Il Dono (The Gift) [Blu-ray]

Il Dono (The Gift) is director Michelangelo Frammartino’s gorgeous debut feature, a lyrical ode to his hometown of Caulonia (also the subject of his masterful Le Quattro Volte). It is a portrait of depopulation, as Caulonia saw a dramatic decrease in inhabitants from roughly 15,000 in the 1950s to just a few hundred people at the time of the film’s making. In painterly, dialogue-free long takes Frammartino pieces together the fragments of a place guided by slow rhythms, capturing the traditions, rituals, charms, and ruins of this beautiful village that has endured the relentless ravages of time. 4K restoration courtesy of Coproduction Office, Cineteca di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata, and Augustus Color Laboratories, from the original camera and sound negatives, under the supervision of Michelangelo Frammartino.