Un TV movie so we don’t forget. Rai Fiction, together with Publispei and Venice Film, with The rose of Istria by Tiziana Aristarco (tonight at 9.30pm on Rai 1) brings to mind the heartbreaking story of the Italian exiles from Istria and Dalmatia immediately after the armistice of 8 September 1943, through the story of Braico family.
The film premieres February 10th, Day of remembrance in memory of the victims of the Foibetelling the story of a family forced to leave their homeland to survive Tito who wanted to annex Istria to Yugoslavia. At the center of the story is the young Maddalenaa girl struggling with her dream and love in a period devastated by war.
The rose of Istria: the plot
The rose of Istria it’s a history Of training, pain and hopeloosely based on the novel Who’s afraid of the boogeyman? by Graziella Fiorentin. The story it is set in 1943, immediately after the armistice. The Istrian population is devoid of any defense, while the General Tito advances with the aim of ethnic cleansing to annex the Istrian territory to Yugoslavia.
Gracjela Kicaj and Eugenio Franceschini are Maddalena and Leonardo in “The Rose of Istria”. (Rai press office)
At the center of the film is the Braico familyformed by his father Antonio (Andrea Pennacchi), doctor, by his wife Bina and three children, Nicolò, little Saul and eighteen-year-old Maddalena (Gracjela Kicaj). She is the catalyst of the story. She and her family are forced to leave their homeland: the situation is out of control and dangerous, Tito’s revolutionaries raid the Istrians, all of whom they consider fascists. Together they decide to abandon their home at night to seek refuge with Antonio’s brother, Giorgio.
Once they arrive at the station they find themselves in the middle of a firefight between German soldiers and Tito’s soldiers. Nicholas (Constantino Seghi), Maddalena’s brother, is hit and is unable to catch the train. When they arrive at their uncle’s, Maddalena begins to attend school, where she is mocked because she is a refugee: «Istrians are not true Italians – a classmate tells her – they steal our bread». Defending it is a certain Leonardo (Eugenio Franceschini), a boy who has a unbridled passion for paintinglike Maddalena.
The education of a girl amidst the Foibe tragedy
Anthony he doesn’t accept that his daughter follows her passion for painting, he prevents her from painting“Do you promise to go to university and become a doctor like me?” he asks her. Maddalena just can’t give up her dream, even under the bombs: she begins to paint secretly and hangs out with Leo, with whom she falls in love.
He will be the one who will introduce her to a gallery owner from Padua, interested in her works. To follow her passion, Maddalena distances herself from her father, but will never forget her origins. The protagonist is a rebellious, strong, self-confident and loving girl. Despite adversity he never stopped thinking about his family and his roots. And he will prove it, through what he does best.
Andfrea Pennacchi and Gracjela Kicaj. (Rai press office)
The rose of Istria between tragedy and melodrama
The journey of this exile family undergoes various shocks over the course of four years. The pain and loss are compensated by Antonio’s strength of minda father who is willing to do anything to bring home a piece of bread, and of Madeleinesupported by the passion for art and the love for Leo.
The girl cannot do without the palettethanks to which he is able to express himself and find comfort. It will be with his paintings that he will pay homage to the Istrians and all the exiles. Leo is her right-hand man, the boy she falls in love with and with whom she shares her love of art. It will be difficult to choose between family and loveMaddalena knows well what is right to do.
February 10, the Remembrance Day in memory of the victims of the Foibe
The rose of Istria tells of a united familywhich due to the adversities of history is disunited, and despite everything will continue to fight. It also tells of a mass exodusof a tragedy like that of the Foibe which will be remembered in Remembrance Day February 10th.
«There are still open wounds in the area – states the director – this small story which recalls a tragic page in history, it becomes universal and helps us understand the present better. The film also addresses the failure to welcome the Istrians by the Italians: «they were poorly tolerated for a long time – continues Aristarchus – they created embarrassment for political and social reasons».
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