forever. (I saw it a museum screening.)

It is pointless to use as a point of departure DeSica's "The gold of Naples" as the maker of this film is doing. The comparison only accentuates the huge difference between the two film makers.

The protagonists of all the stories are lost souls one way or another who have not future in Naples or elsewhere. The actors do the best they can with the material, but there is not enough to work with here.