Kaos

Although for my taste far too long at 3 hours 10 minutes, unlike their previous effort, La Notte Di San Lorenzo (Night Of The Shooting Stars) at least with Kaos there is a concordance between the writer-directors’ visual aesthetics and their subject matter, a suite of 4 folkloric tales set in Sicily and based on Luigi Pirandello's "Novelle Per Un Anno" (Short Stories For A Year) that includes a portrayal of the famous author in the form of an epilogue.

Other than the barren Sicilian landscape and the motif of a black crow there is nothing connecting the stories, which are tastefully translated to the screen, the Tavianis giving full vent to their romanticising proclivities in their portrayal of their peasant characters. Giuseppe Lanci's wonderful photography and Nicola Piovani’s fine score are perfectly suited to the directors’ style. However given that there is little narrative development within each story and none in the film as a whole whether one can sit through 3 hours of this (originally commissioned by RAI Radiotelevisione, no doubt each instalment was intended to be screened separately) will be a matter of personal preference and circumstance.

DVD Extras: None

Available from: Umbrella Entertainment

 

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