L'america- Journey of Hope

If nothing else conveys the desperation of Albanians in Amelio's L'America it is the haunting faces of the natives, particularly the children. Following black and white film footage of fascist Italy's take over of Albania in 1939, Amelio fast forwards to the upheaval of 1991 Albania after the fall of Communism under Hoxta. One need not look far to find the faces of poverty and hopelessness in Amelio's film, for they are everywhere. Police push back crowds that fill the port shouting, "Ialy, Italy! You are the world!" and the roadsides are abundant with travelers on foot hoping also to make it to port. The landscape is bleak as the camera spans bombed villages, locals shoving each other for rations, and cattle, sheep and goats wandering throughout the landscape. Most startling though is the local populace who wanders aimlessly with little to fill their time since employment vanished with the Communists. Children abound and every outsider is targeted for pleas of lira and cigarettes. These faces of emptiness reflect the soul of Albania.

Into this desolate country journey two Italian con men,Fiore and Gino, with the intentions of setting up a fraudulent business at the expense of the Albanians. To assure their success, an Albanian is needed to serve as its chairman. They are pointed toward the prison where they discover an aged, addle brained Michele Talerico who has served decades of imprisonment and has lost touch with the present-the ideal straw man. Driven predominantly by thoughts of returning home, he eludes Gino at every turn .What at first appears a simple plan quickly goes amuck when Gino suffers the consequences of his failure to understand the culture. Soon the slick, smug Gino, discovers his sophisticated, arrogant attitude does not serve him well among the locals and the police.

Initially, Talerico is only a means to Gino's end. Gino treats him with contempt and is frustrated by his inability to keep Talerico corralled. When Gino's jeep is stripped of its tires he finds himself a prisoner of his own devices and the tables are turned. Gino finds himself unwittingly a hostage in unfamiliar territory and is forced into negotiating the local life. His discomfort is palpable; he is a fish out water. It is then that the focus of the relationship between the two shifts and Talerico schools Gino in humility and human understanding . With no means of leaving, Gino is forced along with Talerico to find his way to port for passage out of Albania. It is this journey that brings Gino face to face with the locals and reveals the real truths of Talerico's life. Reduced to the same fate as the Albanians, Gino's perceptions are altered by those he encounters. He listens to the hopes and dreams of the men on a lorry, and experiences the generosity of others who offer food, shelter and shoes. He studies a young girl who dances with abandon and children who practice their Italian around a campfire. A girl smiles broadly as she repeats the Italian vocabulary, hopeful of a better life outside of Albania. By the time Gino boards the freighter with Talerico, he is unrecognizable among the masses he has joined. Bereft of all his possessions and passport, he studies the faces of those that surround him and there is a flicker of recognition and understanding of the hopes of his fellow passengers.