Primavera 💫

 

I today attended to a movie movie premiere of a film which will be in the cinemas on December 25th, on Christmas day… it’s highly recommended for the content, amazing actors, the accuracy of historical correct details, soundtrack and overall beauty…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Review by Paola Casella

Thursday, December 11, 2025

Venice, 1716. Cecilia is an orphan whose mother has entrusted her to the Ospedale della Pietà. Like the other inmates of the institution, she has learned to read, write, and, most importantly, play a musical instrument—in her case, the violin. The orphanage's most gifted musicians perform in public behind bars because they cannot be seen, and are effectively prisoners until they are married off to a suitor willing to pay the institution a substantial dowry.

When their musical offerings face competition from a parallel group, the girls are entrusted to the guidance of a highly talented priest who has failed as a musical impresario. This priest is Antonio Vivaldi, ill and fallen from grace, but still capable of profoundly moving audiences. And Vivaldi senses in Cecilia a talent similar to his own, and a similar passion for music.

Let's immediately dispel any possible comparison between Primavera and Gloria!, despite some similarities: they are both first cinematic works that tell the story of a group of female musicians in an era when female artistic talent was considered inferior. But Primavera is very different.

The film differs from Gloria! in its development, especially because the debut film by Damiano Michieletto, a theater director renowned in Italy and Europe, especially for his operatic productions, brings together the figures of Antonio Vivaldi and Cecilia, creating an irresistible musical connection between them.

Vivaldi, a priest by necessity, reawakens in the girls, and in Cecilia in particular, a long-dormant passion and anger at their subordinate status, whose value is only given by the possibility of generating income for the hospital, primarily through marriage. Once married, the musicians will have to abandon their instruments forever. It's no coincidence that the first Vivaldi composition entrusted to them is titled "La follia": there's something feverish and dangerous about Vivaldi's music, a desperate romantic inspiration that cannot fail to appeal especially to Cecilia, the only musician who plays not for the audience's applause but for her own expressive need. And in this, she is unique even compared to Vivaldi, who, unlike the girls, is sensitive to praise and opportunities accessible to him.

Primavera also reveals, through its musical score, the genesis of "The Four Seasons," Vivaldi's masterpiece, composed precisely during the period in which this story takes place. The melodic composition that accompanies the film is exceptional in supporting the narrative and occasionally acting as counterpoint: a dance scene set among noblemen and noblewomen in makeup and wigs, grotesque and primal in the right degree, is an anthology-worthy one. "You are ruining our peace," Cecilia will tell Vivaldi, but that's exactly what music is supposed to do, and it's partly true that the instruments were given to the girls "to curse their situation."

Michieletto knows music well and understands its power, and he also understands the power of spectacle. He creates a film that is cultured yet accessible, classic yet contemporary, aided by a solid screenplay, co-written with Ludovica Rampoldi, which never makes the mistake of distorting the past to suit contemporary sensibilities, while also clearly addressing the injustice of women's condition.

Thanks to Paola Casella for the above review.

A cool idea as a foreword to the movie has been a string trio playing live “La Folia”, a timeless and immortal melody which have been played for centuries, now… and a personal fave of mine, too.

*****