FIRE FLOWERS
directed by Riccardo Cannella
"Fire flowers" is an observational documentary that takes a closer look at a small quarter from Palermo (Sicily), called Borgo Vecchio. It isn’t designed in the style of an ordinary documentary tht we’re used to see on the Discovery Chanel and, moreover, it attempts to simply and spontaneously observe the everyday life of the sicilian citizens with a minimum of intervention.
All the people from the quarter are suddenly interrupted from their ordinary life and seem to get ready for the Saint Rosalia celebration that is about to take place. This is a very important event for Palermo’s culture and its locals and carefuly take care of the last details. The film aims to explore the individual human character in ordinary life situations, creating a parallel between the days from their normal life and the ones during which the whole city is celebrating. If in the rest of their time they’re just normal people with ordinary activities, during the celebration you can read a burst of happiness on their faces, dancing and singing with everybody at the parade while throwing fireworks, the city being magnificently decorated with all sort of colors and specific decorations. The film is beautifuly framed and like the pure observational documentaries, it has no additional music attached, no interviews, no scene arrangement and no narration. Through a witness perspective, the film allows its viewers to reach whatever conclusion they may deduce or simply enjoy the colorful images of Palermo’s saint celebration.
The city has an interesting flow, but the way the film is structured doesn’t accomplish to maintain its viewers attention till the end. We don’t get to find out specific information about their celebration or their lives, but the films aims to give an intim view of the citizens and the architecures through images, showing the simplity of their ordinary life and the sumptuous way they celebrate Saint Rosalia.