TICKETS
Italy/UK, 2005, 110 minutes, Colour.
Carlo Delle Piane, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Silvana De Santis, Filippo Trojano, Martin Compston, William Ruane, Gary Maitland.
Directed by Ermanno Olmi, Abbas Kiarostami, Ken Loach.
The three directors had never met before they began this project. Ermanno Olmi, celebrated Italian director since the 1960s (Tree of Wooden Clogs, Legend of the Holy Drinker), told a producer that the directors he admired were the Iranian Abbas Kierostami (Through the Olive Grove, The Taste of Cherry) and England’s Ken Loach (Raining Stones, Ladybird Ladybird, Ae Fond Kiss). What if they were to make a film together? The result is Tickets. The action all takes place during a train journey from Austria to Rome.
The first part concerns an academic who has to go home by train because of an air strike. He remembers with fondness the kind PR woman who befriends him, buys him his ticket and stays talking with him while the departure is delayed. This is a miniature portrait as the professor sits in the dining car, reflecting. He also becomes aware of bullying military personnel and a migrant family they are pushing around. The family will reappear in the third part. This story is principally that from Olmi.
The second part is the most dramatically powerful. It is also striking in the way it is filmed despite the action being confined to carriages and corridors. This is principally the contribution of Kierostami (making a rare production outside Iran). The plot concerns an obnoxious (exceedingly), large, middle-aged widow of a general travelling to his memorial service accompanied by an increasingly put upon young man doing his national service. She wants a seat at any cost and makes a scene when the businessmen whose seats she has taken (in first class despite her second class ticket) want to claim them. She is haughty, surly, tries emotional blackmail and immovable stubbornness. When she does get a compartment to herself, she constantly and intrusively demands the attention of the young man who chats in the corridor to a young girl from his town. Eventually it is too much for him. Though she is monstrous in her behaviour, the final image of her, sitting bewildered on her cases alone on a platform, shows how pitiable she really is. Silvana de Santis is completely convincing as the woman.
The third story is unmistakeably Ken Loach. It was written by his now long-time collaborator, Paul Laverty. Two of the boys from Loach-Laverty’s? Glasgow-set Sweet Sixteen appear as supermarket Celtic supporters on their way to a match in Rome. Their encounter is with the migrant family and their upset when one of their tickets is stolen. They squabble harshly amongst themselves but the pleading of the young woman with a baby makes them pause (they would have done the same themselves in similar situations they realise) but they are not sure what the truth is. The ending is happy, even triumphant, though cheeky and anti-authority.
Audiences can identify with the characters and the situations, observing fellow passengers, seats wrongly occupied, lost tickets… This is a microcosm portrait by three distinguished film artists.
1.The train, the journey, the situation, the interwoven stories? Italy? Universal?
2.The directors and their reputations, their style, perspectives on humanity? Psychological, social?
3.The situation: the security, the personnel, the slow journey of the train, the search, the manner of the security guards? The passengers’ reactions? The framework for the stories?
4.The professor’s story: Italian, Italian sensibility? The professor and his age, his background, pharmacology? His visit to Austria, the cancellation of the plane, the woman organising his trip by train? His having to get back for his grandchild’s party? The laptop, his trying to compose the letter, his awkwardness? The noise in the train, the atmosphere of the range of noises? Disturbing him? The soldier, speaking English only? The mother, the milk, the professor buying her more? His memories and reveries, the CD player, Chopin, the memories of his childhood, the piano, the girls playing the piano? Nostalgia? His reveries about the woman, imagining her? Attracted, emotions?
5.The woman, guardian angel for the professor, the booking, his imagining having meals with her, her getting the reservation for him, organising his meals on the train? Imagining the candlelit meals?
6.The woman’s story: her age, her attendant, her brusque manner, personality, haughty, dealing with people, continually rude, insulting? The clash with the man about the mobile phone? Her reserved seat and the passengers challenging her? Her being upset, interrogating people? Her attendant, his role, in the corridor, chatting with the girl, the links with his past, family, girlfriend? The woman’s reaction, angry, jealous? Their clash and the argument? Her getting off the train alone? The perspective of Abbas Kiarostami, Iran?
7.The Scots story: the fans of Celtic, their noise, enthusiasm, in the restaurant car, their sandwiches, the boy, his Beckham shirt, giving him the sandwich, their generosity? Their chats together, their characters? Discovering the loss of the ticket, confronting the boy, discussions with his family, sympathy? The Albanian background? Not knowing whether they were a con family or genuine? Rome, the tickets, the police chase, the locals helping them, running and evading the police? Ken Loach’s social perspective?
8.The omnibus story, its unity, the diversity, the age of the central characters, gender, nationalities? Unity in human nature?
