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Il Posto
Il Posto
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Il posto
US DVD cover
Directed byErmanno Olmi
Written byEttore Lombardo
Ermanno Olmi
Produced byAlberto Soffientini
Starring
  • Loredana Detto
  • Sandro Panseri
CinematographyLamberto Caimi
Edited byCarla Colombo
Music byPier Emilio Bassi
Production
companies
Distributed byTitanus
Release dates
Running time
97 minutes (restored version)
CountryItaly
LanguageItalian

Il posto, English titles The Job or The Sound of Trumpets,[2] is a 1961 Italian comedy-drama[3] film directed by Ermanno Olmi, his second feature film.[4] Screened at the 1961 Venice Film Festival, it received numerous national and international awards.[5] In 2008, the film was included in the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage's 100 Italian films to be saved, a list of 100 films that "have changed the collective memory of the country between 1942 and 1978."[6]

Plot

[edit]

Domenico forgoes the latter part of his education, because the family has chosen his younger brother to take up studies. Applying for a job at a big city corporation, he goes through a series of exams, physical tests and interviews. During a brief respite from the tests, he meets Antonietta, a young girl who has similarly forgone her schooling to earn money to support herself and her mother. Through the course of this meeting, they have coffee at a local cafe and shyly discuss their ambitions and lives. Domenico is attracted to her, but they are quickly separated when they land jobs in different departments.

A superior informs Domenico that although he passed the tests, no clerical positions are available; he agrees to take a job as a messenger in the meantime. He is instructed by employee Sartori, who works next to the accountants' office. Trying to find Antonietta, Domenico sees her one day, leaving the building among two other young men. He does not approach her, but later bumps into her during his errands. She invites him to join her at a New Year's Eve party held for the workers, which he decides to attend later in the evening.

Arriving at the party realising Antonietta's absence, he accepts the invitation of an older couple to sit with them. He observes the other guests dancing and having fun, while he remains silently in the company of the couple. When an older woman asks him to dance, he is hesitant at first, but later accepts her invitation, drinking and joining in the party. The night culminates in a simple and free dance in which all the guests participate.

When Domenico returns to work, he is offered the vacated desk of recently deceased employee Portioli of the accountants' department. Before being able to settle into the desk, however, the older staff move up in the rank order, forcing him to take a dimly lit desk in the last row.

Cast

[edit]
  • Loredana Detto as Antonietta Masetti
  • Sandro Panseri as Domenico Cantoni
  • Tullio Kezich as examiner
  • Guido Spadea as Portioli
  • Mara Revel
  • Guido Chiti
  • Bice Melegari
  • Corrado Aprile

Release

[edit]

Il posto opened in New York on 22 October 1963 under the title The Sound of Trumpets.[1] Failing to find an audience on its initial release, it was given a re-release in January the following year on the occasion of the release of Olmi's follow-up film The Fiancés.[7]

Awards

[edit]

Legacy

[edit]

Il posto was restored by the Cineteca di Bologna Foundation and Titanus in 2018[8] and selected to be screened in the Venice Classics section at the 75th Venice International Film Festival.[9]

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia
from Grokipedia
Il Posto (Italian for "The Place" or "The Job") is a 1961 Italian neorealist comedy-drama written, directed, and produced by , marking his second feature-length work after Il tempo si è fermato (). The film centers on 17-year-old Domenico Cantone (played by newcomer Sandro Panseri), a working-class youth from the small town of Meda who relocates to to take an entry-level clerical position at a massive, impersonal corporation, sacrificing his education to support his struggling family. Through Domenico's experiences—marked by bureaucratic drudgery, fleeting moments of youthful romance with colleague Antonietta (Loredana Detto), and the gradual erosion of his optimism—Olmi offers a poignant critique of Italian industrialization and the dehumanizing effects of corporate conformity. Shot on location in with a largely non-professional cast and Olmi's signature blend of documentary-style realism and subtle , Il Posto captures the quiet alienation of in 1960s . The narrative unfolds over a few weeks, from Domenico's grueling job entrance exam to his first awkward steps in the hierarchy, emphasizing themes of lost innocence and the transition from rural simplicity to urban anonymity. Olmi, drawing from his own background in industrial documentary filmmaking for Edisonvolta, infuses the story with authentic details of office routines and class dynamics, avoiding in favor of understated humanism. Upon its release, Il Posto received widespread critical acclaim for its sensitive portrayal of and , earning a perfect 100% approval rating on based on contemporary reviews. The film premiered at the 1961 , where it won the OCIC Award, the Italian Film Critics Award, and the City of Award. It also secured the British Film Institute's Trophy for the most original feature by a British or Commonwealth director (awarded to Olmi as an emerging talent) and the Award for Best Director in 1962. Over time, it has been recognized as a cornerstone of Italian cinema, influencing later works on labor and , and was included in the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage's "100 Italian films to be saved" in 2008.

