Monday 15 November
10.00am, 6.30pm
Directed by Pietro Marcello
Drama
Italy/subtitled
129 mins
Thirty-something sailor Martin Eden is inspired to remake himself as a novelist, following a chance encounter with the sophisticated, wealthy Elena. She immediately becomes not only the object of his passionate affections, but also the symbol of the status Martin aspires to achieve. Pursuing his newfound social and literary obsessions, Martins abandons his friends and working-class roots without hesitation, but eventually undergoes a political awakening that triggers yet another change.
The film is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Jack London. Transplanted from the original setting of San Francisco to Naples.
The film’s ideas are universal and timeless: the hypocrisy of class, the disillusionment of ideologies, the limits of romanticism and realism.
A film as equally about star crossed lovers divided by class and the one eyed determination of Martin. – Jason Di Rosso, ABC Radio National
Glorious! A triumphant adaptation of Jack London’s novel. Luminously shot on 16mm film, it’s both a richly textured bildungsroman and a rambling cultural, political and historical drama. – Justin Chang, The Los Angeles Times