Il Postino

Not sure I've used the adjective 'lovely' to describe a film before but there's nothing else that seems more appropriate. The elegant, simple story, the wonderful setting, the restrained, subtle and superb performances make this a really enjoyable experience. It's a great film that does so much with so little.

The title character is played by Massimo Troisi, who died just two weeks after filming ended. It's a dreadful shame that he never got to see how successful the film, and in particular his performance was. He received posthumous nominations at the Oscars, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild awards. All were completely deserved.

Massimo is Mario Ruopollo, a simple villager living on a beautiful Italian island in the 1950s. When a famous Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda (an excellent Philip Noiret), is exiled on the island the postmaster places an ad for a postman solely to deal with the poet's mail, an ad Mario applies for and accepts despite the offering of a wage described as a "pitance".

Mario has no care for money and takes the job principally to meet a man whose poetry he becomes captivated by. He sets about befriending the poet in his own understated, slightly awkward way. The two become close, with Mario inventing metaphors with Pablo's help - metaphors he will use to try and win the heart of the most beautiful girl in the village.

Il Postino was made for just $3 million. It went on to gross $75 million worldwide, including $20 million at the US box office. It was nominated for 5 Oscars, including Best Picture. It won the Oscar for Best Score.

Every success afforded this delightful film is no more than it deserves. It relies on nothing more than exceptional characterisation, realised by truly gifted actors, the principle being Troisi whose death just after filming is a real tragedy. How wonderful though that he left behind a piece of work that will unquestionably be remembered for many years to come.

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