Production

Development

Ermanno Olmi transitioned to feature filmmaking after directing over 30 short documentaries in the 1950s, primarily industrial films for the Edison Volta electricity company in , where he worked as an assistant director and organizer of employee activities. His debut feature, Time Stood Still (1959), marked this shift from to narrative cinema, with Il Posto (1961) as his second feature, building on his observational style honed through documentaries. Olmi's approach drew brief influence from neorealist predecessors like and , emphasizing authentic locations and everyday human struggles. The film's inspiration stemmed from Olmi's personal experiences of moving from rural to urban as a in 1933, and his observations of widespread rural-to-urban migration in during the 1950s economic boom amid Italy's post-World War II economic transformation. These migrations, driven by industrial growth, informed the story's exploration of a young protagonist's dislocation in a modernizing society. Olmi co-wrote the screenplay with Ettore Lombardo, concentrating on themes of bureaucratic rigidity and the disillusionment of youth entering the workforce, capturing the psychological toll of conformity in post-war Italy. The script emphasized subtle character development over dramatic plot, rooted in Olmi's documentary ethos of unadorned realism. Production was handled by the companies Titanus and 24 Horses, with producer Alberto Soffientini playing a pivotal role in securing funding and supporting Olmi's vision for an intimate, low-budget project that aligned with his neorealist-inspired aesthetic. Soffientini's involvement ensured the film's completion despite its modest scale, facilitating Olmi's focus on authentic storytelling.

Casting and Filming

For the casting of Il Posto, director employed non-professional actors, including leads Sandro Panseri as Domenico and Loredana Detto as Antonietta, selected from the area and surrounding towns in to bring authenticity to the roles. Supporting players, such as the job candidates, were also drawn from local technical schools and everyday residents, enhancing the film's naturalistic portrayal of working-class life. The key technical crew included Lamberto Caimi, who handled the black-and-white 35mm photography; editor Carla Colombo; and Ettore Lombardi, all contributing to the 's intimate, unadorned aesthetic. Principal photography took place on location in , utilizing actual corporate offices and modest apartments to depict urban routine, alongside rural towns in for the protagonist's hometown scenes, with Caimi's camerawork relying on natural and —such as hidden-camera street shots—to capture unfiltered realism. Produced on a modest of $55,000 by 24 Horses with a small , the was shot over several months in 1960, allowing Olmi to emphasize among the non-professionals and a documentary-style approach that prioritized direct sound and long takes for psychological depth. This method drew briefly from Olmi's prior experience directing industrial documentaries, fostering the project's observational intimacy.

Story and Characters

Plot

The film centers on Domenico, a shy 17-year-old boy from the small town of Meda near , whose working-class family faces financial hardship. Urged by his parents to secure stable employment instead of pursuing , Domenico travels by overcrowded to the for an entrance exam at a massive industrial corporation during Italy's economic boom. At the company's imposing headquarters, Domenico joins hundreds of young applicants in a grueling selection process involving written tests, psychological evaluations, and interviews conducted by stern executives. During a break, he encounters Antonietta, a slightly older girl applying for a position; they exchange tentative words over and later stroll through Milan's foggy and construction sites, fostering an innocent mutual curiosity amid the urban transformation. Domenico passes the and is hired as a low-level messenger, beginning a routine of fetching documents, navigating endless corridors, and witnessing the rigid under indifferent supervisors. Assigned to the mailroom, Domenico befriends a gregarious older coworker who guides him through the drudgery of corporate tasks, from operating clunky machines to enduring petty office politics. He reunites with Antonietta, now in the typing pool, and their budding romance unfolds in stolen moments: shared lunches in the canteen, awkward outings where they discuss dreams of travel and books, and hesitant physical closeness that highlights Domenico's inexperience. However, their connection strains under mismatched shifts and the all-consuming demands of their entry-level roles. Tensions peak at the company's boisterous party in a garish , where Domenico anxiously waits for Antonietta amid tipsy colleagues and forced merriment; she arrives late, and they share a clumsy before parting ways, their spark dimmed by the surrounding . Shortly after, a mid-level colleague dies unexpectedly, prompting Domenico's reassignment to the vacant desk in a shadowy corner of the accounting department, symbolizing his deeper absorption into the impersonal machinery of industrialized labor. In the film's poignant close, Domenico settles into his new position alone after the deceased man's , fiddling with an obstructive desk lamp as the hum of office equipment fills the air; the camera withdraws to frame the vast, unyielding structure of the corporate building outside, capturing his quiet to a lifetime of routine in the heart of modern Italy's industrial expansion.

