January 29, 6:30 pm, MIC

Set in a remote Alpine shelter during winter, poised between reality and fiction, the film tells the story of an encounter between two men forced to share an isolation made of snow, silence, and everyday gestures. One is a young student assigned to supervise a dam; the other is a more experienced worker, taciturn and distrustful. As the days slowly pass, the distance between them begins to narrow: work becomes a shared rhythm, the landscape a common horizon, and solitude an opportunity for mutual understanding. With an essential and deeply human gaze, Olmi transforms this enforced cohabitation into a reflection on suspended time, and on the fragility and strength of relationships that are born far from the world.

Credits

Direction: Ermanno Olmi
Cast: Natale Rossi (Natale, the dam caretaker), Roberto Seveso (Roberto, the student), Paolo Quadrubbi (the other caretaker)
Story: Ermanno Olmi
Screenplay: Ermanno Olmi
Cinematography: Carlo Bellero
Music: Pier Emilio Bassi
Editing: Carla Colombo
Production: Edison Volta
Country: Italy
Year: 1959
Running time: 86’