Nuovomondo (2006)

Director:

Emanuele Crialese

Writer:

Emanuele Crialese (writer)

Release Date:

22 September 2006 (Italy)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Romance

Plot:

The story is set at the beginning of the 20th century in Sicily. Salvatore, a very poor farmer, and a widower...

Plot Keywords:

Farmer | Sicily | Widower | Quarantine | Immigration

Awards:

11 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Charlotte Gainsbourg	...	Lucy Reed
Vincenzo Amato	...	Salvatore Mancuso
Vincent Schiavelli	...	Don Luigi
Aurora Quattrocchi	...	Fortunata Mancuso
Francesco Casisa	...	Angelo Mancuso
Filippo Pucillo	...	Pietro Mancuso
Federica De Cola	...	Rita D'Agostini
Isabella Ragonese	...	Rosa Napolitano
Filippo Luna	...	Don Ercole
Andrea Prodan	...	Mister Del Fiore
Ernesto Mahieux	...	Dottor. Zampino
Marcelo Benassi	...	Il Gatto (as Paride Benassai)
Giuseppe Sangiorgi	...	Uomo Olive
Alessandra Fazzino	...	Santa
Giuseppe Culino	...	Dottore (as Giuseppe Cutino)

Also Known As:

Golden Door (Canada: English title) (France) (USA)
Ellis Island (Italy)
The Golden Door (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for brief graphic nudity.

Runtime:

118 min | Canada:112 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

Italian | English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | USA:PG-13 | Italy:T | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Netherlands:12 | Ireland:PG | Singapore:NC-16 | Germany:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Finland:K-3 | Taiwan:R-12 | Sweden:7 | New Zealand:PG | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Buenos Aires, Federal District, Argentina

Company:

Rai Cinemafiction

Trivia:

Vincent Schiavelli's character was supposed to be major in the movie; but unfortunately, Schiavelli died during the shooting of the film, and his character became a supporting character.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Che saccio (2008)

Soundtrack:

Sinnerman

"The Golden Door" personalizes the immigrant experience

"Nuovomondo (2006)" (shown in the U.S. as "The Golden Door") was written and directed by Emanuele Crialese. This film is different--and, I think, better--than most movies about impoverished people who leave Europe and come to the United States.

The film begins with scenes in a poor, rural region of Sicily. We always hear that Sicily is a rocky island, but you won't really understand the implications of that phrase until you see the first half-hour of "The Golden Door."

The middle section of the film is devoted to the long voyage to the U.S. Most immigration films show us ten minutes of people in the third-class section becoming seasick, and then show us the Statue of Liberty. Not this movie--we get a sense for life below decks, and it isn't charming. (We never actually see the Statue of Liberty, either.)

Finally, the typical movie will give us another ten minutes of Ellis Island, and then the immigrants are walking through New York's Lower East Side. Not here--the Ellis Island experience occupies about one-third of the footage.

Vincenzo Amato is outstanding as Salvatore Mancuso, who is bringing his two sons and his mother to the new world. Charlotte Gainsbourg is equally good as Lucy Reed, a mysterious Englishwoman who also speaks fluent Italian.

There are some strange touches in the movie, especially the sound track with songs by Nina Simone. There must be some symbolism there, but I couldn't make sense of it.

Another reviewer has already pointed out that this film will do better viewed in a theater rather than on DVD. Still, large screen or small screen, it's worth seeking out.