Cast

The cast of Il Posto primarily consists of non-professional actors, a deliberate choice by director to enhance the film's neorealist authenticity by capturing genuine, unpolished performances from everyday individuals. With only about 10 main credited roles, the ensemble underscores the film's intimate scale and focus on ordinary lives. Sandro Panseri, a 15-year-old discovered in his hometown of , makes his acting debut in the lead role of Domenico Cantoni, portraying the protagonist's quiet vulnerability with natural restraint. Loredana Detto also debuts as Antonietta Masetti, bringing a fresh, unaffected presence to the female lead; she later married Olmi in 1963 and did not pursue further acting. In supporting roles, Corrado Aprile appears as Domenico's father, contributing to the familial dynamics with understated realism. Guido Chiti plays a colleague in setting, adding to the workplace ensemble's everyday texture. Film critic Tullio Kezich makes a cameo as an executive, leveraging his authoritative demeanor for a brief but memorable figure. Other notable cast members include Mara Revel as a senior colleague, Guido Spadea as Portioli, and Bice Melegari in a bit part, all non-professionals who help populate the film's grounded world without drawing attention from the leads.
ActorRoleNotes
Sandro PanseriDomenico CantoniDebut at age 15, non-professional
Loredana DettoAntonietta MasettiDebut, Olmi's future wife
Corrado AprileDomenico's fatherSupporting, non-professional
Guido ChitiColleagueBit part, non-professional
Tullio KezichExecutiveCameo as film critic
Mara RevelSenior colleagueNon-professional
Guido SpadeaPortioliOffice role, non-professional
Bice MelegariBit partNon-professional

Style and Themes

Cinematic Techniques

The black-and-white of Il Posto, handled by Lamberto Caimi, employs long takes and natural lighting to capture the everyday textures of urban , emphasizing the film's neorealist roots while highlighting the protagonist's tentative navigation through unfamiliar spaces. Caimi's approach includes a shallow that isolates characters within bustling crowds, underscoring their emotional detachment amid the city's . This technique draws from Olmi's prior documentary work, incorporating handheld shots and observational framing to evoke an unscripted intimacy, as Caimi noted in discussions of their on-the-fly . Editing by Carla Colombo contributes to the film's slow pacing through elliptical cuts that compress the monotony of routine office life, allowing mundane actions to unfold without interruption and mirroring the repetitive grind of employment. The minimal use of music—limited to diegetic elements such as ambient office noises—reinforces this restraint, prioritizing natural rhythms over dramatic embellishment. The sound design relies on ambient recordings of Milan's urban environment, including street traffic and workplace hums, captured via direct sound to ground the narrative in lived reality. Subtle applications of silence heighten emotional tension during introspective moments, enhancing the observational quality inherited from Olmi's documentary influences.

Social Commentary

Il Posto offers a poignant of Italian industrialization, portraying the rural exodus as young people like protagonist Domenico Cantone leave the countryside for urban opportunities in amid the of the 1950s and 1960s. The film depicts this migration not as triumphant progress but as a disorienting shift, with Domenico arriving amid crowds on packed trains, symbolizing the mass movement driven by economic necessity. Once in the city, the narrative exposes the dehumanizing corporate of the modern , where endless corridors and hierarchical routines strip workers of agency, reducing them to interchangeable parts in a vast machine. Domenico's assignment to a dim corner in the department underscores this loss of individuality, as the film's portrayal of petty office rivalries and monotonous tasks highlights how urban industrial life erodes personal dreams and fosters alienation. The story also delves into coming-of-age themes and generational conflict, illustrating how Domenico's youthful innocence is gradually eroded by the compromises demanded by adult responsibilities. Facing family economic pressures—his parents' insistence on securing a stable job to support the household—Domenico navigates a world where personal aspirations yield to survival needs, marking a reluctant transition from boyhood freedom to constrained maturity. This generational tension is evident in interactions with older colleagues, whose resigned attitudes to corporate drudgery foreshadow Domenico's own potential fate, emphasizing a cycle of unfulfilled potential passed down through economic hardship. Gender roles emerge through the parallel struggles of Domenico and his colleague Antonietta, who are segregated into divisions, reflecting the era's inequalities and limited opportunities for women. Their brief romance serves as a fleeting of hope amid isolation, with stolen moments at a New Year's dance offering temporary escape, yet ultimately thwarted by mismatched schedules and societal constraints, underscoring the fragility of personal connections in a bureaucratic environment. Antonietta's own quiet endurance mirrors Domenico's, highlighting shared vulnerabilities shaped by expectations and economic realities. As an evolution of , Il Posto blends with introspective character studies, shifting from the overt poverty focus of earlier works like those of Rossellini to a subtler examination of psychological alienation in the prosperous post-war era. Olmi employs non-professional actors and authentic locations to ground the narrative in , but infuses it with a personal melancholy that critiques the spiritual costs of material progress, distinguishing it from neorealism's more collective social advocacy. This approach captures the quiet despair of individual lives caught in broader societal transformations.

