Man on the moon
Director Giuliano Ricci
Countries Italy
Duration 59 min
Synopsis
In the heart of Sardinia, in a village on the Barbagia mountains, a groupof widows tells about their connection to the world of the dead., For centuries women have been the voice of the town and have kept stories, and secrets of family battles and bloody revenges., Feuds and homicides mix with visions of the dead, contact with the after world and with dreams, doors to an invisible reality and revealers of misfortune., The documentary gathers the fragments of a lost world where death and violence are dailiy topics., An unconscious vanished since the arrival of modern times, since man put foot on the moon., It’s an ironic and curious view over an ancient, timeless world where men, seem to have disappeared and women are the ones who carry myth and tradition. Anthropology and fable are mixed with deep awareness, it opens doors that rarely let people in., DIRECTOR'S NOTES, Man on the moon tells about a vanished world, survivor only in, the memory of old people. The world of the pastoral society of, Sardinia and its collective unconscious related to the dead., The region of Barbagia has been witness of centuries-old feuds, that led to the passing of entire families. A sense of personal, justice and the thirst for vendetta forced the collective to live side, by side with death. The villages, being isolated realities, kept intact, in time their laws and values., Women had a central role in the society of these villages, as men, would be away for long periods of time looking after the flocks., They managed the family on their own and passed on the oral, history, tales and myths of a reality marked by frequent violent, death. They were in contact with the world of the dead not just, through mourning and performing Attitu at funerals (female, chants in honour of the dead), but through a strong spiritual, connection with the afterworld., The dead would come out in procession in the streets to talk to, the living, sometimes to abuse them. They would manifest, themselves in dreams with messages and personal requests., Dreams had a very important role in the oral history, they were, kept alive in the memory and passed on, because they were, believed to carry predictions of the future. Dreamlike images and, appearances were mentally recorded, analysed and interpreted., For instance, dreaming about feats was a common prediction of, death., The anthropologist Bachisio Bandinu, whose research this film was, developed from, tells about several premonitory dreams in his, book: Visiones, the dreams of shepherds., Lucia, 74 years old:, I was in a wide valley and felt an odd wind on my skin. I turned, around and saw a dance in the open air. It was the dead dancing., They were dressed like ghosts, with gowns the colour of ash. I, caught a glimpse of my friend among them. She was dressed up, and wore jewellery. I was terrified because I knew that was a sign, of her imminent death. I was scared to look at her, as if by staring, I would also become responsible of her death., The women that still remember that world today must confront the, new collective unconscious of modern society, with an opposite set, of values. The images that fuel it don't belong to dreams anymore,, but come from the outside world, where mankind set foot on the, moon. Images that have subverted the ancient beliefs, dreams and, consciousness of the pastoral world.
In the heart of Sardinia, in a village on the Barbagia mountains, a groupof widows tells about their connection to the world of the dead., For centuries women have been the voice of the town and have kept stories, and secrets of family battles and bloody revenges., Feuds and homicides mix with visions of the dead, contact with the after world and with dreams, doors to an invisible reality and revealers of misfortune., The documentary gathers the fragments of a lost world where death and violence are dailiy topics., An unconscious vanished since the arrival of modern times, since man put foot on the moon., It’s an ironic and curious view over an ancient, timeless world where men, seem to have disappeared and women are the ones who carry myth and tradition. Anthropology and fable are mixed with deep awareness, it opens doors that rarely let people in., DIRECTOR'S NOTES, Man on the moon tells about a vanished world, survivor only in, the memory of old people. The world of the pastoral society of, Sardinia and its collective unconscious related to the dead., The region of Barbagia has been witness of centuries-old feuds, that led to the passing of entire families. A sense of personal, justice and the thirst for vendetta forced the collective to live side, by side with death. The villages, being isolated realities, kept intact, in time their laws and values., Women had a central role in the society of these villages, as men, would be away for long periods of time looking after the flocks., They managed the family on their own and passed on the oral, history, tales and myths of a reality marked by frequent violent, death. They were in contact with the world of the dead not just, through mourning and performing Attitu at funerals (female, chants in honour of the dead), but through a strong spiritual, connection with the afterworld., The dead would come out in procession in the streets to talk to, the living, sometimes to abuse them. They would manifest, themselves in dreams with messages and personal requests., Dreams had a very important role in the oral history, they were, kept alive in the memory and passed on, because they were, believed to carry predictions of the future. Dreamlike images and, appearances were mentally recorded, analysed and interpreted., For instance, dreaming about feats was a common prediction of, death., The anthropologist Bachisio Bandinu, whose research this film was, developed from, tells about several premonitory dreams in his, book: Visiones, the dreams of shepherds., Lucia, 74 years old:, I was in a wide valley and felt an odd wind on my skin. I turned, around and saw a dance in the open air. It was the dead dancing., They were dressed like ghosts, with gowns the colour of ash. I, caught a glimpse of my friend among them. She was dressed up, and wore jewellery. I was terrified because I knew that was a sign, of her imminent death. I was scared to look at her, as if by staring, I would also become responsible of her death., The women that still remember that world today must confront the, new collective unconscious of modern society, with an opposite set, of values. The images that fuel it don't belong to dreams anymore,, but come from the outside world, where mankind set foot on the, moon. Images that have subverted the ancient beliefs, dreams and, consciousness of the pastoral world.