“In choosing from the many stories proposed, all extremely valid, it was not a question of personal assesment but of composing a film that was varied in tone ad rhythm as well as also being, in a certain sense, a brief chronicle of our times.” This statement made by Blasetti right before the release of “Zibaldone n. 2” sums up the  director’s intention as sell as one of the recurring themes of the negative criticism the film  received. From Alberto Moravia to Filippo Sacchi, from Pietro Bianchi to Ugo Casiraghi,  everyone pointed their finger against its fragmented structure, questioning the validity of  the anthology genre. Critics and admirers, like Gian Luigi Rondi, both agree on one thing:  this type of film production is very successful from a commercial point of view, but it limitsthe breadth of the story, which, being broken up, remains on the surface. Seeing the episodes again today, they still possess a vitality which with a few basic strokes paints a picture of postwar Italian society struggling against poverty but without forgoing  irony and comedy. The leading actor of Don Corradino is Vittorio De Sica, who Blasetti had also chosen for the part of the lawyer in Processo di Frine. Thanks to Blasetti, De Sica fullt resumed his acting career, becoming, in spite of himself, ani con of 1950s and 1960s Italian cinema. Blasetti portrays the epitome of napoletanità, using the best of what the culture of Naples could offer film: De Sica, Eduardo De Filippo and Giuseppe Marotta, the scenario writer.

Michela Zegna