Release

Premiere and Distribution

Il Posto had its world at the 1961 Venice International Film Festival out of competition, where it garnered critical acclaim and won the OCIC Award from the International Catholic Organization for Cinema. The film's debut highlighted Ermanno Olmi's emergence as a significant voice in Italian cinema, drawing praise for its authentic portrayal of working-class life. In , the film was distributed by and released on September 27, 1961, primarily in art-house theaters in major cities such as and to target audiences appreciative of its neorealist influences. Marketing efforts positioned Il Posto as Olmi's breakthrough feature, emphasizing its roots in while showcasing his shift toward intimate, personal storytelling derived from his own experiences as an office clerk. Internationally, the film saw release in the in 1962 under the title The Job, capitalizing on its subtle exploration of youthful disillusionment. In the , it arrived in 1963 as The Sound of Trumpets, distributed through art-house channels to underscore its on modern labor.

Box Office Performance

Il Posto achieved modest commercial success upon its release, particularly in , where its arthouse style and use of non-professional actors appealed primarily to critics and a niche audience rather than broad mainstream viewers. Produced on a low budget of $55,000, the film relied heavily on word-of-mouth promotion and critical acclaim from its premiere at the , where it won the OCIC Prize and the Italian Film Critics Award, rather than star power or large-scale marketing. Internationally, the film experienced stronger reception at festivals but limited theatrical distribution, resulting in restricted earnings; for instance, its U.S. release in grossed approximately $9,000. This underperformance relative to more commercial Italian films of the era was exacerbated by distribution limitations that confined its visibility to art-house circuits. In comparison, Olmi's later work (1978) enjoyed broader commercial reach, ranking eighth among the top-grossing films in for the 1978-79 season.

Reception

Critical Reviews

Upon its release in 1961, Il Posto received widespread praise from Italian critics for its naturalistic portrayal of working-class life and subtle depiction of social conformity, earning recognition as a fresh in Italian cinema. The film's use of non-professional , such as debutants Sandro Panseri and Loredana Detto, was lauded for delivering authentic, understated performances that captured the quiet struggles of youth entering the workforce. Internationally, Variety highlighted the film's "deceptively simple" plot enriched with "shadings and nuances," commending director Ermanno Olmi's "keenly observant camera" for its hidden street shots and close-ups that emphasized realism without a musical score. Olmi's directorial style in Il Posto was celebrated for bridging the raw intimacy of neorealism with a more psychological depth, focusing on the dehumanizing routines of corporate life through real locations and documentary-like observation. Critics appreciated how the film avoided didacticism, instead using lengthy takes and minimal dialogue to evoke the protagonist's inner alienation and the erosion of personal dreams amid bureaucratic drudgery. This approach was seen as a poignant of Italy's economic boom, blending humor and in sequences like the spoof of job tests. In retrospective analyses from the 2000s onward, the film has been acclaimed for its timeless exploration of universal themes like and urban isolation, with essays describing it as an "autobiographical" work that treats ordinary lives with the care of a master craftsman, surpassing neorealist precedents through its focus on elemental human dilemmas. Directors such as have cited its influence, noting visual echoes in their own films, while some observers have critiqued its deliberate pacing as occasionally languid, though this serves to deepen viewer empathy for the characters' subdued ordeals. The concluding party scene has been hailed as "one of the most sublime in all of cinema" for its poignant blend of community and solitude. Olmi himself reflected on the film's resonance, stating, "The sensation is that these choices of mine are not only mine but that others have them too."

