''No Peace Under the Olive Tree'' (Italian: ''Non c'è pace tra gli ulivi'') is a 1950 Italian neorealist

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

directed by

Giuseppe De Santis Giuseppe De Santis (11 February 1917 – 16 May 1997) was an Italian film director. One of the most idealistic neorealist filmmakers of the 1940s and 1950s, he wrote and directed films punctuated by ardent cries for social reform. He was ...

and starring

Raf Vallone The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's Air force, air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal ...

Lucia Bosé Lucia may refer to: Arts and culture * ''Lucía'', a 1968 Cuban film by Humberto Solás * ''Lucia'' (film), a 2013 Kannada-language film * '' Lucia & The Best Boys'', a Scottish indie rock band formerly known as ''LUCIA'' * "Lucia", a Swedish c ...

and

Folco Lulli Folco Lulli (3 July 1912 – 23 May 1970) was an Italian partisan and film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1946 and 1970. He was the brother of actor Piero Lulli. Selected filmography * ''How I Lost the War'' (1947) * ' ...

. It was the director's follow-up to ''

Bitter Rice ''Bitter Rice'' ( it, Riso Amaro ) is a 1949 Italian film made by Lux Film, written and directed by Giuseppe De Santis. Produced by Dino De Laurentiis, starring Silvana Mangano, Raf Vallone, Doris Dowling and Vittorio Gassman, ''Bitter Rice'' was ...

'' (1949) which also starred Vallone. It was originally planned to partner him with

Silvana Mangano Silvana Mangano (; 21 April 1930 – 16 December 1989) was an Italian film actress. She was one of a generation of thespians who arose from the neorealist movement, and went on to become a major female star, regarded as a sex symbol for the 19 ...

again, but due to her pregnancy she was replaced by Lucia Bosé. Despite the commercial success of ''Bitter Rice'', the

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

De Santis had been stung by

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

criticism due to American cultural elements included the film which he purposefully excluded from the follow-up. He also included characters who were less ambiguous and concluded with a

happy ending A happy ending is an ending of the plot of a work of fiction in which almost everything turns out for the best for the main protagonists and their sidekicks, while the main villains/antagonists are dead/defeated. In storylines where the protago ...

, similar to those of

Socialist realism Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is ch ...

.Gundle p.287-88 The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the vis ...

Carlo Egidi Carlo Egidi (20 May 1918 – 2 February 1989) was an Italian art director. He worked on the set design of more than sixty films during his career. One of his earliest credits was the neorealist ''Bitter Rice'' (1949).Ben-Ghiat p.256 Selected fil ...

Location shooting Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. The filming location may be the same in which the story is set (for ex ...

took place around

Fondi Fondi ( la, Fundi; Southern Laziale: ''Fùnn'') is a city and '' comune'' in the province of Latina, Lazio, central Italy, halfway between Rome and Naples. As of 2017, the city had a population of 39,800. The city has experienced steady popu ...

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, the hometown of director De Santis.

Synopsis

A young

shepherd A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' ' herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, ...

returns home after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

having been held in a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of ...

camp. He finds that the local landowner has stolen his

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticate ...

and his girlfriend. When he also assaults and murders his sister, the shepherd takes revenge.

Cast

as Francesco Dominici *

as Lucia *

as Agostino Bonfiglio *

Maria Grazia Francia Maria Grazia Francia (17 September 1931 – 4 March 2021) was an Italian actress of classic cinema. Career Born in Florence, in the mid-1940s Francia moved to Rome to attend the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia. She eventually left the cou ...

as Maria Grazia * Dante Maggio as Salvatore *

Michele Riccardini Michele Mario Alberto Riccardini (October 2, 1910 – July 24, 1978) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in around fifty films during his career as well as several television episodes. In 1943 he played the role of Don Remigio in Luchino Visc ...

as the

Maresciallo The Italian military rank of ''maresciallo'' (; marshal) is classified as a " sub-officer" and is the highest rank of non-commissioned officer in the Italian Armed Forces, higher than the rank of sergeant but lower than that of ensign/second lieu ...

Vincenzo Talarico Vincenzo Talarico (28 April 1909 – 16 August 1972), was an Italian screenwriter and film actor. He wrote for 27 films between 1940 and 1966. He also appeared in 15 films between 1946 and 1964. He was born in Acri, Italy and died in Fiuggi ...

as the lawyer *

Pietro Tordi Pietro Tordi (12 July 1906 – 14 December 1990) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 100 films between 1942 and 1988. He was born in Florence, Italy. Selected filmography * '' Doctor Antonio'' (1937) - L'altro conspiratore * ''Don C ...

as Don Gaetano

References

Bibliography

* Gundle, Stephen. ''Fame Amid the Ruins: Italian Film Stardom in the Age of Neorealism''. Berghahn Books, 2019.

External links

* * Adriano Aprà
Under Close Watch: Under the Olive Tree
1950 films 1950s Italian-language films Italian neorealist films Films directed by Giuseppe De Santis 1950 drama films Italian drama films Films set in Lazio Films shot in Lazio Lux Film films Italian black-and-white films 1950s Italian films {{1950s-Italy-film-stub