by Hal Erickson
synopsis
Italian actor Aldo Fabrizi produced, directed, wrote and starred in the Argentine production Emigrantes. The story begins in the tenement district of Rome, where Don Pepe (Fabrizi) and his family yearn for a better life. To that end, Don Pepe moves his loved ones to Argentina. In free-form, semidocumentary fashion, the film charts the family's trials and tribulations in acclimating themselves to a new language, climate and culture. The pro-Juan Peron sentiments running through the film indicates to a modern audience that Fabrizi had to curry favor with the Argentine dictator (and, one supposes, his wife Evita) to get his film produced in the first place.
characteristics
- Poverty
- Moving
- Immigrant