Awards and Nominations

At the 22nd International Film Festival in 1961, Il Posto received the , recognizing its moral and spiritual values in cinema. It also won the Italian Film Critics at the same event, honoring its artistic merit as selected by national critics. Additionally, the film was awarded the City of Prize for its contribution to Italian cinema. In 1961, Il Posto earned the Sutherland Trophy at the British Film Institute's London Film Festival, awarded to the most original feature film by a first-time director. The following year, at the 7th Valladolid International Film Festival, it secured the Golden Spike for Best Film, praising its neorealist portrayal of working-class life. For the 1962 David di Donatello Awards, Ermanno Olmi won Best Director for Il Posto, marking an early highlight in his career and affirming the film's technical and narrative achievements. The film received nominations for Best Director (Ermanno Olmi), Best Actress (Loredana Detto), and Best Original Story (Migliore Soggetto; shared by Olmi and co-writer Ettore Lombardo) at the 1962 Nastro d'Argento Awards from the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists. In 1963, it was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film by the . These accolades, totaling six wins and four nominations from prominent national and international bodies, significantly elevated Olmi's profile as a key figure in post-neorealist Italian cinema.

Legacy

Cultural Significance

Il Posto marked a pivotal breakthrough for , establishing him as a key figure in Italian post-neorealist cinema through its intimate portrayal of working-class , drawn from his own decade-long experience as a clerk in . The film's observational style and focus on ordinary characters introduced a new level of that surpassed earlier neorealist conventions, setting Olmi apart from contemporaries like and . This success directly influenced his subsequent works, such as I Fidanzati (1963), which extended themes of workplace alienation and personal relationships in a similar non-professional and location-based approach. The film provides an iconic representation of Italy during the , capturing the downsides of rapid industrialization through the lens of a young rural migrant's entry into urban corporate drudgery. It depicts the alienation and loss of youthful dreams amid bureaucratic hierarchies and repetitive labor, reflecting broader societal shifts from agrarian traditions to modern wage work. As a bridge between postwar neorealism and modernist cinema, Il Posto is frequently studied in film schools for its subtle critique of these transformations and its emphasis on psychological disconnection in everyday routines. On a global scale, Il Posto has inspired directors across movements by centering the quiet struggles of ordinary lives amid labor and modernity, influencing the Czech New Wave filmmakers like and in their portrayals of social conformity. Its humanistic approach to working-class narratives echoes in the works of , , and even , who incorporated visual motifs from Olmi in films like . The film's resonance with international coming-of-age stories of disillusionment, such as and , underscores its role in broader discussions of modernity's impact on youth. In recognition of this enduring cultural role, Il Posto was included in the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage's 2008 list of "100 Italian Films to Be Saved," honoring works that shaped the nation's .

Restorations and Availability

In 2018, Il Posto underwent a significant digital restoration by Cineteca di and , enhancing the film's original black-and-white and to preserve its neorealist aesthetic for contemporary audiences. This effort was part of broader initiatives to safeguard Italian cinematic heritage, resulting in a 95-minute version that debuted in the section at the . The restoration involved meticulous cleaning of the original elements, stabilizing faded visuals, and refining audio tracks to highlight the subtle ambient sounds central to Ermanno Olmi's naturalistic style. These improvements have allowed later screenings to underscore the film's enduring exploration of youthful disillusionment and corporate conformity without altering its intimate, documentary-like tone. The restored print has facilitated wider availability through home media and digital platforms. The Criterion Collection released a DVD edition in 2003, featuring supplemental materials such as the interview "Reflecting Reality," where Olmi discusses the film's production and themes alongside critic Tullio Kezich, as well as Olmi's 1967 La cotta. In 2025, the film is accessible via streaming services including and the Criterion Channel, enabling global viewers to experience its poignant narrative of provincial life clashing with urban bureaucracy. Additionally, a limited-edition Blu-ray paired with Olmi's I fidanzati was issued by Radiance Films in January 2025, further expanding physical access with high-definition transfers derived from the restored elements. Festival revivals have played a key role in reintroducing Il Posto to new generations. In 2013, the (MoMA) in New York screened the film as part of its "Auteurist History of Film" series, emphasizing Olmi's influence on post-neorealist cinema. The 2018 Venice screening marked a triumphant return, celebrating the restoration while affirming the film's timeless relevance to themes of alienation in modern work environments. These presentations, often using the improved print, have revitalized appreciation for Olmi's subtle amid evolving discussions on labor and identity. As a of Italian cinema, Il Posto is preserved in national archives such as Cineteca Italiana, ensuring long-term protection of its original and restored materials for scholarly and public access. This archival commitment, combined with recent digital enhancements, highlights how the film's quiet observations of everyday struggles continue to resonate in restorations that bridge mid-20th-century with today's viewers.

References

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