The
Actor and playwright on the magic of Italian, French and
American cinema, dressing up to go dancing and falling in love with mime
I loved Italian neorealist films as a teenager because they always featured somebody struggling to find themselves in a city. Miracle in Milan, directed by Vittorio de Sica, is a magical film about a young man who arrives lost and alienated but is gradually absorbed by an equally poor society that takes care of him. He finds amazing revelations in the simplest of things. I love the beginning, where it’s so cold, the sun comes out and all the people jump into the slightly warmer circle of heat. Then when the clouds move, they rush to follow the circle. It’s phenomenally simple, but it shows how even the poorest of people can depend on the simplest of pleasures.