Vajont - La diga del disonore (2001)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Renzo Martinelli

Writers:

Pietro Calderoni (writer)
Renzo Martinelli (writer)

Release Date:

19 October 2001 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

On October 9th, 1963, at 10:39 pm, 260 million cubic meters of rock fell down from Mount Toc to the artificial lake formed by the Vajont dam...

Plot Keywords:

Dam | Water | Mud | Dead Wife | Cemetery

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Michel Serrault	...	Carlo Semenza
Daniel Auteuil	...	Alberico Biadene
Laura Morante	...	Tina Merlin
Jorge Perugorría	...	Olmo Montaner
Anita Caprioli	...	Ancilla
Leo Gullotta	...	Mario Pancini
Philippe Leroy	...	Giorgio dal Piaz
Jean-Christophe Brétigniere	...	Edoardo Semenza
Nicola Di Pinto	...	Francesco Penta
Federica Martinelli	...	Margherita
Eleonora Martinelli	...	Giannina
Maurizio Trombini	...	Ing. Desidera
Bruno Bilotta	...	Remo
Paco Reconti	...	Bertolissi
Antonio Fabbri	...	Prof. Ghetti

Also Known As:

La folie des hommes (France)
Vajont (Italy) (short title)

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

Italian | French

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

France:U | Italy:T

Filming Locations:

Belluno, Veneto, Italy

Company:

Canal+

Trivia:

Two sections of the Vajont dam were built in Cimolais, Italy. The "dam under construction" section was built on a railway and then filmed with motion control. Santa Croce artificial lake was dried up by ENEL (the Italian electric energy company) to film the final sequence.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: Anita Caprioli screams as the water wave is coming, but her mouth is not open.

Quotes:

Ancilla: That's a beautiful story. Really... If I think about it... I'd like a story like that too.
Olmo Montaner: For a story like that, you have to start from the beginning.
Ancilla: [looking at a wooden sculpture] Listen... you didn't chose this one at random...
Olmo Montaner: Well, I was thinking... it's time to start a family.
Ancilla: Yes but... it takes two people to start a family.
Olmo Montaner: But there are two of us...

Soundtrack:

Nostalgia

Disaster in Vajont Valley, North Italy

The film is a historical evidence of what happened by the end of 60s in Vajont Valley with the construction of a large dam. The sequences of the plot are well given as well as problems and the ethics of constructors in the discussions and dialogues. Good photography and good acting from outstanding actors, such as Daniel Auteuil, Michel Serrault and Jorge Perugorría, who is probably the second Cuban actor in Italian films (the first was Tomas Milian). Perugorría gave the special touch to the film with his acting as a person who lost his wife and son during the mortal avalanche. Guilty engineers and geologists showed their cowardice at the crucial moment. They were just condemned to five years prison, and some were set free before that period.