As a relief from both working and a wet evening I decided, finally, to watch Le Quattro Volte, which I had been given as a DVD some years ago and had simply not got around to viewing.
It's a film with no audible dialogue, no music and no subtitles - doesn't sound promising, does it? But stick with me. It's set in a mountaintop community in Calabria, Italy and follows the existence - and it is barely an existence - of an old goat herder as well as allowing us to witness the traditions of village life. There is sadness, some light relief but more importantly it instils in the viewer a contemplative, meditative mood. Each of us will infer something different from the film. And remember the gentle chime of goat bells. or the making of charcoal, or the recreation of Roman traditions or funeral traditions or the belief in religion or the scenery or the celebration of spring or the goats and their kids or stepping out of our own lives to eavesdrop into the lives of others for 80 minutes...well recommended.