‘Leonora addio’ Review: Directing Alone, Paolo Taviani Sketches a Slight Farewell to His Late Brother
variety.comPeter Debruge Chief Film CriticIt’s no spoiler to say that Luigi Pirandello dies nine minutes into “Leonora addio.” This alternately playful and lugubrious work of reflection isn’t really about the controversial Italian writer’s life at all, but rather his legacy, and in a less literal yet ineluctable sense, that of film directors Paolo and Vittorio Taviani.Over the course of half a century, the two cinematic siblings made movies together — including 1985’s “Kaos,” an omnibus-style collection of five Pirandello stories — bookending their career together by winning top prizes at the Cannes and Berlin film festivals (for “Padre Padrone” and “Caesar Must Die,” in respectively).
And then, in 2018, Vittorio died. “Leonora addio” marks Paolo’s first solo feature. There’s almost no way not to read the film as a farewell by one sibling to another, or an even larger-aperture reflection on what becomes of an artist and his art after his passing — more relevant now than ever, with monuments being toppled and celebrated figures “canceled” in their own lifetimes (not that Taviani directly addresses either phenomenon).
Even before Pirandello expires on screen, Paolo dedicates the film to Vittorio, right after the words “Leonora addio” appear on screen — but even the title is a kind of ghost, referencing scenes from a Pirandello novella that Paolo planned to include, but ultimately left on the cutting room floor.Instead, the film is comprised of two parts.
The first, which occupies the meandering first hour, is told in black and white, focusing primarily on the fate of his ashes.
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