Naples to New York: a heartfelt journey with echoes of Fellini

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looks polished, but it stinks of moral decay

One hour acceptable and one hour very bad

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Pierfrancesco Favino

Dea Lanzaro

Antonio Guerra

Federico Fellini

Tullio Pinelli

Gabriele Salvatores

Follows two Neapolitan kids as they journey to New York to escape Italy&apos;s early postwar poverty.

Napoli: New York

Nice movie with faint echoes of Fellini

To say that Napoli - New York is a &apos;nice&apos; movie is both a compliment and a mild criticism. This is a movie that is relentlessly &apos;nice&apos; in a way more reminiscent of Disney&apos;s 1950s live-action films, than of Fellini&apos;s heart-rending black-and-white masterpieces. But there&apos;s no denying it&apos;s also beautifully mounted, well-cast and highly enjoyable.

The story is simple: two vagabond Neapolitan kids go through a series of post-WW2 misadventures, ending up (you guessed it) in New York. The children are brilliantly cast, to the point of almost being too good to be true. Their adventures never seem likely to veer into tragic territory... so be prepared to take the sincere historical adventure with a modest dose of saccharine.

The supporting roles are all well done, as is the period (1950-ish) atmosphere. The story is told competently and effectively, with lovely visuals of both titular cities as well as the ocean voyage between them. Best of all are the little random vignettes, such as an interaction with a man playing blues on his porch.

The final act of the tale does strain credulity somewhat. Oddly, this slightly surreal turn seemed more Fellini-ish to me than the earlier, more-realistic narrative of the children&apos;s voyage. But it&apos;s all handled very smoothly, leading up to a satisfying yet &apos;futuristic&apos; ending.

I&apos;ve tried, and failed, to imagine what all this might have looked like had Federico Fellini directed his own script. Perhaps the closest parallel would be to Fellini&apos;s later, warmer and more-naturalistic films like Amarcord - which I always found to be his least interesting phase. (As contrasted with, say, Satyricon, which I preferred.) But no matter - the Fellini link lured me to watch Napoli - New York, but the movie amply justified itself with its fine production and atmospheric good humor.

Despite my slight reservations, I would definitely recommended Napoli - New Work as a relaxing, joyful watch for the whole family. Just don&apos;t expect to discover a &apos;lost&apos; 8-1/2, La Strada or Juliet of the Spirits.

Trailer [OV]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZjZhZmU2NzctNDMwYi00MWNiLWJjMzUtMGZkYmQyYzM5YTc1XkEyXkFqcGdeQXRyYW5zY29kZS13b3JrZmxvdw@@._V1_.jpg

To say that Napoli - New York is a 'nice' movie is both a compliment and a mild criticism. This is a movie that is relentlessly 'nice' in a way more reminiscent of Disney's 1950s live-action films, than of Fellini's heart-rending black-and-white masterpieces. But there's no denying it's also beautifully mounted, well-cast and highly enjoyable.

The story is simple: two vagabond Neapolitan kids go through a series of post-WW2 misadventures, ending up (you guessed it) in New York. The children are brilliantly cast, to the point of almost being too good to be true. Their adventures never seem likely to veer into tragic territory... so be prepared to take the sincere historical adventure with a modest dose of saccharine.

The supporting roles are all well done, as is the period (1950-ish) atmosphere. The story is told competently and effectively, with lovely visuals of both titular cities as well as the ocean voyage between them. Best of all are the little random vignettes, such as an interaction with a man playing blues on his porch.

The final act of the tale does strain credulity somewhat. Oddly, this slightly surreal turn seemed more Fellini-ish to me than the earlier, more-realistic narrative of the children's voyage. But it's all handled very smoothly, leading up to a satisfying yet 'futuristic' ending.

I've tried, and failed, to imagine what all this might have looked like had Federico Fellini directed his own script. Perhaps the closest parallel would be to Fellini's later, warmer and more-naturalistic films like Amarcord - which I always found to be his least interesting phase. (As contrasted with, say, Satyricon, which I preferred.) But no matter - the Fellini link lured me to watch Napoli - New York, but the movie amply justified itself with its fine production and atmospheric good humor.

Despite my slight reservations, I would definitely recommended Napoli - New Work as a relaxing, joyful watch for the whole family. Just don't expect to discover a 'lost' 8-1/2, La Strada or Juliet of the Spirits.

Follows two Neapolitan kids as they journey to New York to escape Italy's early postwar poverty.

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Napoli: New York

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