The Leopard

It was hard to get into this film, but once I did I truly enjoyed it. The pacing, plot line, and structure was not traditional to narrative storytelling, which made things seem very slow. But once I realized that intentions of the film it made sense. It seems to me that besides the Prince and the political struggles of the time, the most important aspect to show the audience is how the people lived. I love period piece films, and this is one of the best ones I've ever seen. The whole movie had realistic costumes, props, locations, etc... I was very impressed with the ballroom scene. It lasted a very long time, but it was beautiful. There were so many extra scenes of dancing, crowds of people talking, intimate couples, eating, drinking and more. I feel like nothing was left out. The party lasted until dawn, and I can imagine everything that happened because of all the details included. 

Overall, the art direction of the film was fantastic. All the shot choices and locations were amazing. Each shot had so much depth and texture to it. Once again I'm impressed by the beauty of this film and how much effort went into it. There are many times where the emphasis is put on the location. The film was established well with the beginning sequence of homes and countryside. Also there are many landscape shots and views of the residential area of Sicily. It seems to give a constant reminder about the people who are living there. It reminds of what the Prince said. He said that the people of Sicily are asleep, inactive. That nothing will change unless they want the change. During all the landscape and residential shots, the land seems so calm and serene; almost like the whole area is asleep. 

It also reminds me of Roman holiday in that it made Sicily seem like a dream vacation and a wonderful place to go to. Though it was unstable at first, it ends in a state of happiness and rebirth, symbolized by the new engage couple Angelica and TanCredi (spelling?). 

It was very long, but I think it was worth the watch!