The film ‘The Tale Of King Crab’ tells an elegant story with stunning cinematography. This Italian film is the first feature-length film by Matteo Zoppis and Alessio Rigo de Righi.
‘The Tale Of King Crab’ premiered at the Keene State Putnam Theater from Feb. 3 to 6. This foreign film is an action-adventure and drama story mixed with mythical elements.
The story starts off with a group of men around a dinner table, and one of them tells the story of Luciano.
The first chapter takes place within the story of Luciano. Opening shots of the river, wide shots of the land, and walking shots of the main character, Luciano, a village drunk, sipping on some wine. It’s a village run by a prince and farmers occupy the land. Additionally, we see the local bar and meet some other farmers, specifically one farmer whose daughter is of interest to Luciano.
The first part of the film deals with the love Luciano has for Emma, the farmer’s daughter, and how Luciano became a legend. Luciano is the son of a doctor and a local drunk who starts trouble after breaking down a gate the prince orders to be shut.
The prince guards and harasses Luciano, which injures him, resulting in an intervention from his father. He promises to stop drinking and to focus on loving Emma. Emma’s father disapproves of Luciano’s involvement with his daughter, so she is set up with the prince to be married. The rest of the legend continues, and that’s all the story has of Luciano.
The second chapter of the film deals with the aftermath of the legend regarding Luciano. He’s in America in the 19th century, trying to find gold lost from a sunken Spanish ship.
The mythical element comes in at this point because the legend of this gold is told to be found using a crab.
The second half of the film is an adventure to find the lost gold with our protagonist, Luciano, who is going by the name of Antino, now a priest.
‘King Crab’ is one of the few foreign films I have seen in my life, and I felt the second half of the film was more intriguing than the first half.
What I liked about the second half of the film was that I understood more what the main motive was for the remainder of the film. The first half is slower in pace,but has elements I enjoyed. The opening shot was neat to look at, and the use of wide shots and camera movements at times surprised me.
The dialogue most of the time is dry and only to move the plot forward, with not much humor. It has an element of seriousness in the first half. I would also like to mention there is a lot of singing.
Overall, if foreign films intrigue you, check out ‘The Tale Of King Crab’.
Shawn Belden can be contacted at
sbelden@kscequinox.com
