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Golden Door (2007) DVD Review
Golden Door (2007) DVD Credits:
Golden Door (2007) Directed by:
Emanuele Crialese
Golden Door (2007) Written by:
Emanuele Crialese
Golden Door (2007) Cast:
Charlotte Gainsbourg, Vincenzo Amato, Aurora Quattrocchi, Francesco Casisa, Filippo Pucillo, Federica De Cola, Isabella Ragonese, Vincent Schiavelli, Massimo Laguardia, Filippo Luna, Andrea Prodan, Ernesto Mahieux
Golden Door (2007) Released by:
Not available at this time
Region:
1
Golden Door (2007) DVD Release Date:
8th January 2008
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Golden Door (2007) Synopsis:

A family immigrates to the United States from Sicily.

Golden Door (2007) DVD Review:

Golden Door somehow manages to be both epic in scale and monumentally intimate in view, following the journey to America from the point-of-view of an ignorant Italian family. Gorgeously shot, it is easy to be pulled into the world of this Italian family in Golden Door, led by Salvatore Mancuso, a Sicilian peasant who believes God has sent him a sign to move his mother and brothers to America. They are convinced by gag postcards that show farmers with onions so large they must be carried in a wheelbarrow, and there are plenty of other fascinating and frightening discoveries along the way. The journey, from boarding the ship to passing intelligent tests on Ellis Island, is a struggle for the poor and uneducated immigrants, but the film captures the wonder of the experience more than anything else. Watching these immigrants discover the new world is a cinematic treat which allows us to experience the same through their eyes.

Martin Scorsese has an introduction to the film in which he explains his reasons for being moved by Golden Door, one of which being the joy he received from hearing the Sicilian tongue again. Even if you aren’t Italian, there is still a lot to relate, and on Ellis Island although separated all of the immigrants from around the world are put through the same tests to enter. It is a simple film about simple yet honest people. Salvatore wants only the best fro his family, but on the trip over he also finds himself infatuated with another traveler, and because of the laws entering the United States she needs a husband to take her in with him.

With a simple theme of love and the journey being the main point of the film, there is a lot of room for Golden Door to get creative, and with a visual style filled with fantasy and wonder the film is able to spread its wings. The gorgeous imagination could only come from the simple minds that must create an explanation for the unexplained and a fantasy of a reality that doesn’t exist. This is the vision of a simple man trying to find a new life for his family, and it offers a breathtaking visual style for the film.

The DVD has a making-of featurette along with the trailer for the film and the introduction by Scorsese. The only problem with the introduction is that it isn’t optional, so every time the film is watched Scorsese is at the beginning even though he wasn’t a part of the production as much as he is just a promoter of the wonderful and moving film.

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Golden Door (2007) DVD review written by: Ryan Izay

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