Il Postino (The Postman) is a 1994 romantic drama directed by British film-maker, Michael Radford. The film tells the story of a postman who befriends poet Pablo Neruda and through him, woo a woman he loves as he develops an interest in poetry. With its balanced pace and eye-catching cinematography, the film captures the essence of human connection, love, and self-discovery through the power of language.

The Story

Mario (played by Massimo Troisi) lives on a quiet island where time stands still. Things hardly change and new ideas arrive slowly, if at all. Then one day the postmaster enlists him to cycle out to the house of a new arrival – the distinguished poet, Pablo Neruda (played by Philippe Noiret). Neruda has been exiled from his native Chile for political reasons and has come here to live. Mario grows fascinated by the poet, who seems to receive letters mostly from women. He talks about the poet with the village postmaster, a communist who supports Neruda for his political ideas. Neither one of them are into poetry, but Mario agrees to take the job of postman so he can visit Neruda daily, learn some poetry and maybe find out how to pick up girls.

The film proceeds in a slow and quiet pace to unfold the story of their friendship. Neruda is depicted as a quiet man who lives with a woman. Mario isn’t sure if she is Neruda’s wife, but he sees enough to realize they are deeply in love. Slowly, he forges a friendship with the poet and begins to sense that he, too, might have developed the soul of a poet, had he not been born in such a backwater.

Meanwhile, Neruda begins to learn from the people he has come to live among. Months after he leaves the village, a newspaper clipping comes into Mario’s hands, quoting the poet, who says, “I lived in complete solitude with the most simple people in the world.” Mario’s face betrays the slightest twitch as he learns how “simple” he is. That twitch is enough to reveal that he is no longer quite so simple.

“The Postman” could have developed its friendship between poet and peasant in a more straightforward manner. But the beauty of the film is in its quietness. Director Radford is no hurry to push for an effect. The same is true of Troisi who co-wrote the screenplay and postponed heart surgery to act in the title role (he died the day after the movie was finished). Together, they turned this little film into a quiet meditation on fate, love and poetry. If things had been different, Mario might have been the poet, and Neruda the postman, although that is an idea that occurs more easily to Mario. Mario, too, learns that poetry can work wonders to woo women, although the woman of his dreams (played by Maria Grazia Cucinotta) is initially suspicious.

“The Postman” won an Oscar, as well as several and a multitude of international awards. But prizes aside, it is an engaging movie from start to finish. Add in Luis Enrique Bacalov’s Oscar winning score and it easy to fall under the movie’s spell.

“The Postman” (1994) is available on YouTube.