El gran Zambini (2005) Online

This little gem will only take 15 minutes of your time, but its magical impact will stay with you. A simple story told with no dialog at all, whose power arises from the imagination.

So much is transmitted by implication here. We can well speculate on the past of our protagonist, the thoughts of these silent characters, that a special kind of crisis demanding intervention of the most amazing sort is called for. A son needs to believe in his father, and the father accepts that challenging assignment exquisitely.

No overbearing special effects here. The only gun is barely smoking, every boom faint in the distance. Just a very great achievement quietly and modestly performed.

Don't miss a chance to see this charming and uniquely inspiring tale!

This is a short film that can be seen on a DVD of award-winning shorts from around the world from the Film Movement Series. For several years now, Film Movement has been bringing out a yearly compilation of shorts in place of their usual monthly feature film release. This is from the January, 2008 collection.

THE GREAT ZAMBINI might just be the best film of the DVD collection, as the writer and director had an excellent and deft touch. Throughout this entire film, there was no dialog--it was all done in very muted action from the actors. And yet, despite this, the message was clearly conveyed and was often rather poignant and touching.

The film begins with a dwarf hanging up clothes to dry. Sadly, local boys come and taunt him--you assume just because he's different. Later, when you see the man at school waiting to pick up his son, the little boy is the last to leave the building and you assume it's because he's ashamed of his tiny father. How this man is able to reclaim his son's admiration is amazing and totally surreal, but also quite charming.

As I said, the story has no dialog and so much of it is implied, but I liked that the viewer is able to understand what is happening as well as the characters' inner struggles due to the way the short film was executed. A nice and charming film.

A young boy lives with his parents in the ruins of an old circus, long faded beyond its glory days – just like his dwarf father, who is a figure of mockery rather than wonder to children, a contrast to his days in the circus which exist beyond the memory of his son.

When I realized that this film was not in English and that the children's taunts were not subtitled, I wondered if I would be able to watch it without understanding the dialogue. As it turns out, beyond these children's cries, there is no dialogue and instead the film tells its story with slight touches and good performances to let the viewer fully understand the character's feelings, realizations and motives. It is a simple tale of a son ashamed of his father, and a father who realizes this. The device to deliver this plot is nicely understated and left to the imagination of the viewer (and, more importantly, the boy) but it doesn't really matter because the relationship and the silent knowledge of the father is what plays out the best.

The two performances capture this well and the direction of the cast and the camera maximizes the understanding of this. It is a very nicely delivered piece that is tender without being sentimental, imaginative without overdoing the effects of the idea and lets the relationship and feelings of the character sink in without the need for soapy dialogue or overwrought music. Very nicely done.