Full of Life (1956) : Beyond Ethnic Stereotypes

[moira finnie]

I caught up with Full of Life(1956) this afternoon, thanks to Mongo's heads up on TCM's message board. It's been out of circulation for too, too long. What a joy to see Richard Conte playing a decent, nurturing human being for once in his long, too often villainous career. One of the joys of this movie is the portrayal of Italian Americans as creative, loving and complex individuals instead of the violent walking cliches that they are so often depicted as in numerous movies.

While the portrayal of Conte's father (Salvatore Baccaloni) and mother (Esther Minciotti) were somewhat exaggerated, of course, their volatile personalities and wise view of life were not entirely outside of reality either, at least in my experience growing up with lots of Italian kids as friends. I also found that Judy Holliday's character was interesting since she's pretty much cranky, "barefoot and pregnant", but the thoughtfulness of the actress and the script saved her from the limitations of that role as well.

Though I've not a drop of Italian blood, I'm glad to see a story of real Italians told on film, especially since, if you're as lucky as I've been, you've been embraced, (literally and figuratively), by warmhearted Italian friends and family from childhood on. I honestly can't watch any of The Sopranos or many of the well made movies allegedly about Italians in America due to the level of violence shown and the brutal damage these cliches do to the average American image of a great people who've given so much to this country in every sphere of endeavor. I realize that there is a kernel of truth in them and a great deal of art at times, but Full of Life is much closer to the truth, imho. Can anyone recommend any other films that depict an ethnic group in a more nuanced way?

Re: Joe Fante
Joe Fante, an underrated writer whose autobiographical novel & screenplay provided the basis for this film is well worth a look. More recently his work also provided the basis for Ask the Dust (2006) as well. A marvelous introduction to Mr. Fante's work can be found in The Joe Fante Reader edited by Stephen Cooper and available in paperback. His work deserves a wider audience.

[MissGoddess]

>>>Can anyone recommend any other films that depict an ethnic group in a more nuanced way? <<<


The Welsh people in How Green Was My Valley.